| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
A settlement at this location on the left bank of the Danube appears with the name Drinago in a circa 1350 Spanish Libro de conoscimiento ("Book of knowledge"). This may have been an erroneous transcription of Brillago. In Greek documents of roughly that time the city is referred to as Proilabum or Proilava.
The town was controlled by Ottoman Turks from medieval times until 1878; the Turks called it Ibrail or Ibraila. The Turkish settlement was attacked, plundered, and burned by the forces of Stefan cel Mare February 2, 1470, repressing the forces of Radu cel Frumos, who was allied with the Turks.
The city's greatest period of prosperity was in the early 20th century, when it was an important port for merchandise coming and going from Romania.