From a Byzantine Fortress to an Ottoman City: The History of Dimetoka from its Conquest to the Late XVthCentury

Abstract

Dimetoka (Didymoteichon), besieged and conquered during the Ottoman incursions into the Middle Maritsa Valley, is a strategically important town. This garrison city, with a few neighborhoods within the fortress, underwent rapid urban growth under Ottoman rule with the establishment of new residential areas outside the original settlement. While it became increasingly Muslim with the construction of mosques and madrasa (Islamic schools), it also served as an urban center for the surrounding countryside. Until the rise of Edirne as the new capital, Dimetoka preserved its strategic importance and war efforts as new conquests in the Balkans were coordinated from the palace in the same city. The purpose of this study is to analyze the changing profile of the city under Ottoman rule based on the Tahrir Registers and some other archival material.