The Ottoman Domination

• Sofia-Grad

Sofia was conquered by the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Murad I in 1382 and saw the 1443 crusade of John Hunyadi and Władysław III of Varna in a desperate effort to drive out the Ottomans, for the participation of which many citizens of Sofia were persecuted, particularly those from the elite classes. Muslims first appeared in the still predominantly Bulgarian town during the time, as Sofia rose to become in 1444 the capital of Rumelian beylerbeylik, spanning most of the Ottoman possessions in Europe, remaining the centre of the region until the 18th century.

Many Ottoman buildings emerged during the period, of which few are preserved until today, including only a single mosque, Banya Bashi. The tax registers of the 16th century witness a significant rise in the Muslim population at the expense of Bulgarians, with 915 Muslim and 317 Christian households in 1524–1525 C.E., 1325 Muslim, 173 Christian and 88 Jewish in 1544–1545 C.E., 892 Muslim, 386 Christian, 126 Jewish and 49 Roma in 1570–1571 C.E., as well as 1017 Muslim, 257 Christian, 127 Jewish and 38 Roma households in 1573 C.E. The Ottoman rule saw a major demographic growth, as the city grew from a total population of 6,000 (1620s) through 55,000 (middle 17th century) to 70-80,000 (18th century data from foreign travellers, albeit possibly exaggerated).

During the 16th century, Sofia was a thriving trade centre inhabited by Turks, Bulgarians, Romaniote, Ashkenazi, and Sephardic Jews, Armenians, Greeks and Ragusan merchants. In the 17th century, the city's population included even Albanians and Persians.

In 1610 C.E. the Vatican established the Bishopric of Sofia for Ottoman subjects belonging to tho the Catholic millet in Rumelia, which existed until 1715 C.E. when most Catholics had emigrated to Habsburg or Tsarist territories.