6 Austrian regiments did not succeed in coordinating the Bulgarian units that did nothing to stop the Ottoman regroup. The decisive battle took place in October 1688 in the Zheravitsa country close to Kutlovitsa, where the insurrectionary forces were defeated by Ottoman troops and their Magyar allies. Although fighting went on, the uprising was quickly suppressed, with Chiprovtsi being captured on 18 October after a heroic defence and was completely destroyed together with the neighbouring villages of Kopilovtsi, Zhelezna and Klisura. Almost the entire population was killed or taken into slavery. The resistance continued in the following months as the remains of the insurrectionary force became bands of hajduks. Meanwhile, the Austrian troops beyond the Balkan Mountains did nothing and only captured Vidin in the autumn of 1689. Consequences The uprising and its suppression caused a great wave of emigration from northwestern Bulgaria, mostly to the Christian-dominated areas to the west and north. The main wave of refugees settled around the Danube close to Vidin and Lom, around Pirot, Sofia and Berkovitsa. The largest group of refugees fled to Wallachia where it broke up and was gradually assimilated, although certain parts formed the ethnic group of the Banat Bulgarians in the Banat together with heirs of Paulicians from around Nikopol and Svishtov that came in the end of the 17th century. The Chiprovtsi Uprising put an end to northwestern Bulgaria's status as a buffer zone between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg territories, with Catholic influence largely ceasing. The privileges of Bulgarian nobility and its authority in the region were eliminated and Chiprovtsi's importance as a cultural and economic centre considerably decreased. References Conflicts in 1688 Bulgarian rebellions Rebellions against the Ottoman Empire Ottoman period in the history of Bulgaria 17th century in Bulgaria 1688 in Europe 17th-century rebellions 1688 in the Ottoman Empire Chiprovtsi