History of Plovdiv 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 was 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. 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
FC Maritsa Plovdiv which flows past Plovdiv. The club is particularly famous for its renowned youth program that has produced many Bulgarian talents over the years – Hristo Stoichkov, Dinko Dermendzhiev, Aleksandar Aleksandrov. Bulgarian national first-team players Georgi Georgiev, Kostadin Vidolov, Krassimir Chomakov, Valeri Domovchiyski, Yordan Todorov, Asen Nikolov had also came through the ranks at Maritsa. In 2016–17 Third League season Maritsa Plovdiv finished second in their regional division, but gained promotion, because the first ranked team – FC Zagorets declined the offer to participate in the Second Professional League. On 16 June 2017 the club signed a contract with Botev Plovdiv