Stobi

41.55173888888921.974972222222Koordinaten: 41 ° 33 '6 " N, 21 ° 58' 30" E

Stobi (Greek: Στόβοι, Cyrillic Стоби ) was the capital of the ancient region of Pannonia, was later conquered by the Macedonians and Macedonia came along with the 2nd century BC under the rule of the Romans. Stobi lay at the mouth of the river Erigon in the Vardar on the main road that connected the middle Danube to the Aegean coast. The ruins of Stobi are today the most important ancient remains on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia.

The site is located immediately to the north of the Macedonian A1 motorway, which was jedinstvo also known as Autoput Bratstvo i, south of the town Gradsko. The excavation site and the restored buildings form an open air museum.

The pre-Roman times

Stobi was founded by the Paioniern. The location of the settlement but had been colonized several times already since Neolithic times, because she was in a very favorable for agriculture field and on an important trade for the Balkans north-south connection. However, the flat terrain offered little options for fixing the place. Originally comprised the populated area barely 2.5 hectares. That the Paionians Stobi made ​​it their capital in the 5th century - earlier this was the further north Bylazora - contributed to the flourishing of the city at.

Philip II conquered Pannonia around 350 BC and divided the country into his kingdom. However, there was a limited dependence, because in Stobi there continued paionische kings who ruled as governor Philipps. In the 4th and 3rd centuries the population Stobis was already largely Hellenized.

Roman time

After the victory of the Romans over Macedonia in 167 BC the Roman province of Macedonia was formed 148 BC, was one of the Stobi. In the administrative organization of the Romans, the city did not matter. In the city, however, crossed several Roman roads, branches of the Via Egnatia and Via Militaris. The city they performed well and the population grew substantially, as can be seen in the multiple expansion of the cultivated area. 69 AD, the town was granted the status of municipium. From this time some coinage of municipium Stobensium are known.

After the administrative reform of Emperor Diocletian Stobi capital of the province of Macedonia salutaris that included the old Pannonia essentially was. 325 took part Budius as Bishop of Stobi at the Council of Nicaea. Emperor Theodosius I stayed a few months in 388 Stobi. In the second half of the 5th century, the decline of the city began. 479 it was taken and plundered by the Ostrogoths under Theodoric. 518 Stobi was devastated by a strong earthquake; after the invasions of the Avars and Slavs 30 years later Stobi was finally abandoned.

Excavations

During the First World War Austrian officers have made a cursory examination of the ruins. 1924-1936 resulted in the Belgrade National Museum by several excavation campaigns. The archaeologists discovered dwellings, two basilicas and built in the 3rd century theater. During the Second World War overbuilt Hellenistic graves were found. 1955, researchers discovered in the northern basilica Slavic graves dating from the 8th to the 12th centuries, bronze statues from classical and Hellenistic period, as well as Neolithic pottery and building structures that could be identified as a synagogue. Between 1970 and 1980, a Yugoslav- American archaeological team has again made ​​major excavations. Numerous other buildings, water lines and mosaics were discovered; also the west of the city center necropolis was systematically investigated. 1981-1988 dug a new team finally from the late Roman See and the Christian basilica.