In the 14th century, the nascent Ottoman Empire were a rising power in the Near East. After subduing much of Anatolia, with the capture of Gallipoli in 1354, Ottoman Turks also acquired a foothold in the Balkans. The Christian powers of the region, notably the declining Byzantine Empire, were weak and divided, allowing a rapid Turkish expansion across the region, conducted both by the Ottomans themselves and by semi-independent Turkish "ghazi" warrior-bands. In 1369 the Ottomans were able to capture Adrianople, the third-most important city of the Byzantine Empire after its capital Constantinople and Thessalonica. Thessalonica, ruled by the Byzantine prince and future emperor Manuel II Palaiologos (), itself surrendered in 1387 after a lengthy siege (1383–1387), along with the cities of Christopolis and Chrysopolis.