History of Strumica

1208-1214). But the Byzantines eventually put an end to the existence of their independent lordships. The end of the 13th century marks the beginning of Serbian attacks on Macedonia. For a certain period of time, Hrelja would rule with Strumica and the nearby region, until 1334, when the Serbian king Stefan Dushan took over the city. After the fall of Dushan’s kingdom, the Strumica region was first ruled by Uglesha, the brother of Volkashin. After his death in 1371, in the battle of the Maritsa River, the Dejanovici brothers took over this region. Their rule was short-lived because of the Turkish invasion of the Balkans when the Turks also conquered Strumica in 1382-1383. This marked the end of the Middle Ages in the region.

The Ottoman Period

Throughout the Ottoman period, the Turkish administration used the name Üstrümce for Strumica. The city was added to the Kyustendil sanjak, and the timar-spahi system was established. Nomads and livestock breeders of Turkish origin were settled, which altered the general look of the city making it more oriental. According to the census of 1519, Strumica had a population of 2,780, of which 1,450 were Christians and 1,330 were Muslims. These were times when conversion to Islam was at its peak in the region, which accounts for the increased number of Muslims (2,200) compared to Christians (1,230) according