The city of Philippi is the most important archaeological site of the Roman and early Christian eras in Northern Greece. It was founded in 360 BC by settlers from Thassos known as the Krinides, who flourished during the Hellenistic period. The name Philippi was given to the city by the Macedonian king Philip II who occupied it in 356 BC and fortified it. In Roman times it developed rapidly as the vitally important highway, the Egnatia road, passed through the city and also due to the privileges it received after the famous battle of Philippi in 42 BC by the victorious Antony and Octavian at the expense of the defeated democrats Brutus and Cassius. The Apostle Paul passed through the area in AD 49/50 and he founded the first Christian community in Europe giving new prestige to the city. In the early Christian years (5th-6th century) the great metropolitan church of Paul the Apostle and three more large basilicas were built. After the 7th century the city was abandoned due to earthquakes and enemy raids and the final desolation was completed after the Turkish conquest. Standing proud as remnants of the glorious past of the city stand the huge columns of the early Christian Basilica II which also gave the Turkish name to the area: Direcler, i.e. high vertical support. The archaeological excavations that began in World War I and continue to this day have revealed the theatre and many other parts of the historic city.