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Silistra
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49 166
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13092005
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6
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7500
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086
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44° 7'
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27° 16'
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Ivo Andonov
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( of northeastern
Bulgaria , lying on the southern side of the lower
Danube at the country's border with
Romania . Silistra is the administrative centre of
Silistra Province and one of the important cities of the historical region of
Southern Dobruja .
Founded as a
Roman fortress named ''Durostorum'' (or ''Dorostorum'') in
AD 29 , the settlement became an important military centre of
Moesia and grew into a city at the time of
Marcus Aurelius . In
388 , Durostorum became the seat of a Christian bishopric and a centre of Christianity in the region, and Roman general
Flavius Aëtius was born in the town in
396 .
Around the end of the
7th Century , the town was incporated in the
First Bulgarian Empire and the bishop of Drastar was proclaimed the first
Patriarch Of Bulgaria . The town was captured by the forces of
Sviatoslav I Of Kiev in
969 , before being seized by the
Byzantines in
972 for a brief period until
976 , when Tsar
Samuil restored Bulgarian rule in the region until
1001 , when it was once again incorporated within the bounds of the Byzantine Empire.
In
1186 , after the
Vlach-Bulgarian Rebellion , the town became part of the
Second Bulgarian Empire until the Ottoman conquest of Bulgaria in
1396 .
During
Ottoman Rule , Silistra was a part of
Rumelia Province and was the administrative centre of the Silistra
Sanjak . This sanjak was later upgraded to become the
Silistra Province (
Eyalet ) that streched over most of the western
Black Sea Littoral . The town was captured by
Russian forces numerous times during the
Russo-Turkish Wars .
In
1878 , following the
Russo-Turkish War Of 1877–1878 , Silistra was included in the newly autonomous
Principality Of Bulgaria , which became the
Kingdom Of Bulgaria in
1908 .
Following the
Second Balkan War , the
Treaty Of Bucharest (
1913 ) granted Silistra and the whole of
Southern Dobruja to
Romania . Although Bulgaria regained the town during
World War I with the
Treaty Of Bucharest (
1918 ), in which Romania surrendered to the
Central Powers (including Bulgaria), the
Treaty Of Neuilly (
1919 ) following
World War I returned it to Romania. Silistra remained a part of Romania until the
Axis -sponsored
Treaty Of Craiova of
1940 , when the town once again became part of Bulgaria, a transfer confirmed by the
Paris Peace Treaties of
1947 .
