Editing Plovdiv (section)

==History==
{{Main|Philippopolis (Thracia)|Timeline of Plovdiv|History of Plovdiv}}
{{Timeline of Plovdiv}}

===Antiquity===
[[File:Roman Trimontium(Phillipopolis).JPG|left|200px|thumb|Plan of the known parts of the Roman city superimposed on a plan of modern Plovdiv.]]

{{Philippopolis sidebar}}
The history of the region spans more than eight millennia. Numerous nations have left their traces on the {{convert|12|m|ft|adj=mid|spell=in|lk=out|abbr=off|-thick}} cultural layers of the city. The earliest signs of habitation in the territory of Plovdiv date as far back as the 6th millennium BCE.<ref name="filipopol">"Philippopolis Album", Kesyakova Elena, Raytchev Dimitar, Hermes, Sofia, 2012, {{ISBN|978-954-26-1117-2}}</ref><ref name="plovdiv1"/> Plovdiv has settlement traces including necropolises dating from the Neolithic era (roughly 6000–5000 BCE) like the mounds Yasa Tepe 1 in the Philipovo district and Yasa Tepe 2 in Lauta park.<ref name="райчевски">{{cite book| last = Райчевски| first = Георги | year = 2002 | title = Пловдивска енциклопедия | publisher = Издателство ИМН | location = Пловдив | page = 341| isbn = 978-954-491-553-7}}</ref><ref name="кесякова">{{cite book | last = Кесякова | first = Елена |author2=Александър Пижев |author3=Стефан Шивачев |author4=Недялка Петрова | year = 1999 |script-title=bg:Книга за Пловдив | publisher = Издателство "Полиграф" | location = Пловдив | pages = 17–19 | isbn = 954-9529-27-4 |language=bg}}</ref><ref>[http://dariknews.bg/view_article.php?article_id=1097386 Darik] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305021410/http://dariknews.bg/view_article.php?article_id=1097386 |date=5 March 2016}}</ref> 

Archaeologists have discovered fine pottery{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} and objects of everyday life on [[Nebet Tepe]] from as early as the [[Chalcolithic]] era, showing that at the end of the 4th millennium BCE, there was already an established settlement there which was [[List of oldest continuously inhabited cities|continuously inhabited]] since then.<ref>Детев П., Известия на музейте в Южна България т. 1 (Bulletin des musees de la Bulgarie du sud), 1975г., с.27, [http://www.bg.cobiss.net/scripts/cobiss?ukaz=DISP&id=0955075541846121&rec=11&sid=2] {{ISSN|0204-4072}} {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923020722/http://www.bg.cobiss.net/scripts/cobiss?ukaz=DISP&id=0955075541846121&rec=11&sid=2|date=23 September 2016}}</ref><ref>Детев, П. ''Разкопки на Небет тепе в Пловдив'', ГПАМ, 5, 1963, pp. 27–30.</ref><ref>Ботушарова, Л. ''Стратиграфски проучвания на Небет тепе'', ГПАМ, 5, 1963, pp. 66–70.</ref> Thracian necropolises dating back to the 2nd–3rd millennium BCE have been discovered, while the Thracian town was established between the 2nd and the 1st millennium BCE.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

The town was a fort of the independent local [[Thracians|Thracian]] tribe [[Bessi]].<ref>{{cite book | author1 = Елена Кесякова | author2 = Александър Пижев |author3 = Стефан Шивачев |author4 = Недялка Петрова | year = 1999 | title = Книга за Пловдив | publisher = Издателство "Полиграф" | location = Пловдив | isbn = 954-9529-27-4 | language = bg | pages=20–21}}</ref> In 516 BCE during the rule of [[Darius the Great]], Thrace was included in the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian empire]].<ref>The Oxford Classical Dictionary by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, {{ISBN|0-19-860641-9}}", page 1515, "The Thracians were subdued by the Persians by 516"</ref> In 492 BCE, the Persian general [[Mardonius (general)|Mardonius]] subjugated Thrace again, and it nominally became a vassal of Persia until 479 BCE and the early rule of [[Xerxes I]].<ref>Dimitri Romanoff, ''The orders, medals, and history of the Kingdom of Bulgaria'', p. 9</ref> The town became part of the [[Odrysian kingdom]] (460 BCE – 46 CE), a [[Thracians|Thracian]] tribal union. The town was conquered by [[Philip II of Macedon]],<ref>''История на България'', Том 1, Издателство на БАН, София, 1979, p. 206.</ref> and the Odrysian king was deposed in 342 BCE. Ten years after the Macedonian invasion, the Thracian kings started to exercise power again after the Odrysian [[Seuthes III]] had re-established their kingdom under Macedonian suzerainty as a result of a successful revolt against [[Alexander the Great]]'s rule resulting in a stalemate.<ref>A. B. Bosworth, ''Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great'', page 12, Cambridge University Press</ref> The Odrysian kingdom gradually overcame the Macedonian suzerainty, while the city was destroyed by the [[Celts]] as part of the [[Celtic settlement of Eastern Europe]], most likely in the 270s BCE.<ref>{{cite book|year=1979|title=Bulgaria|location=University of Indiana|page=4}}</ref> In 183 BCE, [[Philip V of Macedon]] conquered the city, but shortly after, the Thracians re-conquered it.

In 72 BCE, the city was seized by the Roman general [[Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus|Marcus Lucullus]] but was soon restored to Thracian control. In 46 CE, the city was finally incorporated into the [[Roman Empire]] by emperor [[Claudius]];<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dimitrov |first=B. |title=The Bulgarians – the first Europeans |publisher=University press "St Climent of Ohrid" |location=Sofia |page=17 |language=bg |isbn=954-07-1757-4 |year=2002 }}</ref> it served as the capital of the province of [[Thrace]]. Although it was not the capital of the Province of Thrace, the city was the largest and most important centre in the province.<ref>Lenk, B. – RE, 6 A, 1936 col. 454 sq.</ref> As such, the city was the seat of the Union of Thracians.<ref>Римски и ранновизантийски градове в България, p. 183</ref> In those times, the [[Via Militaris]] (or Via Diagonalis), the most important military road in the [[Balkans]], passed through the city.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.seecorridors.eu/index.php?w_p=27&w_l=2&w_c=3&w_id=450
 |title=Cultural Corridors of South East Europe/Diagonal Road
 |publisher=Association for Cultural Tourism
 |access-date=25 January 2007
 |archive-date=8 October 2007
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008071205/http://www.seecorridors.eu/index.php?w_p=27&w_l=2&w_c=3&w_id=450
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref><ref>Николов, Д. ''Нови данни за пътя Филипопол-Ескус'', София, 1958, p. 285</ref> The Roman times were a period of growth and cultural excellence.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dimitrov |first=B. |title=The Bulgarians – the first Europeans |publisher=University press "St Climent of Ohrid" |location=Sofia |pages=18–19 |language=bg |isbn=954-07-1757-4 |year=2002 }}</ref> The ancient ruins tell a story of a vibrant, growing city with numerous public buildings, shrines, baths, theatres, a stadium, and the only developed ancient water supply system in Bulgaria. The city had an advanced water system and [[sanitary sewer|sewerage]].{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} In 179 a second wall was built to encompass Trimontium which had already extended out of the Three hills into the valley. Many of those are still preserved and can be seen by tourists. Today only a small part of the ancient city has been excavated.<ref name=pldiv>[http://www.plovdivcity.net/bg/plovdiv_history.html PlovdivCity.net] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080412054326/http://www.plovdivcity.net/bg/plovdiv_history.html |date=12 April 2008 }}, посетен на 10 ноември 2007 г.</ref>

In 250 the city was captured and looted after the [[Battle of Philippopolis (250)|Battle of Philippopolis]] by the [[Goths]], led by their ruler [[Cniva]]. Many of its citizens, 100,000 according to [[Ammianus Marcellinus]], died or were taken captive.<ref>{{cite book | author1 = Елена Кесякова | author2 = Александър Пижев |author3 = Стефан Шивачев |author4 = Недялка Петрова | year = 1999 | title = Книга за Пловдив | publisher = Издателство "Полиграф" | location = Пловдив | isbn = 954-9529-27-4 | language = bg | pages=47–48}}</ref> It took a century and hard work to recover the city. However, it was destroyed again by [[Attila]]'s [[Hun]]s in 441–442 and by the [[Goths]] of Teodoric Strabo in 471.<ref>[http://www.romanplovdiv.org/en/history/6 Roman Plovdiv: History] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304185326/http://www.romanplovdiv.org/en/history/6 |date=4 March 2016 }}</ref>

An ancient Roman inscription written in Ancient Greek dated to 253 – 255 AD were discovered in the [[Great Basilica, Plovdiv|Great Basilica]]. The inscription refers to the [[Dionysian Mysteries]] and also mentions Roman Emperors [[Valerian (emperor)|Valerian]] and [[Gallienus]]. It has been found on a large stele which was used as construction material during the building of the Great Basilica.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2019/07/18/huge-roman-inscription-of-dionysus-cult-secret-society-after-251-goth-invasion-found-in-early-christian-great-basilica-in-bulgarias-plovdiv/ |title=HUGE ROMAN INSCRIPTION OF DIONYSUS CULT SECRET SOCIETY AFTER 251 GOTH INVASION FOUND IN EARLY CHRISTIAN GREAT BASILICA IN BULGARIA'S PLOVDI |work=Archaeology in Bulgaria. and Beyond - Archaeology, History & Nature: the Human - Earth Connection |date=18 July 2019 |access-date=1 December 2019 |archive-date=6 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106175429/http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2019/07/18/huge-roman-inscription-of-dionysus-cult-secret-society-after-251-goth-invasion-found-in-early-christian-great-basilica-in-bulgarias-plovdiv/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In August 2024, archaeologists from the Regional Archaeological Museum announced the discovery of a well-preserved Thracian temple dated to the third century BCE. The 10-metre-long temple is made of dry joints and clay-sand mortar and has two rooms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Archaeologists Discover 3rd Century BC Thracian Temple in Plovdiv |url=https://www.bta.bg/en/news/culture/729806-archaeologists-discover-3rd-century-bc-thracian-temple-in-plovdiv |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=www.bta.bg |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=staff |first=The Sofia Globe |date=2024-08-22 |title=Archaeology: Third century BCE Thracian temple found fully preserved in Bulgaria's Plovdiv |url=https://sofiaglobe.com/2024/08/22/archaeology-third-century-bce-thracian-temple-found-fully-preserved-in-bulgarias-plovdiv/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=The Sofia Globe |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Monument of Khan Krum in Plovdiv.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Monument of [[Krum of Bulgaria|Krum]] in Plovdiv, who was the first Bulgarian ruler to capture Plovdiv.]]
The [[Slavic peoples|Slavs]] had fully settled in the area by the middle of the 6th century. This was done peacefully as there are no records for their attacks.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dimitrov |first=B. |title=The Bulgarians – the first Europeans |publisher=University press "St Climent of Ohrid" |location=Sofia |page=25 |language=bg |isbn=954-07-1757-4 |year=2002 }}</ref> With the establishment of [[Bulgaria]] in 681, Philippoupolis, the name of the city then, became an important border fortress of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. It was captured by Khan [[Krum of Bulgaria|Krum]] in 812, but the region was fully incorporated into the [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian Empire]] in 834 during the reign of Khan [[Malamir of Bulgaria|Malamir]].<ref>Аndreev, J. ''The Bulgarian Khans and Tsars'' (''Balgarskite hanove i tsare'', ''Българските ханове и царе''), Veliko Tarnovo, 1996, p. 66 {{ISBN|954-427-216-X}}.</ref> It was reconquered by the [[Byzantine Empire]] in 855–856 for a short time until it was returned to [[Boris I of Bulgaria]].<ref>Gjuzelev, p. 130 (Gjuzelev, V., (1988) Medieval Bulgaria, Byzantine Empire, Black Sea, Venice, Genoa (Centre Culturel du Monde Byzantin). Published by Verlag Baier).</ref><ref>Bulgarian Historical Review, p. 9 (Bulgarian Historical Review (2005), United Center for Research and Training in History, published by Publishing House of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, v.33:no.1–4).</ref> From Philippopolis, the influence of [[Dualistic cosmology|dualistic]] doctrines spread to Bulgaria forming the basis of the [[Bogomil]] heresy. The city remained in Bulgarian hands until 970.<ref>Делев, "Българската държава и общество при управлението на цар Петър", ''История и цивилизация за 11. клас'', 2006.</ref> However, the city is described at the time of [[Constantine VII]] in the 10th century as being within the Byzantine province ([[theme (Byzantine district)|theme]] of [[Macedonia (theme)|Macedonia]]).{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} Philippopolis was captured by the Byzantines in 969, shortly before it was sacked by the ruler of [[Kievan Rus'|Rus']] [[Sviatoslav I of Kiev]] who impaled 20,000 citizens.<ref>Fine, pp. 160–161, 186: John V. A. Fine Jr., The Early Medieval Balkans, Ann Arbor, 1983.</ref> Before and after the Rus' massacre, the city was settled by [[Paulician]] heretics transported from Syria and Armenia to serve as military settlers on the European frontier with Bulgaria. Aime de Varennes in 1180 encountered the singing of Byzantine songs in the city that recounted the deeds of Alexander the Great and his predecessors over 1300 years before.<ref>Vacalopoulos, Apostolos E. ''Origins of the Greek Nation''. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: [[Rutgers University Press]], 1970) p. 22.</ref>

Byzantine rule was interrupted by the [[Third Crusade]] (1189–1192) when the army of the [[Holy Roman Empire|Holy Roman]] emperor [[Frederick Barbarossa]] conquered Philippopolis. [[Ivanko (boyar)|Ivanko]] was appointed as the governor of the Byzantine Theme of Philippopolis in 1196, but between 1198 and 1200 separated it from Byzantium in a union with [[Second Bulgarian Empire|Bulgaria]].{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} The [[Latin Empire]] conquered Philippopolis in 1204, and there were two short interregnum periods as the city was twice occupied by [[Kaloyan of Bulgaria]] before his death in 1207.<ref name=pldv>[https://archive.today/20120804175444/http://www.focus-news.net/?id=n819663 Агенция Фокус – Цар Калоян получава корона, скиптър и знаме от кардинал Лъв], посетен на 17 ноември 2007 г.</ref> In 1208, Kaloyan's successor [[Boril of Bulgaria|Boril]] was defeated by the Latins in the [[Battle of Philippopolis (1208)|Battle of Philippopolis]].<ref>Аndreev, J. ''The Bulgarian Khans and Tsars'' (''Balgarskite hanove i tsare'', ''Българските ханове и царе''), Veliko Tarnovo, 1996, p. 180 {{ISBN|954-427-216-X}}.</ref> Under Latin rule, Philippopolis was the capital of the [[Duchy of Philippopolis]], which was governed by [[Renier de Trit]] and later on by Gerard de Strem. The city was possibly at times a vassal of Bulgaria or [[Republic of Venice|Venice]]. [[Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria|Ivan Asen II]] conquered the duchy finally in 1230 but the city had possibly been conquered earlier.<ref>{{cite book |first=John V. A. |last=Fine |title=The Late Medieval Balkans |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-472-08260-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hh0Bu8C66TsC |page=125 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |access-date=13 December 2015 |archive-date=30 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330024852/https://books.google.com/books?id=Hh0Bu8C66TsC |url-status=live }}</ref> Afterwards, Philippopolis was conquered by Byzantium. According to some information, by 1300 Philippopolis was a possession of [[Theodore Svetoslav]] of Bulgaria. It was conquered from Byzantium by [[George II of Bulgaria|George Terter II]] of Bulgaria in 1322.<ref>Аndreev, J. ''The Bulgarian Khans and Tsars'' (''Balgarskite hanove i tsare'', ''Българските ханове и царе''), Veliko Tarnovo, 1996, p. 253 {{ISBN|954-427-216-X}}.</ref> [[Andronikos III Palaiologos]] unsuccessfully besieged the city, but a treaty restored Byzantine rule once again in 1323. In 1344 the city and eight other cities were surrendered to Bulgaria by the regency for [[John V Palaiologos]] as the price for [[Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria]]'s support in the [[Byzantine civil war of 1341–47]].<ref>Аndreev, J. ''The Bulgarian Khans and Tsars'' (''Balgarskite hanove i tsare'', ''Българските ханове и царе''), Veliko Tarnovo, 1996, p. 272 {{ISBN|954-427-216-X}}.</ref>

===Ottoman rule===
In 1364 the [[Ottoman Turks]] under [[Lala Shahin Pasha]] seized Plovdiv.<ref>Аndreev, J. ''The Bulgarian Khans and Tsars'' (''Balgarskite hanove i tsare'', ''Българските ханове и царе''), Veliko Tarnovo, 1996, p. 274 {{ISBN|954-427-216-X}}.</ref><ref name="pat">{{Cite book |title=Пътеводител България |publisher=ТАНГРА ТанНакРа ИК |location=София |page=139 |language=bg |isbn=954-9942-32-5 |year=2002 |author=Evgeni Dinchev |display-authors=etal}}</ref> According to other data, Plovdiv was not an Ottoman possession until the [[Battle of Maritsa]] in 1371, after which, the citizens and the Bulgarian army fled leaving the city without resistance. Refugees settled in [[Asenovgrad|Stanimaka]]. During the [[Ottoman Interregnum]] in 1410, [[Musa Çelebi]] conquered the city killing and displacing inhabitants.<ref name="egeweb2.ege.edu.tr">{{cite web|url=http://www.egeweb2.ege.edu.tr/tid/dosyalar/XXII-2_2007/TIDXXII-2_2007-04.pdf |title=1695 Tarihli Mufassal Avâriz Defterine Gore Filibe Kazâsinda Nüfus Ve Yerleşme Duzeni |website=Ege Üniversite |access-date=26 August 2017|archive-date=16 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316144332/http://egeweb2.ege.edu.tr/tid/dosyalar/XXII-2_2007/TIDXXII-2_2007-04.pdf |language=tr}}</ref> The city was the centre of the [[Rumelia Eyalet]] from 1364 until 1443, when it was replaced by [[Sofia]] as the capital of [[Rumelia]]. Plovdiv served as a sanjak centre within Rumelia between 1443 and 1593, the sanjak centre in [[Silistra Eyalet]] between 1593 and 1826, the sanjak centre in [[Eyalet of Adrianople]] between 1826 and 1867, and the sanjak centre of [[Edirne Vilayet]] between 1867 and 1878. During that period, Plovdiv was one of the major economic centers in the Balkans, along with [[Istanbul]] ([[Constantinople]]), [[Edirne]], [[Thessaloniki]], and Sofia. The richer citizens constructed beautiful houses, many of which can still be seen in the architectural reserve of Old Plovdiv. From the early 15th century till the end of 17th century the city was predominantly inhabited by Muslims.<ref>{{citation |author=Grigor Boykov |title=Demographic features of Ottoman Upper Thrace: A case study on Filibe, Tatar Pazarcık and İstanimaka (1472–1614) |publisher=Department of History, Bilkent University, Ankara |date=September 2004 |url=http://www.thesis.bilkent.edu.tr/0002749.pdf |access-date=8 May 2019 |archive-date=8 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808235201/http://www.thesis.bilkent.edu.tr/0002749.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

====National revival====
{{Main|Bulgarian National Revival}}
[[File:St. Bogoroditza plovdiv.jpg|200px|thumb|right|The [[Church of the Holy Mother of God, Plovdiv|Virgin Mary Church]].]]
Under the rule of the [[Ottoman Empire]], Filibe (as the city was known at that time) was a focal point for the Bulgarian national movement and survived as one of the major cultural centers for Bulgarian culture and tradition.

Filibe was described as consisting of Turks, Bulgarians, Hellenized Bulgarians, Armenians, Jews, Vlachs, Arvanites, Greeks, and Roma people. In the 16–17 century a significant number of [[Sephardic Jews]] settled along with a smaller Armenian community from [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]]. The [[Paulician]]s adopted Catholicism or lost their identity. The abolition of [[Old Church Slavonic|Slavonic]] as the language of the [[Archbishop of Ohrid|Bulgarian Church]] as well as the complete abolition of the church in 1767 and the introduction of the [[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|Millet System]] led to ethnic division among people of different religions. Christian and Muslim Bulgarians were subjected to [[Hellenization]] and [[Turkification]] respectively. A major part of the inhabitants was fully or partly Hellenized due to the Greek patriarchate. The "Langeris" are described as Greeks from the area of the nearby [[Asenovgrad|Stenimachos]]. The process of Hellenization flourished until the 1830s but declined with the [[Tanzimat]] as the idea of the [[Kingdom of Greece (Wittelsbach)|Hellenic nation]] of Christians grew and was associated with ethnic Greeks.

The re-establishment of the Bulgarian Church in 1870 was a sign of ethnic and national consciousness. Thus, although there is a little doubt about the Bulgarian origin of the Gulidas, the city could be considered of Greek or Bulgarian majority in the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book|last=Detrez|first=Raymon|title=Relations between Greeks and Bulgarians: The Gudilas of Plovid|year=2003|publisher=Ashgate|location=Aldershot, England|isbn=978-0-7546-0998-8|page=34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s1VpAAAAMAAJ&q=stanimaka|quote=deciding whether Plovdiv had a Bulgarian or a Greek majority depends on whether the Gudilas are considered as Bulgarians or Greeks|access-date=19 October 2020|archive-date=29 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529150559/https://books.google.com/books?id=s1VpAAAAMAAJ&q=stanimaka|url-status=live}}</ref> Raymond Detrez has suggested that when the Gudilas and Langeris claimed to be Greek it was more in the sense of "[[Byzantine Greels|Romei]] than Ellines, in a cultural rather than an ethnic sense".<ref name="balkanologie">[http://balkanologie.revues.org/2342 Graecomans] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160219171700/http://balkanologie.revues.org/2342 |date=19 February 2016 }}</ref> According to the statistics by the Bulgarian and Greek authors, there were no Turks in the city; according to an alternative estimate the city was of Turkish majority.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Roth|editor-first1=Ralf|editor-last2=Beachy|editor-first2=Robert|title=Who ran the cities?: city elites and urban power structures in Europe and North America, 1750–1940|date=2007|publisher=Ashgate|location=Aldershot [u.a.]|isbn=978-0-7546-5153-6|pages=189–190|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQzGUZasbQkC&q=plovdiv+muslim+majority&pg=PA189|access-date=19 October 2020|archive-date=29 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529150559/https://books.google.com/books?id=UQzGUZasbQkC&q=plovdiv+muslim+majority&pg=PA189|url-status=live}}</ref>

Filibe had an important role in the struggle for Church independence which was, according to some historians, a peaceful bourgeois revolution. Filibe became the center of that struggle with leaders such as [[Nayden Gerov]], Dr Valkovich, [[Joakim Gruev]], and whole families. In 1836 the first Bulgarian school was inaugurated, and in 1850, modern secular education began when the "St Cyrill and Methodius" school was opened. On 11 May 1858, the day of [[Saints Cyril and Methodius]] was celebrated for the first time; this later became a National holiday which is still celebrated today (but on 24 May due to Bulgaria's 1916 transition from the [[Old Style]] ([[Julian calendar|Julian]]) to the [[Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe|New Style]] ([[Gregorian calendar|Gregorian]]) calendar). In 1858 in the [[Church of the Holy Mother of God, Plovdiv|Church of Virgin Mary]], the Christmas liturgy was served for the first time in the [[Bulgarian language]] since the beginning of the Ottoman occupation. Until 1906 there were Bulgarian and Greek bishops in the city. In 1868 the school expanded into the first grammar school. Some of the intellectuals, politicians, and spiritual leaders of the nation graduated that school.<ref name="pld"/>

The city was conquered by the Russians under [[Aleksandr Burago]] for several hours during the [[Battle of Philippopolis (1878)|Battle of Philippopolis]] on 17 January 1878.<ref name="pat"/> It was the capital of the [[Provisional Russian Administration in Bulgaria]] between May and October. According to the Russian census of the same year, Filibe had a population of 24,000 citizens, of which ethnic [[Bulgarians]] comprised 45.4%, [[Turkish people|Turks]] 23.1% and [[Greeks]] 19.9%.

===Eastern Rumelia===
{{Main|Bulgarian unification}}
[[File:Plovdiv 1885 the graphic 3.jpg|thumb|left|Nebet Tepe, drawing from The Graphic – London, 1885]]
[[File:Plovdiv 1885 the graphic 1.jpg|thumb|right|Taat tepe, in Plovdiv, with the governor's palace and Maritsa river in the foreground. Drawing from The Graphic – London, 1885]]
According to the [[Treaty of San Stefano]] on 3 March 1878, the Principality of Bulgaria included the lands with predominantly Bulgarian population. Plovdiv which was the biggest and most vibrant Bulgarian city was selected as a capital of the restored country and for a seat of the Temporary Russian Government.<ref name="ocertsi">Очерци из историята на Пловдив (стр. 80 – Космополитен град. Махали и квартали в ново време)</ref> Great Britain and [[Austria-Hungary]], however, did not approve that treaty and the final result of the war was concluded in the [[Congress of Berlin]] which divided the newly liberated country into several parts. It separated the autonomous region of [[Eastern Rumelia]] from Bulgaria, and Plovdiv became its capital. The Ottoman Empire created a constitution and appointed a governor.<ref>[http://www.mfa.bg/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7915&Itemid=367 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, History and Geography]  [https://web.archive.org/web/20060220095752/http://www.omg.org/images/homepage/omg_banner3.gif Archived copy] at [[WebCite]] (20 April 2006).</ref>

In the spring of 1885, [[Zahari Stoyanov]] formed the Secret Bulgarian Central Revolutionary Committee in the city which actively conducted propaganda for the unification of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. On 5 September, several hundred armed rebels from Golyamo Konare (now [[Saedinenie, Plovdiv Province|Saedinenie]]) marched to Plovdiv. In the night of 5–6 September, these men, led by Danail Nikolaev, took control of the city and removed from office the General-Governor [[Gavril Krastevich]]. A provisional government was formed led by [[Georgi Stranski]], and universal mobilization was announced.<ref>Аndreev, J. ''The Bulgarian Khans and Tsars'' (''Balgarskite hanove i tsare'', ''Българските ханове и царе''), Veliko Tarnovo, 1996, p. 322 {{ISBN|954-427-216-X}}.</ref> After the Serbs were defeated in the [[Serbo-Bulgarian War]], Bulgaria and Turkey reached an agreement that the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia had a common government, Parliament, administration, and army. Today, 6 September is celebrated as the Unification Day and the Day of Plovdiv.

===Recent history===
After the unification, Plovdiv remained the second most populous city in Bulgaria after the capital [[Sofia]]. The first railway in the city was built in 1874 connecting it with the Ottoman capital, and in 1888, it was linked with Sofia. In 1892 Plovdiv became the host of the First Bulgarian Fair with international participation which was succeeded by the [[International Fair Plovdiv]]. After the liberation, the first brewery was inaugurated in the city.

The noteworthy English travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor visited Plovdiv in the late summer of 1934 and he was charmed by the town and a local woman named Nadjeda.<ref>Patrick Leigh Fermor, The Broken Road: From the Iron Gates to Mouth Athos (London: John Murray, 2013), pp. 15ff.</ref>

In the beginning of the 20th century, Plovdiv grew as a significant industrial and commercial center with well-developed light and food industry. In 1927 the electrification of Plovdiv has started. German, French, and [[Belgium|Belgian]] capital was invested in the city in the development of modern trade, banking, and industry. In 1939, there were 16,000 craftsmen and 17,000 workers in manufacturing factories, mainly for food and tobacco processing.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} During the Second World War, the tobacco industry expanded as well as the export of fruit and vegetables. In 1943, 1,500 Jews were saved from deportation in [[concentration camp]]s by the archbishop of Plovdiv, [[Patriarch Cyril of Bulgaria|Cyril]], who later became the Bulgarian Patriarch. In 1944, the city was bombed by the British-American coalition.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Tobacco Depot workers [[Plovdiv tobacco workers' strike|went on strike on 4 May 1953]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=КОНЕЦ ЕВРОПЕЙСКОГО ЛАГЕРЯ.НРБ: ТРУДНЫЙ РАЗЖИМ |url=https://solidarizm.ru/txt/trura.shtml |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=solidarizm.ru |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nick Heath |url=https://archive.org/details/afterthedeathofstalin/page/n1/mode/2up |title=After the Death of Stalin: The First Revolt- The Plovdiv Tobacco Workers' Strike, May 1953}}</ref>

On 6 April 1956, the first trolleybus line was opened and in the 1950s the Trimontsium Hotel was constructed. In the 1960s and 1970s, there was a construction boom and many of the modern neighborhoods took shape. In the 1970s and 1980s, antique remains were excavated and the Old Town was fully restored. In 1990 the sports complex "Plovdiv" was finished. It included the largest stadium and rowing canal in the country. In that period, Plovdiv became the birthplace of Bulgaria's movement for democratic reform, which by 1989 had garnered enough support to enter government.

Plovdiv has hosted specialized exhibitions of the [[World's Fair]] in 1981, 1985, and 1991.

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