A Roman emperor has founded Troyan

A Roman emperor has founded Troyan
Yovka Dimitrova, �24 hours� daily newspaper, 15^th of June 2006

15-line inscription was found by the archaeologist from the National History Museum Ivan Hristov at the excavations of Sostra � the ancient predecessor of Troyan*. This was announced yesterday by the museum�s director Bozhidar Dimitrov.

�The discovery of an inscription is the most highly prized find in archaeology. It�s more valuable than gold, because, besides being really rare, it also gives exact reports of history�, comments Dimitrov.

The inscription reports that the Roman Emperor Gallienus has placed in Sostra the so called red cohort (an army subdivision) as the city�s garrison. The 67^th emperor  introduced a new type of forces � a more mobile cavalry, elite troops, subordinated to the ruler, the most successful tactics against the barbarians.

Gallienus rules over the Roman Empire between 253 and 268 AD. The find is an evidence for the efforts of Rome to preserve today�s Bulgarian lands from the invasions of the Goths, which crush the Roman army in 251 AD near Abrittus (Razgrad) and kill Emperor Decius. Until now it was believed that the Goths have conclusively destroyed the Roman cities in the region, but the inscription, which is from 253 AD, proves that the resistance was still continuing.

Dimitrov promised to leave the inscriptions to Troyans if the city mayor agrees to place it in front of the municipality for common delight.

*Troyan - city in Bulgaria