History of Plovdiv Berlin which divided the newly liberated country into several parts. It separated the autonomous region of Eastern Rumelia from Bulgaria and Plovdiv became its capital. In three month the Ottoman Empire created an Organization Chart (Constitution) of the province and appointed a governor. At the time, it had a population of about 33,500, of which 45% were Bulgarians, 25% Greeks, 21% Turks, 6% Jews and 3% Armenians, a situation that changed rapidly in the following decades. In the spring of 1885 Zahari Stoyanov formed the Secret Bulgarian Central Revolutionary Committee in the city which actively conducted propaganda for the unification
Plovdiv in Silistra Eyalet between 1593 and 1826, the sanjak centre in Eyalet of Adrianople between 1826 and1867 and the sanjak centre of Edirne Vilayet between 1867 and 1878. During that period Plovdiv was a major economic center along with Constantinople, Edirne, and Thessaloniki. The richer citizens constructed beautiful houses many of which can still be seen in the Architectural reserve Old Plovdiv. Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Filibe (as the city was known at that time) was a focal point for the Bulgarian national movement and survived as one of the major cultural centers for Bulgarian culture and