# Ottoman capture of Sofia (c. 1382)

URL: https://allhistories.com/bulgaria/timeline/1382-ottoman-capture-of-sofia
Location: Sofia
Themes: Wars & Battles

In 1382, or according to other historians in 1385, the Ottoman commander Lala Şahin Pasha captured Sredets (Sofia) after a siege of about three months. The city was Ivan Shishman's last stronghold south of the Balkan Mountains. Despite the vassal treaty of 1373, Ottoman raids had resumed in the early 1380s. Sredets was then an important spiritual and literary centre, surrounded by a cluster of monasteries that were later destroyed. The Ottoman commander praised the strength of its garrison. In 1388 an Ottoman army under Çandarlı Ali Pasha crossed the Balkan Mountains and took Shumen and other fortresses in north-eastern Bulgaria, forcing Ivan Shishman to submit again.

## Why it matters
The fall of Sofia exposed the heart of the Tarnovo tsardom and marked the beginning of almost five centuries of Ottoman rule over the city.

Ruler at the Time: [Ivan Shishman](https://allhistories.com/bulgaria/rulers/ivan-shishman)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Sofia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia)
- [Wikipedia — Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Shishman_of_Bulgaria)
- [Wikipedia — Bulgarian–Ottoman wars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian–Ottoman_wars)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Ottoman capture of Sofia](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Ottoman+capture+of+Sofia)
- [Wikipedia — Second Bulgarian Empire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Bulgarian_Empire)
- [Wikipedia — Timeline of Bulgarian history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Bulgarian_history)