Byzantine hands until it was re-conquered by George Terter II of Bulgaria in 1322. Byzantine rule was restored once again in 1323, but 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.
Ottoman Rule
In 1364, the Ottoman Turks under Lala Shakhin Pasha seized Plovdiv. The Turks called the city Filibe. It was the capital of Rumelia until 1382 when the Ottomans captured Sofia which became the main city of the province. Plovdiv survived as one of the major cultural centers for Bulgarian culture and tradition. The name Plovdiv first appeared around that time and is derived from the city's Thracian name Pulpudeva (assumed to be a translation of Philippopolis, from Pulpu = Philippou and deva = city), which was rendered by the Slavs first as P?ldin or Pl?vdin.
National revival
Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Plovdiv was a focal point for the Bulgarian national movement in the Eastern Rumelia province of the Empire. During that period Plovdiv was a major economic center along with Constantinople, Odrin and Solun. The richer citizens constructed beautiful houses many of which can still be seen in the Architectural reserve Old Plovdiv. Plovdiv was a sanjak centre of Rumelia Province between 1364�1864 and was the sanjak centre of Edirne Vilayet between 1864�1878 during Ottoman Rule.
Plovdiv had an important role in the struggle for Church independence which was according to some historians a peaceful bourgeois revolution. Plovdiv 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 Metodius" school was opened. On 11 May 1858 the day of Saints Cyril and Methodius was celebrated for the first time, this later
