Creation and expansion of pagan Bulgaria VII-IXc.

After the first Bulgarian state was created by Kanasubigi Asparuh in 680-681 the situation was quite worrying considering that it had strong hostile neighbours near every border-avars to the west,Eastern Roman empire to the south and the khazars to the east on the Dnieper border which had already conquered Old great Bulgaria and made Kubrat's sons separate with a part of the nation.

Asparuh fell in a battle with the Khazars on the Dnieper border and his son Tervel took power.The eastern roman empire continued to pay tax every year which it did since the treaty with which it recognised the creation of Danube Bulgaria.During Tervel's reign the state didn't have any serious expansion except the region Zagore(shown in bright yellow) which Justinian II gave to Tervel for helping him cease the throne in Constantinople.He later tried to retake the region but was defeated,also Tervel sent major forces which destroyed a huge portion of the arabs at land in 717 when they sieged Constantinople and hoped later to continue in Europe.

The later period in which ruled Kormesii and Sevar was mostly peaceful but since the rule of Vineh a period of crisis started.In Bulgaria there were three royal families-Dulo(the leaders until now were all from it),Vokil and Ugain and each one of them wanted to place a person as a leader of the state.They also had different views in the foreign politics-the house of Vokil wanted peace with the eastern roman empire,while Dulo and Ugain demanded war to be declared and new lands be taken.There are many rulers during this period and from different houses,the eastern roman empire tried to destroy the state several times but always failed.
At the time of Telerig and Kardam the state started to exit the period of civil war between the factions and reorganised itself.

After Kardam Krum(803-814) rose to power,he wasn't from any faction but from the pannonian Bulgars.He started the centralisation of the state.In these times the avar khaganate to the west was fracturing and further weakened by the frankish empire,this was a perfect moment to deal with it with minimal losses and Krum sent the Bulgarian armies to destroy it.Until 805 the avars were completely subdued.At the middle Danube Bulgaria now became a neighbour of the frankish empire and secured valuable deposits of silver ore and salt in the carpathian mountains.



Krum then turned his attention south,he sieged and took the city of Serdica(now Sofia-the capital of Bulgaria) and also gained some territories along the Struma valley.This drew the attention of the roman emperor Nicephoros I who eventually lost his head after taking a massive force aiming to destroy Bulgaria.Krum fought also many more battles and sieged and took many cities along the Black sea coas,even took Adrianople and other cities close to Constantinople but he died and the circumstances for the death are unknown.

His son Omurtag(814-831) realised that his people were more than exausted form these wars,so he signed a 30-year long peace treaty which was gladly accepted by the eastern roman emperor.He had huge building plans and used the peaceful period to realise them-many new cities were built and rebuilt others fortified,he also built ramparts along the borders one of which was more than 116 kilometres.He left many stone inscriptions carrying information about the period of his rule and some others like this:

Even if a man lives well he dies and another is born.And when the one who is born last sees the majesty of his ancestors and reads this may he remember the one who wrote it.

Generally during his rule trade flourished and the state completely recovered.

However there was a conflict with the frankish empire to the west which wanted to take some territories along the east bank of the Danube inhabited by slavs,their chiefs also wanted to separate.Omurtag sent an army along the Danube chased away the franks and subdued the tribes by sending the chiefs into exile and placing Bulgars in command.Also he was forced to ptotect his northeastern border from the magyars which he also defeated and restored the Dnieper border.
He also made a new system of ruling Bulgaria by dividing the territory into new regions called komitati each one of which was ruled by a man he trusted and kept only the territory around Pliska(the capital) under his direct command.Centralisation of the state was now full and the royal families disappeared.

Afer Omurtag his son Malamir came to power,he was still young and the ruler was actually the regent Isbul who took the region of Phillipopolis( yellow on the map below).Malamir was killed by his brother Zvinitsa who wanted to avenge him(Omurtag had three sons-Enravota,Zvinitsa and Malamir.The oldest of the three Enravota became a christian and that's why Omurtag forbid him to rule,he was later executed by Malamir when he took power)

The next ruler was the son of Zvinitsa Presian but he was also very young and the regent was again Isbul.During his reign further expansion followed as shown on the map(red):



Edited by Liudovik_Nemski - 16-Jul-2007 at 04:15

On the stone inscription at Madara it says "taGgra" No serious proof just like there's no proof that their leaders were called Khans.The first mentioned title is from Krum's and Omurtag's time and it is "kanasubigi"(in old iranian i think it means leader sent from the stars/gods)

Some Bulgarian rulers were christians although we don't know the nation as a whole.For example Kubrat was baptised in Constantinople he was a close friend of emperor Heraclius.His son Asparuh and later Tervel were also christians

However when Krum took power i've heard that he persecuted christians because he didn't want to let the eastern romans get influence on the Bulgars.



Edited by Liudovik_Nemski - 25-May-2007 at 12:30

Originally posted by Krum Omurtag is the first one who really began purposeful persecusion of christians and his actions were continued by his son Malamir.

Well i always found this ridiculous how can a man depicted as a christian can persecute his own brothers in belief? There must be some mistake,either the medallion isn't his or the eastern roman chronicles mistake him for someone else.

It was TaGGra on the inscription. Which according to Greek rules should be indeed read as "Tangra". However, it seems that there were several missed symbols in the word.

Edited by Anton - 25-May-2007 at 15:41

Some corrections from Tar:-):

Edited by Tar Szer�nd - 16-Jul-2007 at 07:26

Relax, 4. was just a joke:-)

Edited by Tar Szer�nd - 19-Jul-2007 at 15:08

Soon  the whole Bulgaria was lost. But during Second Bulgarian Tzardom Bulgarians and Hungarians again competed on territories north of Danube.

The second bulgarian tsardom was in fact a romanian ( vlach )- bulgarian empire, and his first rulers was vlach ( romanian ) family of Asan ( as byzantines and  pope himself said in that times

Byzantines chronicles from that time ( Nicetas chronicle for ex., but other documents too ) clearly name them vlachs ( a name gived to old romanians ), <who in the past was named mysi ( an older dacian tribe south of Danube, conquered by romans long before north dacians) and now vlachs>. As well, pope Inocentius in his letter to Caloian invoke the comon ancestors, the romans. And clearlly vlachs spoke romanian language in south of danube as well like in north. The same Nicetas Choniates chronicar said that Petru and Asan call the peoples for rebellion against byzantines in St Dumitru church from Tarnovo in their forefathers language.

Btw. in the Gesta Hungarorum it is mentioned that after the "pecheneg" (not "bulgarian") attack the hungarians fled to Transilvania and spend there some years (and builded seven castles ~ Siebenb�rgen).

Is the first time I heard that. Where in the Gesta is mentioned about seven castles?

Most of the old hungarian (in khazaria, in Etelk�z-in the Pontus, In Moldavia etc) and charpatian hungarian graves have a big difference: the new graves usually are richer in silver and gold objects.

Where did you heard about Hungarian graves in Moldavia?

You may call it Vlach-Bulgarian Empire if you wish, I don't mind, but why don't call it Vlacho-Greko-Bulgarian Empire then? Or even Vlacho-Greko-Kumano-Bulgarian Empire?

Could you tell us why the Sevastokrator Kaloyan painted inside the most famous Bulgarian church, Boiana is Vlach?


When referring to Kaloyan's realm and subjects, contemporary Crusader sources (including the works of Geoffroy de Villehardouin, Henri de Valenciennes, Robert de Clari) other comtemporary sources (like that of William de Rubruquis and Roger Bacon's "Opus Maius"), as well as the letters of the Latin Emperor Henry of Flanders) represent Kaloyan as King of Wallachia, ruler of Wallachians and leader of Wallachian armies, and sometimes as ruler of Wallachians and Bulgarians. Such sources talk mostly of Wallachians and call Ioanitsa a Wallachian and "lord of Wallachians" (Blachorum domino)






http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaloyan_of_Bulgaria