BULGARIAN HISTORY

The road of the Bulgarians � it was a very long one. Starting from the east where, neighbouring

China, centuries before Christ was born, our ancestors � the Proto-Bulgarians � used to live. They

were mobile, raising thousands of cattle, famous as prominent warriors. Along their route they

settled states of their own, reaching the Black Sea where on its east coast they founded Great

Bulgaria.

The Byzantium Empire was the neighbour of Great Bulgaria and it entered into a contract with the

Proto-Bulgarian Khan Koubrat. After his death Bulgaria was conquered by the Hazars.

The fourth son of Khan Koubrat � Khan Asparuh � together with part of the Proto-Bulgarians set

off through the endless plain to the South-west, reaching the Danube River where a large number of

Slav tribes were living.

In 681, after a severe battle with Byzantium, Khan Asparouh founded the country of Bulgaria. It is

one of the first countries in Europe, the only one that preserved its location and name to this day,

and the only one established by two different ethnic peoples � Slavs and Proto-Bulgarians. Its first

capital became Pliska, where the khans built a strong fortress. In 700-701 Khan Asparouh got

killed during a battle with the Hazars.

Byzantium however was not reconciled with the loss of its fertile territories and in the course of

almost 400 years it often went to war with Bulgaria.

The next Bulgarian rulers were powerful and strong; they consolidated the new country and

expanded its borders.

In 717-718 the Arabs attacked Constantinople but in 718 the Bulgarian army led by Khan Tervel

defeated them. The victory of Khan Tervel stopped the Arabic invasion of Europe through the

Balkan Peninsula and won recognition and respect as a great Bulgarian ruler. Numerous ballads and

plays, glorifying him as a winner, were written about him.

During the reign of Khan Kroum (803-814) Bulgaria became one of the three most powerful

countries in Europe, along with Byzantium and the Frank Empire. Khan Kroum captured and killed

the Byzantium Emperor Nikiphor II Gennik, made a golden goblet of his skull and drank a toast for

his renowned victory. Khan Kroum was the first Bulgarian lawgiver.

Royal Prince Boris I adopted Christianity for official religion in Bulgaria in 864. The Bulgarians

became converted to Christianity on the east-Orthodox model. He was the first Bulgarian saint.

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During the reign of his son, Tzar Simeon I the Great (893-927) Bulgaria bordered on three seas �

the White, Black and Adriatic. Simeon was not only a prominent military commander but he was an

outstanding man of letters. His reign was the Golden Age for the Bulgarian literature and culture.

Simeon entitled himself as a �Tzar of Bulgarians and Greeks� which was indicative for the political

power of the Bulgarian country. The title of Tzar is the Slavonic transcribing of the title Ceasar�

emperor.

During the beginning of XI c. A.D. Bulgarian country became weaker and in 1014 the Byzantium

Emperor Vassilius II, called the Bulgarslayer, disastrously defeated the Bulgarian army led by Tzar

Samuil. He ordered that 14 000 captured Bulgarian soldiers should be blinded and one soldier in

100 should be left with one eye to lead them. When seeing them in such a lamentable condition,

Tzar Samuil had a heart attack and passed away. Bulgaria was conquered by Byzantium for a period

of 180 years.

In 1185, after an uprising, the Bulgarian country was revived by the brothers Assen and Peter.

Tarnovo became the capital of the revived country.

After the death of Assen and Petar, their youngest brother � Kaloyan (1197-1207) ascended the

throne. He defeated the knights-crusaders and captured their leader � the Latin Emperor Baldwin of

Flanders. He was brought to Tarnovo and locked in a tower in the fortress. The tower was called

Balduinova and is preserved to this day.

Another great Bulgarian Tzar was Ivan-Assen II. With his wise deeds, a series of contracts and

victorious wars against Byzantium he restored the might of Bulgaria and the country bordered on

three seas again.

Bulgarians are proud of their history - Bulgaria was powerful and mighty - a country of paramount

importance in Europe.

Unfortunately at the end of XIV c. Bulgaria was defeated by the Osman Turks. For five centuries

Bulgarians lived under the Turkish dominion. They were deprived of the right to occupy any state

or military positions. They were paying heavy taxes and were building fortresses, roads, mosques

and palaces for nothing. The Sultan had forbidden the Bulgarians to build big churches and to

celebrate openly their Christian holidays. They were forbidden to wear bright clothes and to ride

horses. That was the most difficult period in our history.

During the period of Turkish slavery Bulgarians there were a great number of revolts against the

Ottoman empire. The greatest of them all was the April Uprising of 1876. The Turkish army was

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sent against the rebels, a horrible slaughter began, not only against the rebels, but also against the

peaceful Bulgarians. Villages like Batak, for example, still keep the memory of the bloody revenge

in 1876.

The suppression of the uprising raised the indignation of the world community. A great number of

intellectuals like Victor Hugo, Lev Tolstoy, Guiseppe Garibaldi, Charles Darwin, Dostoevsky,

Mendeleev expressed their indignation of the massacres and compassion to the Bulgarian nation.

For the first time in their new history Bulgarians attracted the attention of the whole world.

The April Uprising provoked the Russian emperor Alexander II in 1877 to declare war on Turkey

which led to the liberation of Bulgaria and the establishment of the new Bulgarian country.

Bulgarians call the Russian emperor Tzar Liberator. A treaty of peace setting the beginning of the

new country was signed on 3rd March 1878. That is the national holiday of Bulgaria.

The new Bulgarian country developed democratically. It was a parliamentary monarchy. It made

wars with its neighbor countries � Greece, Turkey, Serbia and Romania � for its establishment. It

participated in both World Wars on the side of Germany. A communist take-over was committed

after the Soviet Troops� invasion of Bulgaria in 1944.The new government started a war against

fascist Germany.

On 15th September 1946 the country was proclaimed to be a People�s Republic. The communist

party took the power and imposed totalitarian domination. By the beginning of the 1950s Stalin

model of socialism was compelled in the country. After Stalin�s death fictitious changes occurred.

In 1962 Todor Zhivkov was elected Prime Minister and he imposed his monocracy until 10th

November 1989 when totalitarianism was brought to an end.

After 10th November 1989 Bulgaria started to develop as a democratic country, a new democratic

constitution was accepted, according to which the country is a parliamentary republic. Democratic

elections were conducted. Bulgaria became a member of NATO and since 1st January 2007 it has

been a member of the European Union.