Turkish Kustenja ancient Constantiana or Tomis
City (pop., 2002 est.: 715,200), chief seaport of Romania.
The first known settlement in the area was at the ancient city of Tomis, founded in the 7th century BC by the Greeks. Romans annexed the region in the 1st century BC; Ovid was exiled there in AD 9–17. In the 4th century Tomis was reconstructed by Constantine the Great and renamed Constantiana. It was subject to numerous invasions from the 6th century on, and it declined following the Turkish conquest in the early 15th century. Its modern development as an industrial, trading, and cultural centre dates from its return to Romania in 1878.