The
Evros region where Peplos is located is in the historical region of
Thrace. It was ruled by various major empires throughout history, including the
Roman Empire and then the
Byzantine Empire. Along with the rest of the Greek mainland it was
conquered by the Ottomans in the 14th and 15th centuries. It remained under
Ottoman rule until the
Balkan Wars, when it was conquered by
Bulgaria in 1913. Following
World War I it was ceded to
Greece in the
Treaty of Neuilly in 1920.
Balkan Wars Before the
First Balkan War Peplos (then known as
Merhamli) was in the Ottoman
Adrianople Vilayet. In 1912 the
Balkan League including Bulgaria and Greece went to war with the Ottomans, and Bulgaria invaded Ottoman
Western Thrace. A battle between Bulgarian and Ottoman forces occurred at Peplos in November 1912, known as the
Battle of Merhamli. This battle was a decisive victory for the Bulgarians, who would go on to win the war along with the rest of the Balkan League. The next year Bulgaria went to war against the rest of the Balkan League (and
Romania and the Ottomans) in the
Second Balkan War. Following the two Balkan Wars Peplos was in Bulgarian hands until the First World War. The settlements was created with the migration of
Arvanites from
Turkey in 1923. They largely originate from the inhabitants of the villages of
Qytezë and
Sultanköy. ==Transport==