On July 17, 1393, after a long siege, the troops of Sultan Bayezid I captured the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, Veliko Tarnovo.
The city was located on the hills of Tsarevets, Trapezitsa and Momina Krepost. Tsarevets and Trapezitsa, due to their natural features, are two inaccessible hills, and their additional fortification made it extremely difficult to take them by storm.
Between the two hills was located the New Town, which is today called Asenova Mahala. This quarter was also protected by fortress walls. It was divided by the Yantra River, and the bridge was probably also fortified, as during the period of Turkish slavery. On the hill "Momina Krepost" was located the third fortified quarter - Devingrad. The slopes between Tsarevets and Devingrad also represented a quarter of Tarnovo, but it was outside the city walls and the poorest part of the population lived there.
In the area between Tsarevets and the bend of the Yantra River was located the Latin quarter, called Frenkhisar during the period of Turkish slavery. North of Trapezitsa was also the unfortified Jewish quarter. According to tradition, Tarnovo consisted of 4 fortified quarters: the first was Trapezitsa and the Lower Mahala located under the hill, the second was Tsarevets, the third was Frenkhisar and the fourth covered the area around the present-day church "Uspenije Bogorodichno". The last quarter was the least fortified and was the first to be captured by the Turks. The breakthrough occurred in the area between the Cut Rock and Kayabasha.
The first Turk to penetrate the city was Adil Baba, but he was killed about 180-200 steps from the Cut Rock in the direction of Kayabasha. The place that was indicated as his grave was located at the Babukchiyskaya Chershia, where there was an iron window and a stone head, indicating the place where he was killed.
The repressions against the population of Tarnovo, described by Tsamblak and Yoasaf Bdinsky, and also in the Russian chronicles, show that Tarnovo had the fate of a city taken by force. The temples located in Tsarevets, Trapezitsa and around it were either converted into mosques or destroyed. After the fall of the city, negotiations with Bayezid were led by Patriarch Evtimii.
The head of the church managed to temporarily and partially alleviate the situation in the captured city. But the patriarch had to leave the patriarchal palace and temple and settled in the largest of the surviving churches - – “Saints Peter and Paul”. The city was subjected to destruction and plunder.
Ivan Shishman did not accept his new situation and sought the help of the Hungarian king Sigismund, who began to prepare a crusade against the Turks. The sultan took preventive measures and Tarnovo was hit by a new wave of repressions -– Patriarch Evtimii, after being brought out for public execution, although he was spared, was exiled to the Bachkovo Monastery, 110 Turnovo princes were killed, and part of the city's population was displaced.
The capture of Turnovo on July 17, 1393 dealt a crushing blow to the Second Bulgarian Kingdom.
Taking advantage of the situation in August 1394, the ambitious Patriarch of Constantinople Anthony appointed Metropolitan Jeremiah to govern the Turnovo diocese. Bayezid undertook a new campaign against the Nikopol vassal Mircho, which ended with a victory for the Turks in the Battle of the Argeș River. On his return on June 3, 1395. by order of the Sultan, Tsar Ivan Shishman was executed.
The following year, 1396, the Turks defeated the crusade organized for their expulsion, then captured Tsar Ivan Stratsimir and sent him to Bursa, and in 1413 they finally conquered the Bulgarian lands.