Edessa (medieval Vodena) is a city in southern Macedonia on the Via Egnatia, controlling the entrance to a pass through the mountains. In the 7th century Edessa was a bishopric. The Slavic name Vodena appears first in the story of Basil II's capture of the stronghold (phrourion) in 1001, however, hypothesized that Vodena and not Vidin had been a center of the Kometopouloi in the late 10th century. Due to its strategic importance, Vodena was often fought over: thus, Bohemond temporarily captured it in 1083; John III Vatatzes, during his campaign against Thessaloniki, occupied Vodena in 1253; John VI Kantakouzenos disputed it with the Serbians; and it was taken by Stefan Uroš IV Dušan in 1351. Little is known of the administrative organization of Byzantine Vodena. The Ottoman Ghazi Evrenos seized the fortress in the late 14th century. ​