The Gate of Trajan

The Gate of Trajan is a historic mountain pass close to a little town Ihtiman in Sredna Gora Mountain.

Ihtiman is only around 40 minutes away from Sofia near Trakiya motorway leading to Black Sea. I used to go to Ihtiman every day some years ago but I had no idea about that place, although I've learned in some history classes about the great battle that the pass is known for - between Emperor Basill II and Tsar Samuil 17 August 986. The 30,000 invaders of Byzantine were smashed up there by the army of Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria and that was the largest defeat of the Byzantines under Emperor Basil II.

---

“On 17 August 986 the warriors of Samuel smashed up on this spot the Byzantine invaders of Emperor Basil II. Glory forever!”

---

---

Solid Stone Threshold with oval indentations for hinges of a double door

---

There is a fortress there named The Gate of Trajan after Roman Emperor Trajan, on whose order a fortress by the name of Stipon was constructed on the hill over the pass in II century AD at the place of a former Thracian Settlement.

It was restored several years ago and
it was included in the list of the 100 National Tourist Sites of Bulgaria.

The fortress used to be a military garrison for around 100 warriors and it was an important and representative building. It has a secret underground tunnel linking it with the local riverbed for leaving the fortress and water deliveries in cases of emergency.

---

Entrance of an underground tunnel reaching the river for water supply. The tunnel is 237 sm height, 140 sm wide, 60 feet (25 meters) long

---

There is also a small museum where one can learn more about the place, about Tsar Samuil, about Bulgaria back in these years and also to see a model of the fortress and some of the findings during the archeological work.

---

Ceramic vessels used for storage of grains

---

Archaeologist Emanuil Gavryiski says:

“The most important route across the Balkan Peninsula goes through the passage itself and it was named the Diagonal one – it links Belgrade with Constantinople. The place was of strategic importance in ancient times. The Gate was situated some 600 meters to the northwest of the fortress – a military facility with a big wall and other two fortresses at the flanks. The huge arc of the Gate, some 18 m in height was preserved till the 19th c. The place was well-guarded and really important over a long period of European history, from the Early to the Late Medieval Period.”

Source

My new interest in history made me go there but not because of its history or its importance because of the battle, but because that small detail - that it was build over a Thracian Settlement. Under every important place there were always a Thracian something. This is because the Thracians were quite smart and sensitive and they used to choose not only the most strategic places but also the places with the strongest and purest energy. Recently I read some really interesting things about them - for example that they used to cry when a baby was born and celebrate when someone died no matter what was his age. There is more but it will be a subject of another post.

Thank you for reading :)