Vidin emerged at the place of an old Celtic settlement known as Dunonia. The name itself meant "fortified hill" with the typically Celtic dun found frequently in Celtic place names.The settlement evolved into an Roman fortified town called Bononia. The town grew into one of the important centres of the province of Upper Moesia, encompassing the territory of modern northwestern Bulgaria and eastern Serbia.
When Slavs settled in the area, they called the town Badin or Bdin, where the modern name comes from.
Vidin's main landmark, the Baba Vida fortress, was built in the period from the 10th to the 14th century. In the Middle Ages Vidin used to be an important Bulgarian city, a bishop seat and capital of a large province. Between 971 and 976 the town was the center of Samuil's possessions while his brothers ruled to the south. In 1003 Vidin was seized by Basil II after an eight month siege because of the betrayal of the local bishop. Its importance once again rose during the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185�1396) and its despots were influential figures in the Empire and were on several occasions chosen for Emperors. From the mid 13th century it was ruled by the Shishman family. In 1356, Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Alexander isolated Vidin from the Bulgarian monarchy and appointed his son Ivan Stratsimir (1356�1396) as absolute ruler of Vidin's new city-state - the Tsardom of Vidin (Bdin / Badin).
Hungarian occupation of Vidin
In 1365, the Tsardom of Vidin was occupied by Magyar crusaders. Under Hungarian rule, the city became known as Bodony, but the occupation was short-lived. In 1369, a united Slavic Bulgarian empire drove out the Hungarian military, but in 1393 the whole of Bulgaria, along with the rest of the surrounding region, fell to the Ottoman Empire. This brought an end to Bulgaria's medieval state empire.
The Ottomans
The Ottomans went on to conquer the despotates of Dobrudzha, Prilep and Velbazhd as well
