Štip

Štip stands in eastern Macedonia near the Bregalnica, a tributary of the Vardar. Its name is linked to ancient Astibos, a settlement on the Roman road from Stobi towards Serdica. In the Middle Ages the town passed between Bulgarian, Byzantine and Serbian rulers. The church of the Holy Archangel, built by the lord Hrelja, was granted to the monastery of Hilandar in 1334. Later that century Štip came under Ottoman rule and became the seat of a sanjak.