Silistra

The city of Silistra – also known as the antique Durostorum was founded in 106 AD when Emperor Trayan ordered one of the elite military units of the Roman Empire be stationed at that site. This is just the beginning of the remarkable and glorious history of the city. In 169 AD Emperor Marcus Aurelius pronounced Durostorum a full-fledged Roman city - municipium. In 590 AD, the region is populated by the Slavs (mostly severs). They give the city a new name – Drastar. The city is rich and prosperous. In the Age of the First Bulgarian Kingdom under khan Omurtag, Drastar becomes the home of the Danubian Palace of the Bulgarian khans, in which from 896-897 lived king Simeon the Great himself. In 927, the city bcomes the residence of the first bulgarian Patriarch Damyan. Between the 11th and the 12th centuries, Drastar is the capital of the northern Bulgarian lands – Podunavie, and during the Second Bulgarian Kingdom – a major bishopry and capital of Theodor Svetoslav and Ivanko Terter. Today Silistra is part of the North-eastern region of the Republic of Bulgaria.