Trajan's Gate Fortress

Trajan's Gate is an ancient Roman fortress and road tunnel in the Ihtimanska Sredna Gora Mountains, in Kostenets Municipality, Bulgaria. The pass plays an important historical role, connecting Central and Western Europe with Constantinople. In antiquity it was called Succi; after the sixth century it also acquired the Greek name Basilikai Pylai, meaning "Royal Gate", and from the ninth century it was also called the Bulgarian Gate. The Byzantine historian Ammianus Marcellinus described it as an important strategic pass connecting different territories. During the Middle Ages it was known as the Royal Pass or the Bulgarian Pass. In 986, at the Battle of Trajan's Gate, the Bulgarian ruler Samuel defeated a Byzantine army attempting to pass through it. The pass is associated with the Roman fortress of Stenos and Shtipon, built in the fifth century and investigated in 1975. Excavations revealed an imposing structure with an inner courtyard, a ground floor, six entrances and three internal towers.