Pistiros was a major trading center of ancient Thrace, an emporium as much as a town, located near the Hebrus river (now the Maritza), near what is now Vetren, Bulgaria. An inscription from the time of Cotys I, king of the Odrysian state (of which Pistiros was a city), spells out the laws governing business and trade between Thracians and Greeks, revealing much about the economy and society of the period.

The climate of the Pistiros area made it an excellent location for vineyards, and wine was one of the chief products of the town, though the major business of the town was export and import.