Stobi is an ancient Paeonian town, later conquered by Macedon, and finally turned into the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia Salutaris. It is located near Gradsko, North Macedonia, on the main road that leads from the Danube, Singidunum to the Aegean Sea, Thessaloniki and on the crossroad Via Egnatia, connecting Heraclea Lyncestis with Pautalia and Serdica. Stobi was built where the Erigon (Crna River) joins the Axios (Vardar), making it strategically important as a center for both trade and warfare.
Stobi developed from a Paeonian settlement established in the Archaic period. Located on the northern side of a terrace, the early town covered an area of about 25,000 m2. Nearby Mount Klepa was a lucrative source of marble. The initial Paeonian population was later supplemented by other immigrant groups.
It is believed that in 217 BCE, Philip V annexed Paeonia during his campaign against the Dardani who had entered Bylazora, the largest Paeonian town.
After Roman conquest, it became the largest city in the northern part of the Roman province Macedonia, later capital city of the Roman province Macedonia Secunda, an important urban, military, administrative, trade and religious center of two large empires: Roman and Early Byzantine. Located in the heart of Macedonia, on the crossroads between the Aegean World and the Central Balkan, during the whole period of its existence it was a place where cultural achievements of the ancient world gathered in a unique way.
