ROMAN PERIOD

In 168 B.C., Perseas, the last king of Macedonia and son of Phillip V, killed in Heraklea of Sintiki, his brother Dimitrios, successor to the Macedonian throne. The reasons for the fratricide were two: rivalry and pro-Roman inclination of the victim, who was brought up in Rome. Dimitrios’ murder infuriated the Romans who declared war against the Macedonians.

Sinti, Maedi and other people took Persea’s side and fought with fanaticism against the Romans. However, in the last battle that Perseas fought in Pydna of Pieria, the Romans outflanked the Macedonians and abolished Macedonia, after a betrayal, in 168 B.C.

After the subordination of Macedonia to the Romans and its division into four parts, Serres was included in the first part, "Macedonians’ First", a province with Amfipolis as capital.

The years during the Roman occupation were very difficult for the inhabitants of the area, since thousands of them were exiled to Italy from which they never came back.

Egnatia road crossed Amphilpolis during the Roman period. Today, only a part of this stone-paved military road that joined Durrahio with Constantinople is preserved, near Draviskos village, in "Frangala" area.

Many tomb inscriptions and coins of different Roman Emperors are still preserved in Serres from the Roman period.

A large dedicatory inscription belongs to that period, too. This inscription includes only names, of which eleven are Greek-Macedonian, thirteen are Roman and twelve are Greek-Roman and Thracian. The inscription can be seen in Serres' Museum.