Ulpia Pautalia

Ulpia Pautalia was one of the large Roman towns in the province of Thrace, situated in present-day Kyustendil. It developed from a Thracian settlement and became an important commercial centre and spa resort during the Roman period. It received town status in AD 106 under Emperor Trajan, becoming part of the Roman Empire. The town's considerable power and administrative status make it an important historic site. It was commonly called Ulpia Pautalia after Emperor Trajan's grant of municipal rights. It had a town council, magistrates, its own senate and income from its own coinage. Ulpia Pautalia remained an administrative centre for a long time, from early antiquity to the period after Emperor Aurelian's administrative reforms. This lengthy history makes it an important part of Bulgaria's past.