Nikopolis ad Istrum

Nikopolis ad Istrum was founded by Trajan in the early second century to mark victory over the Dacians, and unlike most Roman cities in the region it was laid out on a Greek city plan with a colonnaded agora at the centre, which reflects the eastern origin of its settlers. The excavated area shows the agora with its column bases, the bouleuterion or council chamber, streets, a large public building, water and drainage systems and stretches of the wall. The Gothic bishop Ulfilas, who translated the Bible into Gothic, is associated with the area. The city was destroyed in the Hunnic and later invasions and a smaller fortified settlement replaced it. The site is open ground on the plain with a small visitor building.

History

Trajan founded the city around 102-106 to commemorate his victory in the Dacian Wars, on the spot where his army had gathered, and named it Ulpia Nicopolis; its monumental buildings date mostly from Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, with an agora ringed by an Ionic colonnade and a statue of Trajan on horseback. After the Costoboci sacked it in 170-171 walls were built, the city prospered again under the Severans, a unique heated hall for trade and strolling, the thermoperipatos, was built under Commodus in 184-185, and three aqueducts supplied it, one with a bridge almost 3 kilometres long (Wikipedia, Nicopolis ad Istrum).

What to look for

• A colonnaded agora - the Greek-plan centre of the Roman city.
• The council chamber - the bouleuterion beside the agora.
• Streets and drainage systems - the working infrastructure of the town.
• The city wall stretches - the circuit around the excavated area.

When to go

April to October. Two hours. There is no shade on the site and summer is hot. Mornings are better. It is an easy trip from Veliko Tarnovo.

Before you go

It is at foundation level and needs interpretation, which is limited. There is no shade. Only part of the city has been excavated. Facilities amount to a small building at the entrance.

Nearby

Veliko Tarnovo is south; Emen canyon lies west.

Key facts