History of the formation of the state of Bulgaria. Bulgarian Kingdom: history of origin

general information

Map of Bulgaria. Photo: www.gradovete.site-bg

Bulgaria is a country in Southeast Europe and is located in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. It borders the Black Sea to the east, Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north, and is divided by the Danube River. Total length state border is 2245 kilometers: 1181 kilometers land, 686 kilometers river and 378 kilometers sea. Area 110910 square kilometers.

The length of the Bulgarian road transport network is 36,720 kilometers, and the railway network is 4,300 kilometers.

Currency - Lev (BGN), time zone CET+1

According to the National Statistical Institute, in 2005 the population of Bulgaria numbered 7,720,000 people. This number includes most Bulgarian citizens permanently residing abroad. According to the 2001 census, 83.9 percent of the population are Bulgarians, the two largest minorities are Turks - 9.4% and Roma - 4.7%. The remaining 2% consists of several small minorities like Armenians, Russians, Romanians, Ukrainians, Greeks and Jews.

84.8% of the population speaks Bulgarian, and it is the official language.

The majority of Bulgarians are Orthodox Christians - 83.9%. 12.1% are Muslim, 1.7% are Catholic, 0.8% are Judaic, and the remaining 1.6% is split between Protestants and other faiths.

Bulgaria consists of those geographical parts - the ancient region of Moesia, parts of the regions of Macedonia and Thrace. The southwestern part of the country is mountainous, where the highest mountain peak on the Balkan Peninsula is located - Musala. Its height is 2925 meters above sea level. The Balkan Peninsula (or Balkans) mountain range extends from the mouth of the Timok River to Cape Emine, which divides the country into Northern and Southern Bulgaria. South-Eastern Bulgaria has hilly-flat terrain.

Large rivers are the Danube in the north, Struma and Maritsa in the south. The climate is temperate continental (from 2000 to 2400 hours of sunshine per year), with four seasons - cold and sometimes wet winters with snow and an average temperature of 0°C; hot and often wet spring; hot, dry summer with an average temperature of +23°C; warm and sunny autumn. The average annual temperature is +10.5°C.

Brief history of Bulgaria

Bulgarian Khan Kubrat. Photo: www.bulgariasega.com

Old Great Bulgaria is named by Byzantine authors. It was founded by Khan Kubrat in the Azov region as a military-tribal union of the Bulgarians and neighboring tribes. This happened in 632, after their liberation from the rule of the Turks. In 635, Khan Kubrat concluded a peace treaty with the Byzantine emperor Heraclius. Around 654, Great Bulgaria was divided into three parts.

The first Bulgarian kingdom. The current territory of Bulgaria has been inhabited since ancient historical times. This happened in the Stone and Copper-Stone Ages. In the Bronze Age, the Thracians settled here, first mentioned by Homer. They were doing agriculture and animal husbandry and left evidence of their rich culture. In the XI-VI centuries BC the first Thracian state associations, which flourished during the 7th-6th centuries BC. In the 1st century BC, their lands were conquered by the Roman Empire, and from the 5th century they were included in the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire - Byzantium. They were gradually assimilated by the Slavs, who settled in the Balkans in the 6th century.

Great Bulgarian Khan Asparukh. Photo: www.tourist.bourgas.ru

After the division of Old Great Bulgaria during the war with the Khazars, Khan Asparukh, the third son of Khan Kubrat, migrated west to the Danube. In the summer of 680, the Byzantine emperor Constantine IV Pogonatus began a campaign against the Proto-Bulgarians. Defeat of the Byzantines

The settlement of the Proto-Bulgarians on the Balkan Peninsula and the war in Thrace in 680 ended with the conclusion of a peace treaty in the summer of 681, and the first Bulgarian kingdom received international recognition. This fact recognizes Bulgaria as the oldest existing country in Europe.

Bulgarian Khan Tervel. Photo: www.vencijekov.blogspot.bg

Khan Asparukh determined the capital of the new state as the city of Pliska. Under the rule of Khan Tervel (700-718), Bulgaria expanded its territory and became the main political force of the time. During the reign of Khan Krum (802-814) and during the first half of the 9th century, the Franks from the north-west and Khan Krum from the east liquidated the Avar Khaganate. Bulgaria became one of the three most powerful countries on the continent and expanded from the Middle Danube or to the Tisza River, and in the east to the Dniester River (now Ukraine).

Bulgarian an Krum. Photo:www.mgpz.org

In the period 635-1018, a rich culture developed in Bulgaria. At the end of the 9th century, the brothers St. Cyril (St. Constantine the Philosopher) and St. Methodius created and spread the Cyrillic alphabet. Their disciples St. Clement (Ohrid - reference from a Russian translator) and St. Naum arrived in Bulgaria, where they were warmly welcomed and received good conditions for your work. They developed enormous educational and literary activities.

Photo:www.bogoslov.ru

From Bulgaria the Cyrillic alphabet spread to other Slavic countries, such as Serbia and Russia. The cities of Ohrid and Pliska, and then new capital the city of Veliki Preslav became centers of Bulgarian and Slavic cultures. In 864, under the leadership of St. Prince Boris I, the baptism of the Bulgarians took place.

St. Prince Boris-Mikhail. Baptist of the Bulgarians. Photo:www.slideshare.net

During the reign of Tsar Simeon I (893-927), the Bulgarian Patriarchate was created. Bulgaria became one of the most powerful countries in Europe, stretching across almost the entire Balkan Peninsula. The capital was moved from the city of Pliski to the city of Preslav. In 928, the heretical teaching of the priest Bogomil arose and spread, which influenced the teaching of the Cathars and Albigenses in Western Europe. Under Tsar Peter I and Tsar Boris II, the decline of Bulgaria began due to internal strife.

Tsar Simeon I the Great (864-927). Photo:http://www.ruhistor.ru

In 971, Byzantium conquered eastern Bulgaria, and the capital was successively moved to the cities of Sredets, Skopje, Prespa, Ohrid and Bitole. After a long struggle between the Bulgarian and Byzantine rulers, the country was conquered by the Byzantines in 1018 after the defeat of the troops of Tsar Samuil in 1014 and the death of Tsar Ivan Vladislav in 1018. Almost immediately, the struggle for liberation from Byzantine rule began. The first attempts were made by Tsar Peter II Delyan (1040-1041).

Second Bulgarian Kingdom (1186-1393). In 1186, an uprising led by the brothers Asen and Peter IV overthrew Byzantine rule. The Second Bulgarian Kingdom was founded, and the city of Veliko Tarnovo became its capital. After 1186, the Bulgarian state was initially ruled by Asen and then by Peter IV. In the 12th century, the Bulgarian state strengthened thanks to the military successes of Tsar Kaloyan (their younger brother) over the crusaders and captured the emperor of the Latin Empire, Baldwin.

Bulgarian kings of the 12th-20th centuries. Photo:www.krissja.livejournal.com

During the reign of Tsar Ivan Asen II (1218-1241), the Second Bulgarian Kingdom reached its apogee - political hegemony was established in South-Eastern Europe. Bulgaria expanded its borders to the Black, Aegean and Adriatic seas. The economy and culture developed. In 1235, the Bulgarian church head received the patriarchal title. In the period 1241-1280, Bulgaria experienced the invasions of the Tatars, the decline of the country under Tsar Constantine the Quiet Asen, and the uprising of Ivaylo. In the 14th century, after a period of strengthening under Tsar Theodore Svyatoslav, the boyars’ aspirations to secede from the central government into the Dobrudzhan principality intensified. In 1371, Bulgaria was divided between the heirs of Ivan Alexander into the Tarnovo kingdom under the rule of Tsar Ivan Shishman and the Vidin kingdom under the rule of Tsar Ivan Sratsimir. This weakened the country, making it easy prey for conquerors, and in 1396 it was captured by the Ottoman Empire. For almost five centuries, Bulgaria was under Ottoman rule.

Ottoman rule (1396-1878).

St. Paisius of Hilendar. Icon:www.martin.mitov.org

The period of the XV-XVII centuries is full of spontaneous and poorly organized attempts to throw off the Ottoman yoke. The uprising of Constantine and Fruzhin, the campaigns of Vladislav III Varnenchik and Janos Hunyadi, and popular uprisings against the enslavers - the Tarnovo, Chiprovo and Karlovka uprisings - broke out. The 18th century is the century in which the Bulgarian National Renaissance begins, associated with such bright names as St. Paisius of Hilendar, St. Sophronius of Vrachansky, etc. Attempts for liberation were renewed - uprisings in Western Bulgaria during the war Ottoman Empire against Russia and Austria (1768-1774) and Russian-Turkish war(1768-1774). In the 19th century, educational culture developed. During Crimean War The “Secret Society” and the “Virtuous Squad” were created. On April 3, 1860, Hilarion of Makariopol announced the separation of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church from the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, to which it had previously been subordinated. On February 27, 1870, the Sultan signed a ferman establishing the Bulgarian Exarchate. And in 1872, Exarch Antim I was elected. 1860-1878 - this is the period of the organized national liberation movement - G. S. Rakovsky founded the “Secret Central Bulgarian Committee”; Lyuben Karavelov, Hristo Botev and Vasil Levski founded the “Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee”.

Vasil Levsky (1837-1873). National hero of Bulgaria. Photo:www.posteri.bg

The Starozagorsky uprising broke out in 1875 and the April uprising in 1876. The last uprising was organized under the leadership of Georgy Benkovsky, Panayot Volov, Todor Kableshkov, Zakhary Stoyanov, the Obretenov brothers and others. On April 12, 1877, the Russian-Turkish War began, which ended on January 19, 1878 with the victory of Russia over the Ottoman Empire.

Recent history of Bulgaria (since 1878 to the present day) . On March 3, 1878, the Treaty of San Stefano restored the Bulgarian state, but national unity was not achieved. The former Bulgarian territories were divided into three parts - the Principality of Bulgaria was proclaimed, ruled by Prince Alexander of Battenberg, Eastern Rumelia, ruled by a Christian governor appointed by the Sultan. And Thrace and Macedonia remained under the control of the Ottoman Empire. In protest against this unfair decision of the Berlin Congress of 1878, the Kresna-Razlozh uprising broke out (1878-1879), which in 1885 led to the unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. In 1903, the Ilinsko-Preobrazhenskoe uprising broke out. Since 1887, the Bulgarian prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, declared independence from Turkey, and in 1908 he became the king of the Bulgarian people. In 1912, Bulgaria participated in the Balkan War and, together with Serbia and Greece, for the freedom of Thrace and Macedonia. Bulgaria won this war. But in the Inter-Allied War that took place in 1913, she was defeated by Romania, Turkey and Bulgaria's former allies, who took away from her the territories inhabited by the Bulgarians.

Georgy Dimtrov (1882-1949) – the first general secretary Central Committee of the BKP. Photo:www.webmechta.com

Bulgaria's intervention in the First World War on the side of the Central Forces ended in a national catastrophe. In 1918, Tsar Ferdinand abdicated the throne in favor of his son Boris III. In 1919, the Peace Treaty of Newra imposed harsh conditions on Bulgaria - it lost access to the Aegean Sea, Western Thrace became part of Greek territory, Southern Dobruja annexed Romania and the surrounding areas of the cities of Strumica, Bosilevgrad and Dimitrovgrad and villages from the Kula region were given to the Serbo-Croatian-Slovenian kingdom. In 1940, according to the Bulgarian-Romanian treaty, Southern Dobruja was returned to Bulgaria.

In the early 40s, Bulgaria pursued a policy in the interests of Germany and the Axis countries. Later, the participation of Bulgarian cavalry platoons on the Eastern Front was terminated. Tsar Boris III supported public opinion and prevented the deportation of about 50,000 Bulgarian Jews.

In August 1943, Tsar Boris III died, and the regency of the young Tsar Simeon II was taken over by the country's government. September 5, 1944 Soviet army entered Bulgaria, and on September 9, the government of the Fatherland Front, headed by Kimon Georgiev, was established. In 1946, Bulgaria was declared a republic. The Bulgarian Communist Party came to power. Political parties other than the Fatherland Front were banned, the economy and banks were nationalized, cultivated land was forcibly entered into land cooperatives.

Todor Zhivkov (1911-1998) - first general secretary of the Central Committee of the BCP. Photo: www.buditeli.info

The state managers were successively Georgy Dimitrov, Vasil Kolarov, Vylko Chervenkov, Anton Yugov and Todor Zhivkov. On November 10, 1989, democratic changes began in Bulgaria. In 1991 it was adopted new constitution. Were restored political parties, property nationalized in 1947 was restored, privatization and land restitution began. On January 1, 2007, Bulgaria became a member of the European Union.

Translation from Bulgarian:Master of Theology Vitaly Chebotar.

Brief history of Bulgaria

The history of Bulgaria is almost impossible to describe briefly. This is one of the oldest European states, it is located in the southeastern part of the continent, on the Balkan Peninsula, in the places where the Danube and Maritsa rivers flow. The climate here is quite favorable, as there are many forests in the country, but in the mountain ranges the weather is quite cool.

The state was first founded here in 681. After 2 centuries, the Bulgarians adopted Christianity, although before that they active struggle With Byzantine Empire, which nevertheless captured Bulgaria in the 11th century. However, already in the next century the country

managed to free myself. The new Bulgarian kingdom was already enslaved by the Ottomans, and only with the support Tsarist Russia The country managed to become independent again.
During the world wars, Bulgaria both times sided with Germany, which resulted in dire consequences for both the country and the people, although, unlike Romania and other allies of Germany, Bulgaria practically did not take part in the war. Immediately after these events, Bulgaria switched to the path of democracy, and in 1991 it became a parliamentary republic.

If we talk briefly about modern Bulgaria, it is a relatively small European state, located on 111 thousand square meters. km. Only here you can find such a currency as the Bulgarian lev, and about seven million inhabitants live here.
Bulgaria is an extremely beautiful country - beautiful mountain landscapes alternate with the densest forests in Europe. Among all these beauties, ancient Christian temples are hidden, and Largest cities, led by the capital Sofia, boast ancient buildings in close proximity to modern structures. The country is developing successfully, and tourists are always welcome here.

More than 3,000 years ago, the so-called Thracians lived on the territory of what is now Bulgaria. The Thracians did not have their own single state and they lived in tribes. The most numerous and famous Thracian tribes were the Odrysian tribe and the Bessian tribe. In the 5th century BC. on the territory of present-day Bulgaria there was the so-called. Odrysian kingdom. Since the Thracians strongly believed in an afterlife, they buried noble and wealthy people in large tombs along with dishes made of gold and silver and other gold and silver items that the deceased might need in the future. afterlife. The tombs were covered with earth in the form of a mound. There are now about 3,000 Thracian burial mounds in Bulgaria, and silver or gold treasure has been discovered in almost every one of them. The legendary leader of the slave revolt in Rome, the gladiator Spartacus, was a Thracian. The name Thrace (in Bulgarian Thrace) is now borne by a vast region on the Balkan Peninsula, which occupies the southern and southeastern parts of Bulgaria and the northern parts of Greece and Turkey.

2000 years ago, in addition to the Thracians, the ancient Greeks (Hellenes) also lived on the territory of present-day Bulgaria. Most of the cities along the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, for example Nessebar, Pomorie, Sozopol, arose in ancient times as ancient Greek city-states.

At the beginning of our era, Roman troops appeared on the Balkan Peninsula and began to capture the Thracian and greek cities. On part of the territory of present-day Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece, the Eastern Roman Empire was established, which historians began to call Byzantium. The capital of the empire was the city of Constantinople - present-day Istanbul. In the 5th-7th centuries AD. In the northern part of Byzantium, between the Balkan Mountain (Old Mountain) and the Danube River, Slavic tribes settled and lived.

In the middle of the 7th century, the so-called force appeared on the territory of present-day Bulgaria. Proto-Bulgarians (ancient Bulgarians). By their linguistic affiliation they were part of the Turkic-Altai peoples. Historians suggest that the Proto-Bulgarian ethnic group was formed in Central Asia, between the Caspian Sea and the Pamir, Tien Shan and Hindu Kush mountains.

The leader of the proto-Bulgarians, who reached the Balkan Peninsula on horseback, was Asparukh from the Dulo clan, who bore the title “kanas yuvigi,” which can be roughly translated as “ Grand Duke" Proto-Bulgarians allied with Slavic tribes and began to fight against the troops of the Eastern Roman Empire. After several battles with Byzantine troops, the proto-Bulgarians settled firmly on the Balkan Peninsula, in the northeastern part of what is now Bulgaria. In 681, an agreement was signed on the cessation of hostilities between Byzantium and the new state, therefore it is believed that the beginning of the existence of Bulgaria is exactly 681. Bulgaria and Byzantium fought almost continuously. One of the largest and most important battles took place on July 26, 811, when the Bulgarian ruler Krum the Terrible destroyed the Byzantine troops in the Vyrbish mountain passage, in the Balkan mountain. The young state expanded its borders year after year and at the beginning of the 10th century, under the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon I (893-927), after numerous wars with the Eastern Roman Empire, Bulgaria already occupied territory stretching from the Carpathian Mountains to the Aegean Sea and from the Black Sea to the Adriatic Sea. The formation of the Bulgarian nation was mainly attended by Proto-Bulgarians, Slavs and Thracians, as well as Hellenes and Byzantines.

Christianity was accepted as official religion in Bulgaria at the end of the 9th century, during the reign of the Bulgarian Tsar Boris I (852-889).

Also in the second half of the 9th century, the brothers Cyril and Methodius, who were born in the city of Thessaloniki (father - Byzantine, mother - Bulgarian) created the Slavic alphabet based on the Greek alphabet. The new alphabet was called Glagolitic. One of the students of Cyril and Methodius, Clement of Ohrid (840-916), founded the Ohrid book school and, based on the Glagolitic alphabet, created an alphabet called the Cyrillic alphabet. Thus, the Old Church Slavonic alphabet was created - the first Cyrillic alphabet, which is the basis of the Bulgarian and Russian languages.

At the beginning of the 11th century, Bulgaria was already perceived as a serious threat to the existence of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium). In 1018, Bulgaria lost another war with Byzantium and, having lost its independence, was under Byzantine rule until 1185. As a result of the uprising of Asen and Peter, Bulgaria again gained independence at the end of the 12th century. Thus, the so-called Second Bulgarian state. Of the rulers during the Second Bulgarian State, it is worth noting Tsar Kaloyan, who defeated the knights of the Fourth Crusade (April 14, 1205), passing through the territory of Bulgaria, and Tsar Ivan Asen II (1218-1241), during whose reign Bulgaria achieved its greatest territorial expansion and again, as during the reign of Simeon I, began to rely on three seas.

In 1352, the Ottoman Turks captured the first fortress (Cimpe Fortress, in what is now Turkey) on the Balkan Peninsula. Byzantium proposed a military alliance against the Turks to Bulgaria and Serbia, but was refused. In 1389, the fertile region of Dobrudja, present-day Northeastern Bulgaria, came under Turkish rule. In 1393, the old Bulgarian capital was taken - the city of Veliko Tarnovo, Central Bulgaria. In 1396, the last Bulgarian fortress, the Vidin Fortress (Northwestern Bulgaria), fell under Turkish pressure. Thus, Bulgaria lost its independence and was part of the Ottoman Empire for 480 years, although the Bulgarian writing and language were preserved.

Bulgaria was liberated from Turkish rule as a result of the Russian-Turkish War in 1877-78.

During Turkish rule, several uprisings broke out to liberate Bulgaria (the first and second Tarnovo uprising, Chiprovo uprising, Karlovo uprising, Vidin uprising, etc.), but all of them were unsuccessful. The last uprising was the so-called. The April Uprising, which broke out on April 20, 1876. After the suppression of the April Uprising, on April 24, 1877, with a manifesto of Emperor Alexander II, Russia declared war on Turkey. In June 1877, 276,000 Russian soldiers under the command of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich crossed the Danube River near the city of Svishtov. They were joined by 12,000 Bulgarian militia. Romanian and Montenegrin troops also took part in the war. The heaviest fighting during this Russo-Turkish war was the Battle of Pleven and the Battle of Shipka (August 1877), during which 7,500 Russian soldiers and Bulgarian militia held off the advance of 27,000 Turkish soldiers.

On March 3, 1878, in the small town of San Stefano, near Istanbul, a peace treaty was signed ending the war between Russia and Turkey. According to this treaty, Serbia, Romania and Montenegro received full independence, and Bulgaria remained a vassal principality of the Ottoman Empire. In the summer of the same year, the so-called. At the Berlin Congress, the Treaty of Berlin was signed, which divided Bulgaria into two parts, namely the Principality of Bulgaria (Northern Bulgaria) and Eastern Rumelia (Southern Bulgaria). Eastern Rumelia was declared an autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire. The unification of the two parts of Bulgaria, prepared by the Bulgarian Central Revolutionary Committee with the support of the Bulgarian Prince Alexander I, took place on September 6, 1885. The complete independence of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire was declared by a manifesto on September 22, 1908.

In 1912-1913, Bulgaria took part in the First Balkan War and fought together with Greece, Serbia and Montenegro against Turkey. In the summer of 1913, due to a dispute over the distribution of captured lands, the Second Balkan War began between Bulgaria on the one hand and Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and Romania on the other. At the end of the war, Bulgaria was forced to cede most of Macedonia and Southern Dobruja to its former allies.

In the period 1915-1918, Bulgaria took part in the First World War on the side of the Triple Alliance. Bulgarian troops wage successful battles on the territory of Serbia and Romania, capture Bucharest, but in 1918 the country declares surrender along with the rest of the countries of the Triple Alliance. As a result of the signed treaties, Bulgaria pays tens of millions of francs in reparations to the victorious countries in the war.

In 1923, the Bulgarian Communist Party organized the so-called. The September uprising, in an attempt to overthrow the Bulgarian government and take power in the country.

In 1941, Bulgaria entered into an alliance with the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan). The Bulgarian army did not take part in battles with either the Soviet or British American troops, but occupied parts of Greece, Romania and Serbia. On September 9, 1944, the Bulgarian Communist Party seizes power in the country, after which the Bulgarian army participates in battles in Serbia, Hungary and Austria on the side of the anti-Hitler coalition. A hero becomes Prime Minister of Bulgaria Leipzig process about the arson of the German Reichstag - Georgiy Dimitrov. Bulgaria has a regime similar to that in the Soviet Union. In the period 1954 - 1989, the country was ruled by Todor Zhivkov. After the fall Berlin Wall in November 1989, Todor Zhivkov was overthrown from power and more or less democratic reforms began in Bulgaria. In 1990, the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) changed its name to the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and remained the main left party in Bulgaria. An anti-communist right party Union of Democratic Forces.

After 1989, Bulgaria was ruled successively by the following governments:

1990 – government with minister-chairman Andrei Lukanov – Bulgarian Socialist Party

1991 - government with minister-chairman Dmitry Popov – Bulgarian Socialist Party

1991-1992 - government with minister-chairman Philip Dimitrov - Union of Democratic Forces

1992-1994 - government with minister-chairman Lyuben Berov - Bulgarian Socialist Party

1994-1995 - government with minister-president Reneta Injova - service government

1995-1997 - government with minister-chairman Zhan Videnov - Bulgarian Socialist Party

1997 - government with Minister-Chairman Stefan Sofiyansky - service government

1997-2001 - government with minister-chairman Ivan Kostov - Union of Democratic Forces.

2001-2005 - government with minister-chairman Simeon of Saxe-Coburg Gotha - National Movement Simeon the Second

2005-2009 - government with minister-chairman Sergei Stanishev - Bulgarian Socialist Party, National Movement Simeon the Second, Movement for Rights and Freedoms

2009 - government with Minister-Chairman Boyko Borisov - Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria.

The most difficult period for Bulgaria after 1989 was during the BSP government with Minister-Chairman Zhan Videnov in the period 1995-1997, when 17 banks failed in the country and inflation reached triple digits per month. At the beginning of 1997, 1 dollar was worth about 3,000 Bulgarian leva, and average salary amounted to about 30,000 leva ($10) per month. After the overthrow of the socialist government, Bulgaria underwent rapid reforms and rapid privatization. On January 1, 2007, Bulgaria was admitted as a full member of the European Union.

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The ancient history of Bulgaria is exceptionally rich. Various ancient peoples managed to visit this small country. The Byzantines, Greeks, Thracians, Romans and other peoples left their mark on this land.

The history of Bulgaria began at the end of the 5th century AD. The Bulgarian tribes included the Utigurs, Kutrigurs, Urogs, Barsils, Balanjars, Savirs and others. These peoples led a nomadic lifestyle in the territory from the Lower Danube to North Caucasus and the Caspian region. Part of the Bulgarians (Kutrigurs and Onogurs) formed an association in the 630s. The history of Bulgaria began with “Great Bulgaria”, which fell thirty years after its founding. This happened as a result of the Khazars' invasion.

Part of the Bulgarian people, having moved to the north, formed “Volga Bulgaria” (Bulgaria) in this territory. Another part of the population (Proto-Bulgarians) migrated to the west. Having settled on the lands of the future North-Eastern Bulgaria, they moved to the southern territories. There they settled in the Stara Planina region.

Over time, the Proto-Bulgarians penetrated deeper into Thrace. In the 7th century, the history of Bulgaria was marked by the founding of a state with its capital - the city of Pliska.

Over the next three centuries, the government of the state was engaged in repelling the attacks of Byzantium. tried to destroy her new neighbor, but was never successful in this matter.

From the 8th to the 9th centuries, the history of Bulgaria was marked by the annexation of the southern Balkan region to the Rhodope Mountains, the territories extending south of the Stara Planina, and the Morava and Timok river basins. As well as the territory of the future North-Western Bulgaria. In addition, part of Western and all of Central Macedonia joined the state.

The unification of lands continued under Boris 1. During that era, cities such as Prilep and Ohril were annexed. At the same time, Bulgarian power extended to some territories of the future Albanian lands. The territorial transformations of Boris 1 were consolidated by his son, Simeon.

As a result of the victories won by the leader of the alien tribe of Turkic Bulgarians, the first kingdom of Bulgaria was formed. The history of the existence of the state is marked by the adoption of baptism by Boris 1 in 864. Thus, the kingdom entered the circle of Christian countries.

The reign of Boris 1 took place during a period of the most important events for the state. One of them is the invention of the Slavic alphabet by Cyril and Methodius in 863. Since that time, Bulgaria has been considered the “cradle” of Slavic culture and writing.

The first Bulgarian state (kingdom) reached its apogee in territorial and political power from 893 to 927 during the reign of Simeon the Great. The ruler significantly expanded the country's lands. This happened after his victory over the Byzantines in 917 in the area of ​​the Ahelous River. Thus, Simeon expanded the borders to Greece (the Galipoli Peninsula), then captured Macedonia. After this, the ruler accepted Serbia under the protection and control of his ally.

In the period from 927 to 969, Bulgaria experienced decline. He was in power. Following the past wars, poverty set in. Robbery on the part of fairly large feudal lords and the unbearable burden of taxes led to resistance and discontent among the masses. The Bogomil movement began, which was created and led by the priest Dovodkam.

In 968 the northeastern part of Bulgaria was occupied prince of Kyiv Svyatoslav. However, after some time he went over to the side of Boris 2, who ascended the throne after Peter 1.

The Byzantine army, having driven out the Russians, occupied Bulgarian territory. Boris 2 was captured. The former ruler remained a hostage of the Byzantines in Constantinople. The Emperor of Byzantium cut down many territories of the Bulgarian state.

The western part of Bulgaria did not last longer than half a century. The army of Vasily 2 in 1014 defeated the troops of King Samuel.