Asenovgrad was founded by the Thracians as Sten�machos around 300�400 BC. In 72 BC the city was captured by the troops of the Roman Empire as part of the Roman expansion towards the Black Sea. After a long period of peace, the town was destroyed by the Goths in 251, but rebuilt later. In 395 the Roman Empire was divided into two parts and the city fell under Byzantine control. Afterwards, the Slavic tribes flooded the region (until around 700 AD) and became the majority of the population. During this time the city was known by its Thracian name Sten�machos.
During the wars between the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire, the city became a major military stronghold for the Bulgarian rulers. Due to aggravation of the relationships with the Latin Empire, in 1230 Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen II strengthened the local fortress Stanimaha and for this reason the city was named after him in 1934 (literally city of Asen). After Bulgaria was occupied by the Ottoman Empire, Roma and Turks settled in Stanimaha, who nowadays make up 15% of the municipality of Asenovgrad's population (Asenovgrad, in addition to 29 villages), the rest 75% being ethnic Bulgarians and 5% � unknown and others.
Tane Nikolov, a well known revolutionary and leader of the Macedonian Struggle, spent his last years in Asenovgrad and died here in 1947
