Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-11-08
Important Strategic Point.

From the days of ancient Rome
Silistria has been an important strate-
gic point. its name under the empire
being Durostorum. one of the flourish
ing cities of Noesia Inferior.
THE city under its present name did
not acquire place in world history
until the first year of the reign of
Simeon, Gear of the Bulgarians and
Autocrat of the Greeks, title which
the monarch assumed and defended
during his sway of thirty-four years.
1t under this prince that Bulgaria
experienced her golden age, assuming
a rank among the civilized nations of
the earth, according to the historian
Gibbon, who added that the glory of
the Bulgarians was confined to a mar
row scope both of time and place
Simeon. upon succeeding his father
the Greeks in the fact that their en-
peror, Leo the Philosopher, had grant
ed to two rapacious subjects the ex
elusive right to trade with Bulgarian
towns. Hostilities were declared and
the forces of Simeon easily defeated the
ByZantines, the Bulgar prince showing
his contempt for his adversary by re-
leasing his prisoners of war and send
ing them back to their sovereign after
having first cut off their noses.
Turn Tables on Rebels.
''SumnlOn1nR the Wlid MagNarS to
their aid. the Greeks soon turned the
tables on the rebel When driven from
his capital Preslav, Simeon took
refuge in Silistria. which he defended
with signal success, although he was
powerless to check the Magyars, who
ravaged the surrounding country up to
the very outskirts of the city Simeon
was not idle, however, for while the
wild pillagers We're busy on one of
hej re- ri a IeI
upon the undefended Magyar villages
butchering or carrying into captivity
all their women and children. When
the returning fathers and husbands
found their homes desolated they
abandoned the region, migrating west
ward and founding the future kingdom
of Hungary
When Simeon died in 927 he was
succeeded 3y his son Peter, a veal king
who was unable to hold the empire to-
gether. Forty years after his accession
to the throne this ruler was attacked
from the south by the Greeks and
from the north by the Russians the
latter now making their Erst appear
ance on Bulgarian soil under the bold,
hardy warrior. Prince Sviatoslav
whose food was horSetf>-sh and whose
bed bearskin thrown upon the
ground.
Sviatoslav Storms City.
SvldtOSldS StOTmed and captured
Silistria. and for four years the city
remained in his possession: but at the
end of that time he was himself at
tackled by the ByZantines. who, though
they had invited him to enter Bulgaria
as their ally. We're opposed to his re-
naming in the land. After offering a
| heroic resistance for three months the
prince was forced TO evacuate the COW
eted stronghold. While on his retreat
| to his native capital, kieff, he was at
| tackled by the savage ratzinakitai
| tribe, and. being captured by them,
| suffered the same fate " h!ch was ineted
out to the Byzantine emperor Nicepho-
| rus who fell into the hands of the Bull
| garian chief Krum "A century and a half
| preylously-his head was cut off and
his skull converted into a goblet, from
| which the victor drank in celebration
| of his success.
, 'Silistria came into possession Of the
Turks through the victory of the VlZier
| Ali Pasha in 1888. and under ottoman
| rule the town tiourished, becoming Tor
a time the chief city of the lower
| Danube.
| Changes Hands Many Times.
."During the nineteenth century Silis-
,ria changed hands many times IN the
numerous Russo Turkish wars. When
| II became a possession of the car In