Twenty kilometres north of Veliko Tarnovo, Nicopolis ad Istrum preserves the paved streets, forum, public buildings and water systems of a Roman and early Byzantine city. Emperor Trajan founded it after his victories over the Dacians in AD 106. Despite the Latin imperial setting, Greek served as the principal official language, reflecting cultural connections with cities of Asia Minor and the eastern provinces.
The city stood near important routes through Lower Moesia, linking the Danube, Black Sea, Balkan passes and inland provinces. It prospered particularly under the Antonine and Severan dynasties. Inscriptions document councils, guilds, benefactors and festivals, while coinage advertised civic identity. An attack in the third century damaged the city; later rebuilding created a more compact fortified settlement before final decline in the early Byzantine period.