At a distance of just 7 kilometers west of Komotini Maximianoupolis was located. In ancient times the small city was called Paizoulai, then from the Roman to the Late Byzantine period it developed into an important city. At that time, it was renamed into Maximianoupolis after the Roman emperor Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus (250-311).
There are references in written sources about the city of this period from which we conclude that in the 5th century it was the seat of a diocese that belonged to the metropolis of Traianoupolis and later became an independent archdiocese. During the Byzantine period it is mentioned in ecclesiastical archives as Mosinopolis and was the capital of the Byzantine theme of Voleros. It constituted the base of the emperor Basil II (976-1025) against the Bulgarians but also an important passage of Byzantine emperors and conquerors on the road to Constantinople, such as the 4th army of the First Crusade in 1096. From 1204 it was acquired by the Latins and given to Geoffrey Villehardouin. From the 13th century the city was in recession having experienced a lot of destruction by the conquerors but also in the efforts to recover it by the Byzantines. Its habitation ended during the post-Byzantine period, probably at the end of the 13th century. The last name of the city that is handed over was Messine Kale, which means Messine castle, in Turkish.
From the few excavations that have been made in the area, the visitor can see Late Roman tombs, the lower part of a central Christian church that is considered the episcopal church of the city and part of the wall from the Late Roman and Early Christian phase. The wall was rectangular in shape and 3 km long, surrounding the city of about 100 acres.
The site can be visited after contacting the Ephorate of Antiquities of Rodopi. The access to the area is from the old provincial road Komotini-Xanthi through Iasmos.
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