The name of Prilep appeared first as Πρίλαπος' in Greek (Prilapos) in 1014, and was mentioned by John Skylitzes as the place where Samuel of Bulgaria had died after the Battle of Kleidion.

[3] In other languages it is: Prilep is a centre for high-quality tobacco and cigarettes, as well as metal processing, electronics, timber, textiles, and food industries.

In September 2007 archeological excavations in Bonče, revealed a tomb of what is believed to be the burial site of a Macedonian ruler dating 4th century BC.

> in 1014, as the place where Bulgarian Tsar Samuil allegedly had a heart attack upon seeing thousands of his soldiers had been blinded by the Byzantines after the Battle of Kleidion.

During the Ottoman period, besides the ethnic Turks and the majority Slavic population, Prilep was also home to both a Sunni Muslim and Orthodox Christian Albanian community, which lived alongside .

Serbian historiographer Jovan Hadži-Vasiljević writes that: '[11] Bulgarian researcher, Georgi Traichev, wrote that: The newspaper Прилепу преди 100 години ("Prilep 100 years ago".

There it is emphasized that after their arrival in the city around the 18th-19th century, the Christian Vlach and Albanian elements have assimilated under the influence of Bulgarian population, and that there are no longer any traces of them.

European consulate exhibitions of 1887 estimate the population of Prilep to approximately 6.500 individuals, of which 4.000 were Bulgarians, 2.000 were Turks and the rest were Serbs with Greeks and Aromanians.

After 9 September coup d'etat the commander of the Bulgarian garrison, refused to withdraw and remained in the city with the Yugoslav guerrillas, managing to hold it for 10 days, blocking the movement of the German troops.

When the Socialist Republic of Macedonia was formed as part of Yugoslavia at the end of the WWII, the Macedonian language was recognized as distinct one.

Then the dialects of Prilep, Veles, Bitola and Ohrid were chosen as the basis for the new official language, because of their central position in the region of Macedonia.

A large Roman necropolis is known there and parts of numerous walls have been found; the settlement was probably the ancient Ceramiae[19] mentioned in the Peutinger Table.

[20] Roman remains can also be found near the Varoš monastery, built on the steep slopes of the hill, which was later inhabited by a medieval community.

An important site in the area is Bela Crkva, 6 km (4 mi) west of Styberra, where the town of Alkomenai was probably located.

The Treskavec monastery, built in the 12th century in the mountains about 10 km (6 mi) north of Prilep under Zlatovrv peak, at the edge of a small upland plain 1100 meters above sea level.