Stobi Excavation Project

The ancient city of Stobi was the largest urban centre in the northern part of Roman Macedonia and later the capital of the province Macedonia Secunda. Its strategic position at the crossroads of the Axios valley route (Thessalonica–Stobi–Singidunum) and the diagonal road (Heraclea–Stobi–Serdica) made it an important administrative, commercial, and religious hub throughout the Roman and Late Roman periods.

The earliest mention of Stobi comes from Livy, who refers to Stobi in four passages, one of them revealing the location at the confluence of the Axios and Erigon rivers. After the Roman conquest, the city became part of the Fourth Meris and developed into a major salt-trading centre linking Macedonia with Dardania. Stobi gained the status of oppidum civium Romanorum in the 1st century BCE and became a municipium somewhat later. A coin mint was established under Emperor Vespasian in 69 CE.

The city flourished from the 1st to the 3rd centuries CE, when its most notable monuments were built: the Theatre, the Temple of Isis and Serapis, the Synagogue, the Building with Arches, and the Casa Romana. After a major earthquake around 300 CE, Stobi was rebuilt in the early 4th century CE and became the seat of a Christian bishop who participated in the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE.

In the 5th and 6th centuries CE, Stobi served as the capital of Macedonia Secunda and one of the leading Christian centres in the Balkans. Magnificent buildings such as the Theodosian Palace, the House of Peristeria, the Episcopal Basilica with its baptistery, and the Episcopal Residence (Casino) reflect the city’s prosperity. Stobi was attacked by the Ostrogoths under Theoderic the Amal (later Theoderic the Great) in 479 CE, and another earthquake around 520 CE damaged much of the city. Despite this, life continued until the early 7th century CE, when the city was abandoned.

During the Medieval period (11th–14th centuries CE), a small settlement survived among the ruins, but Stobi eventually disappeared from record until its rediscovery in the late 19th century.