Stara Zagora [key], city (1993 pop. 150,926), central Bulgaria. It is a railway center and the market for a fertile farm area. The city's diverse industries produce textiles, chemicals, agricultural tools, and tobacco products. Stara Zagora is the seat of an Orthodox Eastern bishopric. A Thracian settlement, it was known as Augusta Trajana under Roman rule. It was captured by the Turks in 1370 and renamed Eski-Zagra or Yeski-Zagra, from which its present name is derived. The city was destroyed in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 and rebuilt as a planned city.
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