Philippi

Philippi was a significant city in the story of early Christianity. Located in the northeastern part of ancient Macedonia, it stood along the Roman road known as the Via Egnatia, which connected the western and eastern parts of the Roman Empire. Originally founded in 356 BC by King Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, the city later became a Roman colony in 42 BC after the Battle of Philippi. Veterans of the Roman army were settled there, and Philippi took on the customs, laws, and privileges of Rome itself.