Situated in the farthest southeast part of the country, Strumica is one of the eldest centers in these regions. Because of the stars that constantly and brilliantly shined on the sky above the Strumica Plain, this town was known in the antiquity as Astraion (The Town of Stars) and it was a home to the tribe Astrai. In the middle ages, it was named Tiberiopolis, after the Roman army commander Tiberius, and after the conquest by the Slavs, the name was modified to Strumica, name that is kept to the present. There are several versions about the reasons for this name. One of them says that it was named in honor of the young girl Struma, the daughter of Tiberius. In the vicinity of Strumica, in the village of Banica, the Tomb of Struma is located. Another theory presumes that the name is only a Slavic translation of the antique name Astraion.

Strumica is closely linked to the history of the state of czar Samoil. Near the town is the village of Vodoča, known for the monastery St. Leontij, but also for the unfortunate demise of the soldiers of Samoil, who were defeated in the battle on the mountain Belasica, in 1014, by the army of the Byzantine emperor Vasilij (Basil) II. The soldiers were blinded, and only to one out of hundred soldiers an eye was left so that he could lead the army to the czar Samoil. After this woeful event and the tragic destiny of the blinded soldiers, the village was named Vodoča ("vadi oči" - take eyes out). Near Vodoča is the village of Veljusa, where one of the most important cultural and religious centers in  Macedonia, the monastery Sv. Bogorodica (Holy Mother of God) Eleusa is located. Besides these monuments, in the region of Strumica are the medieval Carevi kuli (Czar's towers), the symbol and landmark of the city, then the Orta mosque, the complex of churches Holy.15 martyrs of Tiberiopolis, The Bey's lodgings in the village of Banica, Turbe Mesi Bey in the village of Bansko, the village where the famous Bansko Spa is located, where the temperature of the water in one of the springs reaches the temperature of up to 72⁰ C. Today, the remnants of the old Roman and Turkish baths are preserved there.

M. Cvetanovska

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