Alexandreia, Greece

Alexandreia or Alexandria (Greek: Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándreia, IPA: [ale'ksaŋðria]), known as Gidas before 1953 (Γιδάς, Gidàs, IPA: [ʝi'ðas]), is a city in the Imathia regional unit of Macedonia, Greece. Its population was 15,906 at the 2021 census. Alexandreia is a rapidly developing city focusing to boost its economy through agriculture, merchandising, alternative tourism and other alternative actions.

Alexandreia is a located in the vast plain north of the river Aliakmonas and west of the river Axios, named Kampania or also Roumlouki. Its economy is chiefly based on the agricultural utilization of the surrounding fields. The area around Alexandreia has the greatest production of peaches in Greece and apples, pears, tobacco, and cotton are also grown at large. Its elevation is 10 m above mean sea level. Alexandreia is 19 km south of Giannitsa, 23 km northeast of Veroia and 42 km west of Thessaloniki.

The municipality Alexandreia was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units:

The municipality has an area of 478.825 km², the municipal unit 140.614 km².

The area where Alexandreia is located today is called Imathia, which is also the name of the prefecture, but it is also known as Kampania or Roumlouki. The area was conquered by the Ottoman Empire during the late 14th century and was then called Roumlouki by the Ottomans. The first possible mention of Alexandreia as a settlement in history was on a Tapu Tahrir of 1530 under the name of Kato-Gode. However, the same name is absent from a map of the area from 1650.

The first solid evidence of a settlement is in an Ottoman tax list (tahrir defterleri) of 1771, which records the settlement of Gidas as the feudal estate of the family of Gazi Evrenos. According to this tax list, Gidas would be charged with 1900 aspers, which would render it the largest village in the area at that time with a probable population of 400 people. There are numerous mentions of Gidas in the following centuries, including the visit of the local Church of St. Athanasios by Cosmas the Aetolian in 1775 as a part of his missionary tours.

Gidas was the largest village in the area of Roumlouki, although the area was generally sparsely populated throughout the centuries. Under Ottoman rule, they paid heavy taxes, and as a consequence there was a general resentment towards the Ottomans. The local people were allowed to keep their religion and language, that is they were mostly Orthodox Christians and spoke the Greek language, although many people converted to Islam to gain the privileges granted to Muslims. As a rural area and feudal property, Gidas's people were mostly peasants and animal husbandmen, although there were also merchants trading all local kinds of commodities, and there was a school.

In 1821, the Greek War of Independence broke out in the Peloponnese, and by 1832, Greece was independent. However, Macedonia was not annexed to Greece until the First Balkan War in 1912–1913. During the 19th century, the economic ascent of Thessaloniki and of the other urban centers of Macedonia coincided with the cultural and political renaissance of the Greeks. The ideals and patriotic songs of liberated Greece had made a profound impression upon the Macedonians. However, it was not until the end of the century that the revolutionary fervor of the southern Greeks started spreading to these parts.