Greek Apollonia (610 BC – 1st c. BC)
The town was founded in 610 BC by Ionian colonists from Miletus on the site of an ancient Thracian fortress. It soon became one of the richest Greek city-states on the western Black Sea — minting its own coins depicting Apollo (after whom it was named) and raising a colossal statue of the god, later taken as a trophy to Rome.
Roman Sozopolis (1st c. BC – 4th c. AD)
In 72 BC the Roman general Marcus Lucullus sacked Apollonia and carried off the colossal statue of Apollo from the sanctuary to Rome. Thrace only became a Roman province in 46 AD under Emperor Claudius, but Apollonia retained autonomy and commercial importance. In the late-Roman era the town was gradually renamed Sozopolis — the "Town of Salvation". Sections of the fortress wall and finds in the Archaeological Museum survive from this era.
Byzantium & mediaeval Bulgaria (5th–14th c.)
The town became an important Christian centre and bishopric. In the 9th century it was annexed to the First Bulgarian Empire by Khan Krum; later it repeatedly changed hands between Byzantium and Bulgaria. Early mediaeval churches, the monastery of St. John the Forerunner on St. Ivan Island and sections of fortress walls survive from this period.
Ottoman era and National Revival (1453–1878)
Under Ottoman rule, Sozopol retained a substantial Christian population and its status as a fishing and trading port. In the 18th–19th centuries the characteristic Revival-era houses were built — stone foundations with a wooden upper floor — which define the Old Town's character today. Many of these houses survive as museums, hotels, galleries and taverns.
Liberation and reserve (1878 — today)
After the 1878 Liberation, Sozopol became a small Bulgarian fishing town. In 1974, the Old Town was declared an architectural and historic reserve. Since 1984, the Apollonia festival has been held here each September. Today Sozopol is one of the most visited destinations on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.