First Bulgarian Empire

Not to be confused with Old Great Bulgaria.

927 the fully independent Bulgarian Patriarchate was ofcially recognized.

The First Bulgarian Empire (modern Bulgarian: o , Parvo Balgarsko Tsarstvo) is the
historiographical term for the khanate founded by the
Bulgars in c. 681, when they settled in the north-eastern
Balkans, subdued or drove out the Byzantines and made
the South Slavic settlers their allies. It evolved into a
principality in 864 and an empire in 913/927. At the
height of its power Bulgaria spread from the Danube
Bend to the Black Sea and from the Dnieper River to the
Adriatic Sea. As the state solidied its position in the
Balkans, it entered on a centuries-long interaction, sometimes friendly and sometimes hostile, with the Byzantine
Empire. Bulgaria emerged as Byzantiums chief antagonist to the North, resulting in several wars. The two
powers however also enjoyed periods of peace and alliance, most notably during the Second Arab siege of
Constantinople, where the Bulgarian army broke the siege
and destroyed the Arabs thus preventing an Arab invasion in Eastern Europe. Byzantium had a strong cultural inuence on Bulgaria, which also led to the eventual
adoption of Christianity in 864. After the disintegration
of the Avar Khaganate, the country expanded its territory northwest to the Pannonian Plain (present-day Hungary). Later the Bulgarians confronted the advance of the
Pechenegs and Cumans, and achieved a decisive victory
over the Magyars, forcing them to establish themselves
permanently in Pannonia.

Between the 7th and 10th centuries, the local population,

the Bulgars and the other tribes in the empire, which were
outnumbered by the Slavs,[14][15][16] gradually became
absorbed by them, adopting a South Slav language.[17]
Since the late 10th century, the names Bulgarians and
Bulgarian became prevalent and became permanent designations for the local population, both in the literature
and in the spoken language. The development of Old
Church Slavonic literacy had the eect of preventing the
assimilation of the South Slavs into neighboring cultures,
while stimulating the formation of a distinct Bulgarian
identity.[18]

1 Nomenclature

The First Bulgarian Empire became known simply as

Bulgaria[19] since its recognition by the Byzantine Empire in 681. Some historians use the terms Danube Bulgaria,[20] First Bulgarian State,[21][22] or First Bulgarian
Tsardom (Empire). Between 681 and 864 the country was
also known as the Bulgarian Khanate,[23] Danube Bulgarian Khanate, or Danube Bulgar Khanate[24][25] in order
to dierentiate it from Volga Bulgaria, which emerged
from another Bulgar group. During its early existence,
the country was also called the Bulgar state[26] or Bulgar
qaghnate.[27] Between 864 and 917/927, the country was
During the late 9th and early 10th centuries, Simeon I known as the Principality of Bulgaria or Knyazhestvo Bulachieved a string of victories over the Byzantines, and was garia.
recognized with the title of Emperor, and expanded the
the country is often known
state to its apogee. After the annihilation of the Byzan- In English language sources,
[28]
as
the
Bulgarian
Empire.
tine army in the battle of Anchialus in 917, the Bulgarians
laid siege to Constantinople in 923 and 924. The Byzan- Created as a union between Bulgars and Slavs, for mutual
tines eventually recovered, and in 1014 under Basil II, in- protection against the Byzantine Empire to the south and
icted a crushing defeat on the Bulgarians at the Battle of the Avars to the north-west, the First Bulgarian Empire
Kleidion.[10] By 1018, the last Bulgarian strongholds had was ruled according to Bulgar tradition with the head of
surrendered to the Byzantine Empire, and the First Bul- state being the Khan. The Slavs kept signicant autonomy
garian Empire had ceased to exist.[11] It was succeeded and eventually their language and traditions shaped the
by the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1185.
Bulgarian culture and people with Bulgaria becoming a
After the adoption of Christianity in 864 Bulgaria became Slavic country.
the cultural center of Slavic Europe. Its leading cultural
position was further consolidated with the invention of
the Glagolitic and Early Cyrillic alphabets shortly after 2 Background
in the capital Preslav, and literature produced in Old Bulgarian soon began spreading North. Old Bulgarian be- During the time of the late Roman Empire, the lands
came the lingua franca of much of Eastern Europe and of present-day Bulgaria had been organized into several
it came to be known as Old Church Slavonic.[12][13] In provinces - Scythia Minor, Moesia (Upper and Lower),
1

3 HISTORY

Thrace, Macedonia (First and Second), Dacia (north of

the Danube), Dardania, Rhodope and Hermimont, and
had a mixed population of Romanized Getae and Hellenized Thracians. Several consecutive waves of Slavic
migration throughout the 6th and early 7th centuries led
to the almost complete Slavicization of the region, at least
linguistically.

2.1

The Bulgars

Main articles: Bulgars and Old Great Bulgaria

The Bulgars, who included Scytho-Sarmatian and Turkic
elements, formed part of the Western Turkic Khaganate.[29] Between 630 and 635, Khan Kubrat managed to unite the main Bulgar tribes, creating a powerful confederation called Old Great Bulgaria, also
known as Onoguria.[30] Under strong Khazar pressure
Old Great Bulgaria disintegrated in 668.[31] Afterwards
Khan Asparuh parted ways to seek a secure home. He
was followed by 30,000 to 50,000 Bulgars.[32] In 680 Asparukh founded after the Battle of Ongal the First Bulgarian Empire, south of the Danube on Byzantine territory.
It was ocially recognized as an independent state by the
Bulgaria, c. turn of 7th century
Byzantine Empire in 681.[33][34][35]

2.2

Formation of the Bulgarian ethnicity

It is likely that the original Bulgars were greatly outnumbered by the Slavic population among whom they were
settled. Between the 7th and the 10th centuries, the Bulgars gradually became absorbed by the Slavs, adopting
a South Slav language[17] and converting to Christianity (of the Byzantine rite) under Boris I of Bulgaria in
864. Modern Bulgarians are normally considered to be
of Southern Slavic origin. However, the Slavs were only
one of the communities that had been present in the area
conquered by Bulgars, themselves being recent migrants
in the Balkans. Several other peoples were eventually absorbed into the new ethnicity. At that time the process of
absorption of the remnants of the old Thraco-Roman and
Thraco-Byzantine population had already been signicant in the formation of this new ethnic group. The new
single identity nation would continue to identify as Bulgarian and uphold the eponymous state as its own. Modern
Bulgarians continue to celebrate the original non-Slavic
Bulgar state and Thracian ancestors, while embracing a
Slavic identity at the same time.

History

3.1 Establishing a rm foothold in the

Balkans
After the decisive victory at Ongala in 680 the armies of
the Bulgars and Slavs advanced to the South of the Balkan
mountains, defeating again the Byzantines who were then
forced to sign a humiliating peace treaty which acknowledged the establishment of a new state on the borders of
the Empire. They were also to pay an annual tribute to
Bulgaria. In the same time the war with the Khazars to
the East continued and in 700 Khan Asparough perished
in battle with them. The Bulgars lost the territories to the
East of the Dnester River, but managed to hold the lands
to the West. The Bulgars and the Slavs signed a treaty according to which the head of the state became the Khan
of the Bulgars, who had also the obligation to defend
the country against the Byzantine, while the Slavic leaders gained considerable autonomy and had to protect the
Northern borders along the Carpathian mountains against
the Avars.[36]
Khan Asparuh's successor, Khan Tervel helped the deposed Byzantine Emperor Justinian II to regain his throne
in 705.[37] In return he was given the area Zagore in
Northern Thrace, which was the rst expansion of the
country to the South of the Balkan mountains. However,
three years later Justinian tried to take it back by force,
but his army was defeated at Anchialus. In 716 Khan
Tervel signed an important agreement with Byzantium.
During the siege of Constantinople in 717718 he sent

3.4

Bulgaria under Boris I

50,000 troops to help the besieged city. In the decisive

battle the Bulgarians massacred around 30,000 Arabs[38]
and Khan Tervel was called The saviour of Europe by his
contemporaries.

3.2

Internal instability and struggle for

survival

Khan Sevar, the last scion of the Dulo clan, died in 753.
With his death the Khanate fell into a long political crisis during which the young country was on the verge of
destruction. In just fteen years, seven Khans ruled, all
of whom were murdered. There were two main factions: some nobles wanted uncompromising war against
the Byzantines, while others searched for a peaceful settlement of the conict. That instability was used by
the Byzantine Emperor Constantine V (745775), who
launched nine major campaigns aiming to eliminate Bulgaria. In 763 he defeated the Bulgarian Khan Telets at
Anchialus,[39][40] but the Byzantines were unable to advance further North. In 775 Khan Telerig tricked Constantine into revealing those loyal to him in the Bulgarian Court, then executed all the Byzantine spies in the
capital Pliska.[41] Under his successor Khan Kardam, the
war took a favourable turn after the great victory in the
battle of Marcelae[42] in 792. The Byzantines were thoroughly defeated and forced once again to pay tribute to
the Khans. As a result of the victory, the crisis was nally
overcome, and Bulgaria entered the new century stable,
stronger, and consolidated.

3.3

Territorial expansion

3
(modern Edirne) in 813, threatening Constantinople itself. Between 804 and 806 the Bulgarian armies thoroughly eliminated the Avar Khanate and a border with
the Frankish Empire was established along the middle
Danube. In 811 a large Byzantine army was decisively
defeated in the battle of the Varbitsa Pass.[44] The Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus I was slain along with most of
his troops, and his skull was used as a drinking cup.[45]
Krum immediately took the initiative and moved the war
towards Thrace, defeating the Byzantines once more at
Versinikia in 813.[46] After a treacherous Byzantine attempt to kill the Khan during negotiations, Krum pillaged the whole of Thrace, seized Odrin, and resettled its
10,000 inhabitants in "Bulgaria across the Danube".[47]
He made enhanced preparation to capture Constantinople: 5,000 iron-plated wagons were built to carry the siege
equipment;[48] the Byzantines even pleaded for help from
the Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious.[49] Due to the sudden death of the great Khan, however, the campaign was
never launched. Khan Krum implemented legal reform,
establishing equal rules and punishment for all peoples
living within the countrys boundaries, intending to reduce poverty and to strengthen the social ties in his vastly
enlarged state.
Khan Omurtag (814831) concluded a 30-year peace
treaty with the Byzantines,[50] thus allowing both countries to restore their economies and nance after the
bloody conicts in the rst decade of the century. The
northwestern boundaries with the Frankish Empire were
rmly settled along the middle Danube by 827. Extensive
building was undertaken in the capital Pliska, including
the construction of a magnicent palace, pagan temples,
rulers residence, fortress, citadel, water-main, and bath,
mainly from stone and brick.

During the short reign of Khan Malamir (831836), the

See also: Krum of Bulgaria and battle of Pliska
Under the great Khan Krum (803814), also known as important city of Plovdiv was incorporated into the country. Under Khan Presian (836852), the Bulgarians
took most of Macedonia, and the borders of the country
reached the Adriatic and Aegean Seas. Byzantine historians do not mention any resistance against the Bulgarian
expansion in Macedonia, leading to the conclusion that
the expansion was largely peaceful.[51] Between 839 and
842 the Bulgarians waged war on the Serbs but did not
make any progress.[52]

3.4 Bulgaria under Boris I

Khan Krum feasts after the victory at Varbitsa Pass

Crummus and Keanus Magnus, Bulgaria expanded southward and to the northwest, occupying the lands between
the middle Danube and Moldova, the whole territory of
present-day Romania, Soa in 809[43] and Adrianople

See also: Boris I

The reign of Boris I (852889) began with numerous
setbacks. For ten years the country fought against the
Byzantine and Eastern Frankish Empires, Great Moravia,
the Croats and the Serbs[53] forming several unsuccessful
alliances and changing sides. In August 863 there was
a period of 40 days of earthquakes and there was a lean
year, which caused famine throughout the country. To
cap it all, there was an incursion of locusts.

3 HISTORY

Bulgaria during the rule of Boris I

3.4.1

Christianization

the newly founded Bulgarian Church were to be held by

Byzantines who preached in the Greek language. Knyaz
Boris I was well aware of that fact and after Constantinople refused to grant autonomy of the Bulgarian Church
in 866, he sent a delegation to Rome declaring his desire to accept Christianity in accordance with the Western rites along with 115 questions to Pope Nicolas I.[56][57]
The Bulgarian ruler desired to take advantage of the rivalry between the Churches of Rome and Constantinople as his main goal was the establishment of an independent Bulgarian Church in order to prevent both the
Byzantines and the Catholics from exerting inuence in
his lands through religion. The Popes detailed answers
to Boris questions were delivered by two bishops heading a mission whose purpose was to facilitate the conversion of the Bulgarian people. However, Nicolas I and his
successor Pope Adrian II also refused to recognize an autonomous Bulgarian Church, which cooled the relations
between the two sides, but Bulgarias shift towards Rome
made the Byzantines much more conciliatory. In 870,
at the Fourth Council of Constantinople, the Bulgarian
Church was recognized as an Autonomous Eastern Orthodox Church under the supreme direction of the Patriarch of Constantinople. It was the rst Church ocially
accepted, apart from the Churches of Rome and Constantinople. Eventually, in 893, the Old Bulgarian language became the third ocial language, recognized by
the Churches and used during services and in Christian
literature.
After the adoption of Christianity the country preserved
many institutions from the pagan state of the Bulgars. [58]

See also: Christianization of Bulgaria

In 864 the Byzantines under Michael III invaded Bulgaria on suspicions that Khan Boris I prepared to accept
Christianity in accordance with the Western rites. Upon
the news of the invasion, Boris I started negotiations for
peace.[54] The Byzantines returned some lands in Macedonia and their single demand was that he accept Christianity from Constantinople rather than Rome. Khan
Boris I agreed to that term and was baptised in September
865 assuming the name of his godfather, Byzantine Emperor Michael, and became Boris-Mihail.[55] The pagan
title "Khan" was abolished and the title "Knyaz" assumed
in its place. The reason for the conversion to Christianity,
however, was not the Byzantine invasion. The Bulgarian
ruler was indeed a man of vision and he foresaw that the
introduction of a single religion would complete the consolidation of the emerging Bulgarian nation, which was
still divided on a religious basis. He also knew that his
state was not fully respected by Christian Europe and its
treaties could have been ignored by other signatories on
religious basis.
he Byzantines goal was to achieve with peace what they
were unable to after two centuries of warfare: to slowly
absorb Bulgaria through the Christian religion and turn
it into a satellite state, as naturally, the highest posts in

3.4.2 Creation of the Slavic Writing System

Although the Bulgarian Knyaz succeeded in securing an
autonomous Church, its higher clergy and theological
books were still Greek, which impeded the eorts to convert the populace to the new religion. Between 860 and
863 the Byzantine monks of Greek origin[59] Saint Cyril
and Saint Methodius created the Glagolitic alphabet, the
rst Slavic alphabet by order of the Byzantine Emperor,
who aimed to convert Great Moravia to Orthodox Christianity. However, these attempts failed and in 886 their
disciples Clement of Ohrid, Naum of Preslav and Angelarius, who were banished from Great Moravia, reached
Bulgaria and were warmly welcomed by Boris I. The Bulgarian Knyaz commissioned the creation of two theological academies to be headed by the disciples where the
future Bulgarian clergy was to be instructed in the local
vernacular. Clement was sent to Ohrid[60] in Southwestern Bulgaria, where he taught 3,500 pupils between 886
and 893. Naum established the literary school in the capital Pliska, moved later to the new capital Preslav. During the Council of Preslav in 893, Bulgaria adopted the
Glagolitic alphabet and Old Church Slavonic (Old Bulgarian) language as ocial language of the church and
state, and expelled the Byzantine clergy. In the early 10th

3.5

The Golden Age

5
day Romania and Eastern Hungary to the North. The
Serbian state came into existence in the mid-9th century as a response to the Bulgarian expansion West of the
Morava.[61] Switching loyalties between Bulgaria and the
Byzantines, the Serb rulers successfully resisted several
Bulgarian invasions until 924 AD, when it was fully subordinated under the general and possibly Count of Soa
Marmais. Under Tsar Simeon I (Simeon the Great), who
was educated in Constantinople, Bulgaria became again
a serious threat to the Byzantine Empire and reached
its greatest territorial extension.[62] Simeon I hoped to
take Constantinople and fought a series of wars with the
Byzantines throughout his long reign (893927). The
border close to the end of his rule reached the Northern limits of Attica in the South. Simeon I styled himself
Emperor (Tsar) of the Bulgarians and Autocrat of the
Greeks, a title which was recognized by the Pope, but
not by the Byzantine Emperor nor the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He was recognized
Emperor (Tsar) of the Bulgarians by the Byzantine Emperor and the Patriarch only at the end of his rule.

Old Bulgarian Alphabet

century the Cyrillic script was created at the Preslav Literary School.

3.5

The Golden Age

Main article: Golden Age of medieval Bulgarian culture

See also: Simeon I of Bulgaria and Battle of Achelous Simeon sends envoys to the Fatimid Caliph to form an alliance
against the Byzantines.
(917)
By the late 9th and the beginning of the 10th century,
Between 894 and 896 he defeated the Byzantines and
their allies the Magyars[63] in the Trade War, so-called
because the pretext of the war was the shifting of the
Bulgarian market from Constantinople to Thessaloniki
(Solun).[64][65] In the decisive battle of Bulgarophygon,
the Byzantine army was routed,[66] and the war ended
favourably for Bulgaria, though the peace was often violated by Simeon I.[67] In 904 he captured Solun, which
was previously looted by the Arabs, and returned it to
the Byzantines only after Bulgaria received all Slavicpopulated areas in Macedonia and 20 fortresses in Albania, including the important town Drach.[68]
After the unrest in the Byzantine Empire following the
death of Emperor Alexander in 913, Simeon I invaded
Byzantine Thrace, but he was persuaded to stop in return for ocial recognition of his Imperial title and marriage of his daughter to the infant Emperor Constantine
VII.[69][70] Simeon I was supposed to become regent of
Structure of the First Bulgarian Empire during the 9th to 10th the Emperor and to temporarily rule the Byzantine Emcentury
pire. However, after a plot in the Byzantine court, Empress Zoe, mother of Constantine VII, rejected the marBulgaria extended to Epirus and Thessaly in the South, riage and Simeons title, and both sides prepared for a
Bosnia in the West and controlled the whole of present- decisive battle. By 917 Simeon I broke every attempt

4 CULTURE

of the Empire to form an alliance with the Magyars, the

Pechenegs, and the Serbs, and the Byzantines were forced
to ght alone. On 20 August the two armies clashed at
Anchialus in one of the greatest battles in the Middle
Ages.[71] The Byzantines suered an unprecedented defeat, leaving 70,000 killed on the battleeld; the pursuing Bulgarian forces defeated the remainder of the enemy armies at Katasyrtai.[72] Constantinople was saved by
a Serb attack from the West; the Serbs were thoroughly
defeated, but their attack allowed the Byzantine admiral
and later Emperor Romanos Lakepanos to prepare the
defense of the city. In the following decade the Bulgarians gained control of the whole Balkan peninsula with the
exception of Constantinople and Pelopones.
In a CroatianBulgarian battle of 926, often called the
Battle of the Bosnian Highlands, Duke Alogobotur attacked Croatia. The Croatian forces under the leadership
of their King Tomislav completely devastated the Bulgarian army and stopped Simeons expansion westwards.[73]

3.6

Decline

See also: Sviatoslavs invasion of Bulgaria

After Simeons death in 927, Bulgarian power slowly de-

The Bulgarian Empire under Samuil[64]

clined. In a peace treaty the same year, the Byzantines

ocially recognized the Imperial title of his son Peter I
and the Bulgarian Patriarchate. Peace with Byzantium,
however, did not bring prosperity to Bulgaria. From the
beginning of his rule, Peter faced internal problems and
unrest with his brothers, and in the 930s he was forced
to recognize the independence of Rascia.[74] The biggest
blow came from the North: between 934 and 965 the
country suered ve Magyar invasions.[75] In 944 Bulgaria was attacked by the Pechenegs, who looted the
northeastern regions of the Empire. Under Peter I and
Boris II the country was divided by the egalitarian religious heresy of the Bogomils.[76]

his capital at Preslavets.[78] Three years later, Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimiskes intervened in the struggle and defeated Svyatoslav at Dorostolon. Boris II was
captured and ritually divested of his imperial title in
Constantinople,[79] and eastern Bulgaria was proclaimed
a Byzantine protectorate.

3.7 Fall
See also: Samuil of Bulgaria and Battle of Kleidion
After the Byzantine takeover, the lands to the west of the
Iskar River remained in Bulgarian hands, and resistance
against the Byzantines was headed by the Comitopuli
brothers. By 976, the fourth brother, Samuil, concentrated all power in his hands after the deaths of his eldest
brother. When the rightful heir to the throne, Roman,
escaped from captivity in Constantinople, he was recognized as Emperor by Samuil in Vidin,[80] and the latter
remained the chief commander of the Bulgarian army. A
brilliant general and good politician, he managed to turn
the fortunes to the Bulgarians. The new Byzantine Emperor Basil II was decisively defeated in the battle of the
Gates of Trajan in 986 and barely escaped.[81][82] Five
years later he eliminated the Serbian state of Rascia.[83]
In 997, following the death of Roman, the last heir of
the Krum dynasty, Samuil was proclaimed Emperor of
Bulgaria.[84] After 1001, however, the war turned in favor
of the Byzantines, who captured the old capitals of Pliska
and Preslav, and beginning in 1004 launched annual campaigns against Bulgaria. The Byzantines further beneted
from a war between Bulgaria and the newly established
Kingdom of Hungary in 1003. The Byzantine victories
at Spercheios and Skopje decisively weakened the Bulgarian army, and in annual campaigns, Basil methodically reduced the Bulgarian strongholds. Eventually, at
the Battle of Kleidion in 1014, the Bulgarians were completely defeated.[10] The Bulgarian army was captured; it
is said that 99 out of every 100 men were blinded, with the
remaining hundredth man left with one eye so as to lead
his compatriots home (earning Basil the moniker Bulgaroktonos, the Bulgar Killer). When Tsar Samuil saw
the broken remains of his army, he suered a heart attack
and died. By 1018, the last Bulgarian strongholds had surrendered and the First Bulgarian Empire was abolished.

4 Culture

The cultural heritage of the First Bulgarian Empire is

usually dened in Bulgarian historiography as the PliskaPreslav culture, named after the rst two capitals, Pliska
and Preslav, where most of the surviving monuments
are concentrated. Many monuments of that period have
In 968 the country was attacked by the Kievan Rus, been found around Madara, Shumen, Novi Pazar, the
whose leader Svyatoslav I took Preslav[77] and established village of Han Krum in north-eastern Bulgaria, as well

4.2

Ceramics

7
which was one of the biggest structures of the time with
its length of 99 m, and the splendid Golden Church in
Preslav. Most of the churches built during that period had
three naves. The Bulgarian capital was also famous for
the ceramics that adorned its public and religious buildings. Beautiful icons and church altars were made of special ceramic tiles. There were numerous goldsmith and
silversmith workshops producing ne jewellery.

4.2 Ceramics

The Madara Rider (c. 710), large rock relief carved on the
Madara Plateau east of Shumen, northeast Bulgaria.

The Great Basilica in Pliska

in the territory of modern Romania, where Romanian

archaeologists called it the "Dridu culture"[85] Remains
left by the First Empire have also been discovered in Ceramic icon of St. Theodore, Preslav, c. 900, National Archaesouthern Bessarabia, now divided between Ukraine and ological Museum, Soa
Moldova.[86]
One of the most famous features of the Pliska-Preslav culture was the decoration of palaces and churches with lac4.1 Architecture
quered ceramic plates, which may indicate a Near Eastern (Arabic) inuence. The ceramic plates were painted
The most important feature of the early Bulgarian ar- mostly with geometric or vegetative elements, while a few
chitecture was monumental construction known to the feature depictions of saints. Among the most notable of
Romans but not used in the contemporary Byzantine Em- those is the well-preserved, 20-tile Icon of St Theodore,
pire. There were two main types of construction em- found in the ruins of the Saint Panteleimon Monastery
ployed in the building of Pliska. For the rst one the in the outskirts of Preslav.[88] The tiles were either at
construction materials were timber and bricks. The sec- or tubular and were arranged to form friezes of repeatond type was construction of defensive walls using large ing motifs. Due to the destruction of Pliska and Preslav,
carved limestone blocks put together with plaster. The only fragments and details of the ceramic decoration have
same method was used in the construction of the fortress survived. Most nds of tiles, as well as archaeological
of Preslav, the military camp at Han Krum, the hunt- evidence of the workshops producing them, come from
ing palace in Madara, and in the fortress on the island Preslav and the surrounding region (chiey the village of
of Pcuiul lui Soare.[87] Fortresses were mainly situated Patleina).[89]
in the plains, unlike those constructed during the Second The main sources for Bulgarian domestic use-oriented
Bulgarian Empire.
pottery are the necropoleis at Novi Pazar, Devnya, and
After the adoption of Christianity in 864, intensive con- Varna. The vessels were made with a potters wheel, unstruction of churches and monasteries began through- like Slavic practice. Two-story ovens were used for the
out the Empire, including the Great Basilica of Pliska, annealing of the pottery. The shape and decoration of

7 NOTES

the early Bulgarian pottery was similar to that found in

northern Caucasus, the Crimea, and the shores of the Sea
of Azov.

4.3

5 Religion

Literature

Depiction in the Manases Chronicle of baptism of Boris I

Culture of the First Bulgarian Empire

Bulgarian literature is the oldest Slavic literature. Missionaries from Thessalonica, Cyril and Methodius, devised the Glagolitic alphabet, which was adopted in the
Bulgarian Empire around 886. The alphabet and the Old
Bulgarian language gave rise to a rich literary and cultural
activity centered around the Preslav and Ohrid Schools,
established by order of Boris I in 886. In the beginning
of the 10th century, a new alphabet the Cyrillic script
- was developed on the basis of Greek and Glagolitic cursive at the Preslav Literary School. According to an alternative theory, the alphabet was devised at the Ohrid Literary School by Saint Clement of Ohrid, a Bulgarian scholar
and disciple of Cyril and Methodius. A pious monk and
hermit, St. Ivan of Rila (Ivan Rilski, 876946), became
the patron saint of Bulgaria.
During his reign Simeon gathered many scholars in his
court who translated an enormous number of books
from Greek and wrote many new works. Among the
most prominent gures were Constantine of Preslav, John
Exarch, and Chernorizets Hrabar, who is believed by
some historians to have been Simeon himself. Chernorizets Hrabar wrote his popular work An Account of
Letters, Clement of Ohrid worked on translations from
Greek and is credited with several important religious
books, John Exarch wrote his Shestodnev and translated
On Orthodox Christianity by John of Damascus, Naum
of Preslav also had a signicant contribution. Bulgarian scholars and works inuenced most of the Slavic
world, spreading Old Church Slavonic and the Cyrillic
and Glagolithic alphabets to Kievan Rus, medieval Serbia, and medieval Croatia, as well as to non-Slavic medieval Wallachia and Moldavia.

After the creation of the Bulgarian state, the Bulgars and

the Slavs continued to practice their indigenous religions.
The Bulgar religion was monotheistic, and they believed
in Tangra, the God of the Sky. When Omurtag and Leo
V the Armenian concluded a peace treaty in 815, the
Byzantine Emperor had to make an oath according to the
Bulgarian traditions. Byzantine historians recorded that
the most Christian ruler had to perform dierent pagan
rites including cutting dogs and using them as witnesses
for his oath.[90] The Slavs worshiped numerous deities,
and their supreme god was Perun. There is evidence that
Christianity remained widespread in Bulgaria during the
rst 150 years of its existence. In the mid-9th century,
Boris I decided to adopt Christianity in order to rmly
unite the population of the country.

6 See also
Bulgars
Slavs
Thracians
Kingdom of Balhara
Old Great Bulgaria
Bulgarian Orthodox Church

7 Notes
a. [a] Bulgaria is usually accepted to have been established in 681 when the Byzantine Empire acknowledged the country as a sovereign state in a treaty.
However, only some Bulgarian historians maintain
a fringe view that Bulgaria existed since 632 with
the creation of Old Great Bulgaria by Khan Kubrat
in today Ukraine.

Footnotes

[1] Jean W Sedlar, East Central Europe in the Middle Ages,

1000-1500, University of Washington Press, 2011, ISBN
9780295800646, p. 424
[2] The barbarian conversion: from paganism to Christianity,
Richard A. Fletcher, University of California Press, 1999,
ISBN 0-520-21859-0, p. 338
[3] A history of the Greek language: from its origins to
the present, Francisco Rodrguez Adrados, BRILL, 2005,
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[20] Vladimirov, G. Danube Bulgaria and Volga Bulgaria, Orbel, 2005

[21] John V. A. Fine, The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical
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[35] , . . ,
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[36] Theophanes, ibid., p. 359
[37] Pauli Historia Langobardorum VI.31, MGH SS rer Lang
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[38] Theophanes, ibid., p. 397
[39] Nicephorus, ibid., p. 69
[40] Theophanes, ibid., p. 433
[41] Theophanes, ibid., . 447448
[42] Theophanes, ibid., p. 467

10

[43] Classen, J. (ed.) (1841) Theophanes Chronographia,

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[71] Dimitrov, Bulgaria: illustrated history.

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[46] Scriptor incertus, ibid., p. 337339

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[75] Theophanes Continuatus, pp. 4623,480

[47] Scriptor incer., ibid., p. 346347

[48] Scriptor incert., ibid., p. 347348
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[77] Cedrenus: II, p. 383
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[80] Proki, p. 28

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[82] , (1868).
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[53] Konstantinos Porphyrogenitos De Administrando Imperio

32, p. 154

[84] , p. 43

[54] Georgius Monachus Continuatus, p. 824

[85] " :

", , , .
1, , "", . 170-200

[55] Georgius Monachus Continuatus, loa cit., Logomete

[56] Johannes VIII Papa. Epistolae, p. 159
[57] Anastasius Bibliothecarius, pp. 13734
[58] Biliarsky 2011, p. 13
[59] Barford, P. M. (2001). The Early Slavs. Ithaca, New
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[81] Skylitzes, pp. 436438

[83] , p. 331

[86] , . .
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//

, , 1969, . 224-230
[87] . Diaconu, D. Vilceanu, Pcuiul lui Soare.
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Cetatea

[88] Kazhdan 1991, p. 335

[60] Vita S. dmentis

[89] Kazhdan 1991, pp. 335, 20842085

[61] The Early Medieval Balkans. A Critical Survey from the

6th to the Late 12th Century. J V A Fine, Jr. Pg 110 they
(the Bulgarians) became a threat to the Serbs..; presumably
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hanove i tsare, ), Veliko
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[62] ,
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Bulgarian State, Vol I: History of the First Bulgarian Empire, Part I: Age of Hunn-Bulgar Domination (679852) (in Bulgarian). Soa: Science and
Arts Publishers, 2nd Edition (Petar Petrov, Ed.),
Zahari Stoyanov Publishers, 4th Edition, 2006.
ISBN 954-739-928-4. (
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Zlatarski, Vasil N. (1927). Medieval History of the
Bulgarian State, Vol I: History of the First Bulgarian Empire, Part II: From Slavianization to the Fall
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(in Bulgarian). : , . ISBN
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