Thrace, Augusta Traiana
Septimius Severus 193-211 CE
Æ 19mm, 4,33g
Obv: AY K Λ CE CEVHPOC. Laureate head right.
Rev: AYΓOYCTHC TPAIANHC (retrograde). Fourfold coiled serpent, with head erect, right.
Varbanov 1007 var
Augusta Traiana eventually became the city of Stara Zagora in Bulgaria. Traces of occupation stretch back to the 7th millennium BCE, strengthened by the oldest metal mines in Europe. A copper factory was found near here that dated to the 5th millennium BCE.
Under hellenistic times, the city was known as Beroia, and was founded by Philip II of Macedon. Under Trajan, it was renamed to Augusta Traiana and became the most important city in Thrace.
Veterans of foreign wars were settled here, and the city rapidly grew.