In 1968, Neolithic dwellings from the mid-6th millennium BC were discovered in the town, which are the best preserved and richest collection in Europe of its kind and have been turned into a museum.

During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, the town had devastating moments, which included a massacre of the local Bulgarians, in which thousands of people lost their lives, young women and girls being sold in the slave market of the Ottoman Empire.

From the 6th century the city was called Vereja and, from 784, Irenopolis (Greek: Ειρηνούπολις) in honour of the Byzantine empress Irene of Athens.

[3] Then, almost simultaneously, four prehistoric settlements emerged on the present territory of Stara Zagora and its surroundings, one of which was the largest in the Bulgarian lands for 6 thousand years.

[4] In 1968, Neolithic dwellings from the mid-6th millennium BC were discovered in the town, which are the best preserved and richest collection in Europe and have been turned into a museum.

[7] During extensive excavations in the 1970s near Stara Zagora, the world's largest ore mining centre was also discovered in the 5th millennium BC.

The famous Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus wrote: "The great cities of Philippopolis and Augusta Traiana, which in antiquity were called Eumolpiada and Beroea, adorn the province of Thrace".

During the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180), straight streets, dozens of residential and public buildings, city walls enclosing an area of about 50 hectares and reinforced with about 40 towers, of which 11 have been excavated, water supply, sewerage, theatre building, temples, markets, odeon, thermae, forum were built in the city.

A theatron with marble seats was also built, from which the spectacular gladiatorial battles, processions, celebrations, or assemblies where the important affairs of the city were decided, were observed.

The arts and musics developed in the city, as evidenced by the examples of bronze and stone sculpture, jewellery, pottery, glass objects, statues and inscriptions for Orpheus that have been found.

In 377, in the Gothic War (376-382), the Goths marched on Beroe to attack the Roman general Frigiderus but his scouts detected the invaders and he promptly withdrew to Illyria.

In 355, the Roman Pope Liberius was exiled to Beroe, and Demophilus went to Constantinople, where he reached the highest rank - Patriarch of the Byzantine Empire.

In 784 Beroe was in the possession of the Byzantine Empire and the empress Irene visited the town together with her son Constantine VI and a large retinue of courtiers.

Historical sources show that after the peace treaty of 817, the Bulgarian state took extensive measures to defend and fortify the area south of the Balkan Mountains from Beroe to the sea in order to annex it permanently to Bulgaria.

For a few years the Byzantines took Zagore, but during the conversion of Knyaz Boris I in 864, the Zagora area and the town of Beroe were returned to Bulgaria.

The chronicles about the return of the district also state its borders - from Sider (Zhelezni vrata, today Zmeyovski Pass) to Debelt.

The stone reliefs from Stara Zagora from the 8th - 9th centuries are of high cultural and historical value, they are recognized as a masterpiece of fine art and are one of the most interesting archaeological finds in Europe.

A grade school was built in 1840 and the city's name was changed to Zheleznik (Железник; a Slavic translation of Beroe) in 1854 instead of the Turkish Eskizağra (Also called Zağra-i Atik), but was renamed once again to Stara Zagora in 1870.

On 12 August 1875, on the initiative of Hristo Botev and Stefan Stambolov, an extraordinary national assembly was held in Bucharest, which decided to declare an immediate armed uprising in Bulgaria.

After a six-hour fight for Stara Zagora, the Russian soldiers and Bulgarian volunteers surrendered to the pressure of the larger enemy army.

On October 5, 1879, the governor general of Eastern Rumelia Alexander Bogoridi laid the symbolic first stone for the reconstruction of the town.

The territory of Stara Zagora municipality falls within the Middle Bulgarian biogeographical region - the Upper Thracian Lowland sub-region, characterized by a predominantly flat nature, intensive agriculture and significant urbanization.

[31] After this time, the population has started decreasing mostly because of the migration to the capital city of Sofia or abroad.According to the latest 2011 census data, individuals who declared their ethnic identity were distributed as follows:[33][34] Total: 138,272 The Stara Zagora region is dynamically developing and by a number of indicators is in a leading position in the country.

[citation needed] In 2004, the region had a record high growth of 26% in the value of manufactured output,[35] 23% in sales and 24.6% in gross domestic product.

The company holds a license for distribution of electricity from the State Energy Regulatory Commission for a period of 35 years on the territory of Southern Bulgaria.

Domaine Menada and Oryahovitsa are producers of Cabernet Sauvignon wines, as well as Merlot, Ruby, Chardonnay, Dimiat and other varieties.

In 2006, the international consortium "Linde Group" invested nearly EUR 10 million on the territory of "Agrobiochem", building a high-tech air separation station where oxygen, nitrogen and argon are extracted with high purity.

[41] Stara Zagora is the centre of the rich agricultural region of Zagore, famous for its wheat, production of various cereals, crops, vegetables, fruits, grapes.

[44] Stara Zagora City Centre has also been built, with an area (retail, offices and residential) of over 18,000 m2 spread over 5 levels and over 10,000 m2 of parking.

Stara Zagora Airport is located in the Kolyo Ganchev district and has a long runway suitable for large aircraft, but has not been operational since the early 1990s.