but he quickly clashed with Matthew Kantakouzenos, and only after another round of warfare in 1352–57 did the city finally come into Palaiologan hands. The Battle of Demotika, the Ottomans' first victory in Europe, was fought before the city in 1352 during the civil war. The city was the birthplace of emperors John III Doukas Vatatzes (born c. 1193) and John V Palaiologos (born 18 June 1332). Ottoman era The city—known as Dimetoka or Demotika under Ottoman rule—was captured by the Ottomans in 1359 and again, this time permanently (probably by the commander Hadji Ilbeg), in 1361. Reportedly, the Serbian ruler Jovan Uglješa besieged the city sometime after. In 1373, following a failed joint revolt against their fathers, the Ottoman prince Savcı Bey and the Byzantine prince Andronikos IV Palaiologos fled to the city, which was then conquered by Savcı's father, Murad I (). Murad made the city his residence, at least until 1377. It nevertheless remained a "favourite resort of early Ottoman rulers" due to its rich hunting grounds even after the capital moved to Adrianople and Constantinople. As such the city was rebuilt, with the Byzantine walls repaired and a royal palace constructed, and beautified, an effect still evident in 1443, when the French traveller Bertrandon de la Broquiere visited it. Sultan Bayezid II () was born there and was on his way there to retire after abdicating in favour of his son, Selim I (), when he died (probably of poison). The Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi visited the town in 1670. The town was the seat of a kadi and administrative centre of the local district (nahiye). Evliya also provides a description of the fortress. The upper fortress, where the disused royal palace was located, measured some 2,500 paces in circumference, with double stone walls and "a hundred" towers; the sole Muslim living there was the commander, the rest of it, some 100 households, being inhabited solely by non-Muslims. The citadel within it (Iç Kale) was arranged on two levels, one of which was known as the "Maiden's Castle" (Kız Kalesı). The outer town (Varoş) counted 600 multi-storey houses and was divided into 12 wards (mahalle). There were several mosques and mesjits, of which the Bayezid Mosque was the most important, as well as four madrasahs, one of which was established by Sultan Bayezid I. From Evliya's references, the area of Didymoteicho appears to have been a