 Before 1890, the street connected the two sides of Thessaloniki, from the eastern city walls to the west.In 1913, when the city was in Greek hands, the street was then renamed after Ioannis Tsimiskis, a Byzantine Emperor notable for his struggles against Bulgarians.The choice of name was the result of Greek-Bulgarian tensions at the time in regards to who would eventually win the city of Thessaloniki after the Balkan Wars.