Fársala

Farsala, ancient Pharsalos, stands at the southern edge of the Thessalian plain beneath the Narthacius hills. It was an important city of ancient Thessaly, associated in legend with the land of Achilles. In 48 BC Julius Caesar defeated Pompey in the Battle of Pharsalus, a decisive encounter of the Roman civil war fought in the wider plain. Later rulers called the town by other names, including the Ottoman Çatalca, but the battle preserved the ancient name throughout the centuries.