Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece and has been an important cultural and political hub since antiquity. The city was founded in 315 BC by Cassander of Macedon, and evolved to become one of the most important cities in Macedon. In the Roman period, Thessaloniki became an important stop on the trade routes between Rome and Byzantium, and was the administrative capital of the Roman Empire during the tetrarchy under Galerius Maximianus Caesar. The city was the second largest in size and wealth in the Byzantine Empire.
