formerly Salonika
Seaport (pop., 2001: 363,987), Macedonia, Greece.
Founded in 316 BC, it became the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia in 146 BC and grew to great importance. The apostle Paul (see St. Paul ) visited с AD 49–50, and he later addressed epistles to converts there. During the time of the Byzantine Empire, it prospered despite repeated attacks by Avars and Slavs. It was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1430 to 1912. Thessaloníki was the headquarters of the Young Turk movement in 1908 and was returned to Greece in 1913. It was an important Allied base in World War I and was occupied by the Germans in World War II. It is Greece's second largest city.