Pazardzhik (Bulgarian: Пазарджик [ˈpazɐrd͡ʒik]) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is the capital of Pazardzhik Province and centre for the homonymous Pazardzhik Municipality. The Tatars founded Pazardzhik in the end of the XIV century, which they named it Tatar-Pazardzhik. The population was muslim, but it would provoke an interest to christians, which would allow the first church in the small town in the XVII century. The economy grew over the centuries with the prosper trading of iron, leather and rice. During the 19th century, a brief siege was made during the Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812) and the Russians in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) moved out the Ottomans from the area. There was a massacre in Batak, a small town near Pazardzhik. Even though undefended, it was spared from massacres, because the Armenian Ovanes Sovadzhiyan, a Ottoman command, didn't execute his plan to burn down the town. In the 20th century, the town grew by a lot. It is located in the Upper Thracian Plain and in the , a subregion of the plains. It is west of Plovdiv, about 37 kilometres, 112 kilometres southeastern of Sofia and 288 kilometres from Burgas. Located in the Upper Thracian Plain, due to relatively flat and fertile lands, vegetation is also a big part of the economy of Pazardzhik. Industry is also important, as an industrial zone is located at right bank of the river Maritsa. The population is around 65,671, as it has been growing around from the end of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century. The city reached its highest milestone, exceeding 80,000. After the Fall of Communism and the occurrence of emigration in Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria was affected by this cause. This allowed for Pazardzhiklians to move out of their homeland due to poor economic performance in many oblasts or okrugs by that time.