Traces of human activities from very ancient times were found in the region, mainly in the caves near the town. The reason was the comfortable location between the mountains and the flat country, and the presence of a river. The first inhabitants of the town were the Thracian tribe of the Meldi, whose traces date back to the 4th or 3rd centuries BC. They founded their capital, called Melta, in the area, which was situated at the place of today's neighbourhood and architecture reserve Varosha. Later, when the Balkans were occupied by the Roman Empire, a military station called Prezidium was founded near the modern town, which was situated at an important strategic position on one of the main Roman roads. Parts of this road are to be seen in the territory of Lovech today. Middle Ages The former Roman citadel Hisarya, which is situated on the hill of the same name, was the place where in 1187 the peace treaty between the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire was signed and the returning of Bulgaria on the European map was officially declared, marking the beginning of the Second Bulgarian Empire. In the 12th century, Lovech was a great trade centre and one of the most famous towns in Bulgaria. Ivan Alexander was appointed to govern the city by 1330, most likely being appointed due to Lovech being a major city that controlled commercial passage through the Stara Planina passes, and the migration of intellectuals to Moldavia and Wallachia, due to Ottoman conquests, resulting in the beginning of the Despotate of Lovech. The Turkish invasion in the middle of the 14th century did not pass the town, but the Hisarya fortress was captured last of all, in 1446. Ottoman rule For a long time after conquest, the town enjoyed some privileges such as a prohibition on Turkish people to settle in the town or to take Bulgarian children as janissaries. In the 17th century, Lovech (Lofça in Turkish) was once again an important trade centre and one of the richest towns in Bulgaria, a reason for the town being called Altın Lofça (Golden Lovech, from Turkish) at the time. In the times of revolutionary organisations against the Ottoman rule, Lovech was the centre of operations of the Internal Revolutionary Organisation of Vasil Levski, called the Secret Revolutionary Committee. He was arrested by the Turkish military in a village near Lovech