Chișinău was founded in 1436 as a monastery town. The city was part of the Moldavian Principality, which, starting with the 16th century fell under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. At the beginning of the 19th century it was a small village of 7,000 people. In 1812 it was occupied by Russia, who made it the centre of Bessarabia. By 1862, there were 92,000 people. By 1900, there were 125,787.