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171-398: (Redirected from Bulgarian Kingdom ) Bulgarian Empire may refer to: First Bulgarian Empire , medieval Bulgarian state that existed from 681 to 1018 Second Bulgarian Empire , medieval Bulgarian state that existed from 1185 to 1396 Third Bulgarian Empire , late modern Bulgarian state that existed from 1908 to 1946 Topics referred to by

342-725: A 30-year peace treaty with the Byzantines establishing the border along the Erkesia trench between Debeltos on the Black Sea and the valley of the Maritsa River at Kalugerovo , thus allowing both countries to restore their economies and finance after the bloody conflicts in the first decade of the century. To the west the Bulgarians were in control of Belgrade (whose modern name was first known as Alba Bulgarica ) by

513-471: A bitter war after resolving to discontinue paying an annual tribute to Bulgaria. However, the military and ideological initiative was held by Simeon   I, who was seeking casus belli to fulfil his ambition to be recognized as Emperor (in Bulgarian, Tsar ) and to conquer Constantinople, creating a joint Bulgarian–Roman state. In 917, the Bulgarian army dealt a crushing defeat to the Byzantines at

684-585: A border zone. Under his reign, the placement of garrison and the main lines of commerce became permanent. The creation of Roman Dacia had a great effect on Pannonia. In Trajan's Dacian Wars , the Iazyges allied with the Romans, seeking to retain Oltenia where they were expelled by Decebalus. A brief confrontation in 107 was resolved Hadrian , then-governor of Pannonia Inferior and it may have been agreed that

855-550: A heart attack at the grisly sight and died two days later, on 6 October. Resistance continued for four more years under Gavril Radomir (r.   1014–1015) and Ivan Vladislav (r.   1015–1018), but after the demise of the latter during the siege of Dyrrhachium the nobility surrendered to Basil   II and Bulgaria was annexed by the Byzantine Empire. The Bulgarian aristocracy kept its privileges, although many noblemen were transferred to Asia Minor , thus depriving

1026-579: A liberator, but Boris   II was promptly forced to ritually abdicate in Constantinople. Although at the time the Byzantines controlled only the eastern regions of the country, Bulgaria was proclaimed a Byzantine province. The lands to the west of the Iskar River remained free and the Bulgarians were able to regroup headed by the four Cometopuli brothers. By 976, the youngest of them, Samuel , concentrated all power in his hands following

1197-527: A marriage between his son and heir Gavril Radomir and Stephen's daughter, but eventually Gavril Radomir expelled his wife, and in 1004 Hungary participated with the Byzantine forces against Bulgaria. After 1000 the tides of the war turned in favor of the Byzantines under the personal leadership of Basil   II, who launched annual campaigns of methodical conquest of the Bulgarian cities and strongholds that were sometimes carried out in all twelve months of

1368-528: A month-long siege and occupied a large part of the Sava River valley. This was in accordance with Caesar's plan of creating a base for an invasion of Dacia, not realized due to his assassination . However, Octavian only used the hoax of the "Dacian threat" as a pretense to gain control over a large amount of land in the Second Triumvirate . In 15 BC, the future-emperor Tiberius defeated

1539-845: A new Celtic migration wave at the end of the 2nd century BC, the Boii left Northern Italy and established themselves as an important power at the Danube. According to the Posidonius 's record of the Cimbri migration (preserved by Strabo), they were first repulsed by the Boii, then by the Scordisci, and then by the Taurisci towards the Helvetii . This describes the balance of power in the region. In

1710-614: A new uprising. The unfolding Bellum Batonianum lasted for three years. The Breuci (under Bato the Breucian ) and Daesitiates (under Bato the Daesitiate and Pinnes ) took the leading role, while the tribes north of the Drava stayed out again. The insurgents attempted to invade Italy and Macedonia , but due to their lack of success they united to besiege Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica , Serbia). There, Caecina Severus defeated

1881-469: A number of fortresses, but after his death the empire was unable to face the threat of the Slavs due to the significant reduction of revenue and manpower. The Slavs , of Indo-European origin, were first mentioned in written sources to inhabit the territories to the north of the Danube in the 5th century AD, but most historians agree that they had arrived earlier. The group of Slavs that came to be known as

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2052-420: A period of 40 years of peaceful relations between the two powers. During the first years of his reign, Peter I faced revolts by two of his three brothers, John in 928 and Michael in 930, but both were quelled. During most of his subsequent rule until 965, Peter   I presided over a Golden Age of the Bulgarian state in a period of political consolidation, economic expansion and cultural activity. Despite

2223-560: A praetorian legate with a single legion as the garrison; after Marcus Aurelius , it was under a consular legate, but still with only one legion. The frontier on the Danube was protected by the establishment of the two colonies Aelia Mursia and Aelia Aquincum by Hadrian . Under Diocletian and his successors, a fourfold division of the country was made: Diocletian also moved parts of today's Slovenia out of Pannonia and incorporated them in Noricum . In 324 AD, Constantine I enlarged

2394-520: A process of centralisation. As Bulgaria's territory steadily expanded, measures against tribal autonomy were deemed necessary in order to achieve more effective control and to prevent separatism. When in the 820s some Slavic tribes in western Bulgaria, the Timochani, Branichevtsi and Abodriti sought overlordship from the Franks, Khan Omurtag replaced their chieftains with his own governors. The country

2565-404: A result of the victory, the crisis was finally overcome, and Bulgaria entered the new century stable, stronger, and consolidated. During the reign of Krum (r.   803–814) Bulgaria doubled in size and expanded to the south, west and north, occupying the vast lands along the middle Danube and Transylvania , becoming European medieval great power during the 9th and 10th century along with

2736-460: A result of which the military emphasis shifted to the Danube frontier. At the end of 85 or the beginning of 86, the reemerging Dacians under Decebalus raided Moesia , killing its governor and eradicating a legion. After a brief stay, Domitian left Cornelius Fuscus to deal with the situation. After clearing the province of raiders, Fuscus undertook a disastrous campaign and lost his life (86). Finally, in 88, Tettius Julianus defeated Decebalus and

2907-570: A separate class. The original Bulgar titles and many of the institutions from the pagan era were preserved after the Christianisation of Bulgaria until the very fall of the First Empire. The beginning of the 9th century was marked with a process of incorporation of both Slavs and Byzantine Greeks in the ranks of the Bulgarian nobility and privileged classes, which increased the power of the monarch that had been previously curtailed by

3078-401: A short time. Pannonia had sanctuaries for Jupiter , Juno and Minerva , official deities of empire, and also for old Celtic deities. In Aquincum there was one for the mother goddess. The imperial cult was also present. In addition, Judaism and eastern mystery cults also appeared, the latter centered around Mithra , Isis , Anubis and Serapis . Christianity began to spread inside

3249-538: A third campaign over the Danube at about. This campaign was smaller, and its leader, Tigidius Perennis , achieved a victory. Another victorious expedition was conducted in 188. During the Year of the Five Emperors (193), no attack was made on Pannonia. According to Herodian , Septimius Severus ( r.  193–211 ) calmed the barbarian tribes via negotiations before marching off his troops to Italy and gaining

3420-578: A variety of internal factors, Boris   I converted to Christianity in 864, assuming the title Knyaz (Prince). Taking advantage of the struggle between the Papacy in Rome and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , Boris   I brilliantly manoeuvred to assert the independence of the newly established Bulgarian Church . To check the possibility of Byzantine interference in

3591-546: A village that allowed performance of pagan rituals should be transferred in its entirety to the Church, and, should a rich landowner perform them, his lands were to be sold, and the revenue shared among the poor. After the formation of the Bulgarian state the ruling elite harboured deep distrust towards the Byzantines, against whose perfidy and sudden attacks they had to maintain constant vigilance in all directions. The Byzantine Empire never relinquished its claim over all lands to

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3762-470: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire ( Church Slavonic : блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ , romanized:  blŭgarĭsko tsěsarǐstvije ; Bulgarian : Първо българско царство) was a medieval state that existed in Southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It

3933-422: Is difficult to estimate. Vasil Zlatarski and John Van Antwerp Fine Jr. suggest that they were not particularly numerous, numbering some 10,000, while Steven Runciman considers that the tribe must have been of considerable dimensions. The Bulgars settled mainly in the north-east, establishing the capital at Pliska , which was initially a colossal encampment of 23 km protected with earthen ramparts. To

4104-588: Is further confirmed in the Responsa Nicolai ad consulta Bulgarorum (Responses of Pope Nicholas I to the Questions of the Bulgarians), where Boris   I wrote about primates and mediocres seu minores . Another privileged group were the tarkhans , although from the surviving inscriptions it is impossible to determine whether they belonged to the boilas or to the bagains , or were

4275-731: The Bellum Batonianum , Tiberius finally defeated all peoples between the Danube and the Adriatic Sea. No Illyrian resistance is known after this, not due to the natives' compliance with the new status quo , but due to their extreme exhaustion. The eligible Pannonian youth were conscripted and commanded to other provinces. The communities taking part in the uprising were afterward relocated and organized into civitates under military supervision. The military occupation of Pannonia may have been carried out in gradual steps. The Romans felt it necessary to resettle certain tribes to

4446-621: The Chatalar Inscription : The Kanasubigi Omurtag is a divine ruler in the land where he was born. ... May God [ Tangra ] grant that the divine ruler may press down the [Byzantine] emperor with his foot so long as the Ticha flows... The second most important post in Bulgaria after the monarch was the kavhan , monopolised by the members of the tentatively known "Kavhan family". The kavhan had broad powers and commanded

4617-520: The Council of Preslav where it was decided that the capital of Bulgaria was to be moved from Pliska to Preslav , the Byzantine clergy was to be banished from the country and replaced with Bulgarian clerics, and Old Bulgarian language was to replace the Greek in liturgy. Bulgaria was to become the principal threat to the stability and security of the Byzantine Empire in the 10th century. The decisions of

4788-802: The Danube Bend to the Black Sea and from the Dnieper River to the Adriatic Sea and became an important power in the region competing with the Byzantine Empire. As the state solidified its position in the Balkans, it entered into a centuries-long interaction, sometimes friendly and sometimes hostile, with the Byzantine Empire. Bulgaria emerged as Byzantium's chief antagonist to its north, resulting in several wars . The two powers also enjoyed periods of peace and alliance, most notably during

4959-691: The Dardani (in Dardania ) both became strong powers opposing each other. The Dardani consistently raided Macedon and developed close ties to Rome. Philip V , who was a vehement enemy of the Dardani, allied with the Scordisci and in 179 BC persuaded the Bastarnae (at the Danube Delta ) to break into Italy and subdue them on the way. Despite Philip's defeat at the hands of the Romans in 197 BC and

5130-466: The Flavian emperors continually moved them to the border. This way they were prevented from interfering in domestic policy , while the conquests were already pacified. Systematic circulation of money in the region situated north of the Drava shows that by this time Roman civilization had firmly taken root there. Domitian 's ( r.  81–96 ) emperorship saw expensive wars with the barbarians, as

5301-636: The Goths highly endangered Rome's clients, who wanted the Empire to give its lands to settlement and extend its protection over the tribes. Rome was unwilling to grant these requests. The Romans may not have been aware of the dangerous situation at the start of the Parthian war of Lucius Verus because they sent a whole legion and many vexillationes away from Pannonia. It is thanks to the diplomatic efforts made by regional governors that tensions were eased until

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5472-473: The Khazars in the east but after his demise Old Great Bulgaria disintegrated under strong Khazar pressure in 668 and his five sons parted with their followers. The eldest Batbayan remained in his homeland as Kubrat's successor and eventually became a Khazar vassal. The second brother Kotrag migrated to the middle Volga region and founded Volga Bulgaria . The third brother Asparuh led his people west to

5643-685: The Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomadic equestrians in the Volga-Ural region, but some researchers say that their ethnic roots can be traced to Central Asia . They spoke a form of Turkic as their main language. The Bulgars included the tribes of Onogurs , Utigurs and Kutrigurs , among others. The first clear mention of the Bulgars in written sources dates from 480, when they served as

5814-601: The Roman Empire by the 1st century AD. The decline of the Roman Empire after the 3rd century AD and the continuous invasions of Goths and Huns left much of the region devastated, depopulated and in economic decline by the 5th century. The surviving eastern half of the Roman Empire, called by later historians the Byzantine Empire , could not exercise effective control in these territories other than in

5985-666: The Second Arab Siege of Constantinople , where the Bulgarian army broke the siege and destroyed the Arab army , thus preventing an Arab invasion of Southeastern Europe. Byzantium had a strong cultural influence 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 . Later

6156-478: The Second Bulgarian Empire . The First Bulgarian Empire was a hereditary monarchy. The monarch was the commander-in-chief of the armed forces , a judge, and a high priest during the pagan period. He guided the external policy of the country and could conclude treaties personally or through authorised emissaries. In the pagan period the title of the ruler was Khan . After 864 Boris I adopted

6327-508: The battle of Achelous , resulting in Bulgaria's total military supremacy in the Balkans. In the words of Theophanes Continuatus "a bloodshed occurred, that had not happened in centuries", and Leo the Deacon witnessed piles of bones of perished soldiers on the battlefield 50 years later. The Bulgarians built on their success with further victories at Katasyrtai in 917, Pegae in 921 and Constantinople in 922. The Bulgarians also captured

6498-470: The demonym Bulgarian gained prevalence and became permanent designations for the local population, both in literature and in common parlance. The development of Old Church Slavonic literacy had the effect of preventing the assimilation of the South Slavs into neighbouring cultures, while stimulating the formation of a distinct Bulgarian identity. After the adoption of Christianity, Bulgaria became

6669-592: The failure of the Bastarnae, in this time the Dardani's power crumbled under the pressure from the Macedonians and Scordisci. Finally, Perseus annihilated them, giving way to hundred years of Scordisci hegemony in the Balkans . During this time, the tribe started raiding the new province of Macedonia , and — Strabo says— expanded as far as Paeonia , Illyria and Thrace . Aquileia 's foundation in 181 BC

6840-508: The 10 comitati . They were further divided into župi , that in turn consisted of zadrugi . The comita was appointed by the monarch, and was assisted by a tarkhan . The former had many civil and administrative functions, while the latter was responsible for military affairs. One of the few comitati known by name was Kutmichevitsa in south-western Bulgaria, corresponding to modern western Macedonia, southern Albania and north-western Greece. The first known written Bulgarian law code

7011-493: The 560s subjugating various Bulgar and Slavic tribes in the process. Consumed in bitter wars with the Persian Sasanian Empire in the east, the Byzantines had few resources with which to confront the Slavs. The Slavs came in large numbers and the lack of political organisation made it very difficult to stop them because there was no political leader to defeat in battle and thereby force their retreat. As

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7182-611: The 670s they crossed the Danube into Scythia Minor , nominally a Byzantine province, whose steppe grasslands and pastures were important for the large herd stocks of the Bulgars in addition to the grazing grounds to the west of the Dniester River already under their control. In 680 the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IV (r.   668–685), having recently defeated the Arabs , led an expedition at

7353-908: The 6th century. The native settlements consisted of pagi (cantons) containing a number of vici (villages), the majority of the large towns being of Roman origin. The cities and towns in Pannonia were: Now in Austria: Now in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Now in Croatia: Now in Hungary: Now in Serbia: Now in Slovakia: Now in Slovenia: The country was fairly productive, especially after

7524-613: The 7th century. In 790s, it was invaded by the Franks , who used the name "Pannonia" to designate the newly formed frontier province, the March of Pannonia . The term Pannonia was also used for Slavic polity like Lower Pannonia that was vassal to the Frankish Empire . Though through roman influence, a dialect of Latin now called Pannonian Latin developed in the region, the several major political shifts would see it extinct around

7695-595: The 820s, and the northwestern boundaries with the Frankish Empire were firmly settled along the middle Danube by 827. To the north-east Omurtag fought the Khazars along the Dnieper River, which was the easternmost limit of Bulgaria. Extensive building was undertaken in the capital Pliska, including the construction of a magnificent palace, pagan temples, ruler's residence, fortress, citadel, water-main, and bath, mainly from stone and brick. In 814 Omurtag began

7866-601: The Barbaricum and the line of the limes was stabilized. The Year of the Four Emperors (69 AD) passed with peace in Pannonia. Flavianus declared for Vespasian and led his legions to Italy against Vitellius . Vespasian ( r.  69 – 79 AD ) invested greatly in the construction of the limes . Discarding the Augustan strategy where the legions' role was with maintaining order in their provinces,

8037-422: The Boii and the Taurisci too. Thanks to the ebb of these entities, several local tribes regained their independence and influence. In context of Mithridates VI Eupator 's unfulfilled plan to invade Italy from the north (64 BC), the territory he was to cross is noted to have belonged to the Pannonians. Immediately after Burebista's death ( c.  44 BC ), Dacia 's kingdom dissolved too, leaving no entity in

8208-523: The Breucian delivered Pinnes to the Romans, becoming a vassal king of his tribe. However, the revolt flared up once again as the Daesitiates captured and executed Bato the Breucian, and persuaded his people to continue the resistance. Silvanus reconquered them and ousted Bato the Daesitiate into the Dinaric Alps , where he laid down arms in 9 AD. Illyricum was divided into Dalmatia (initially called Illyricum Superius) and Pannonia (initially Illyricum Inferius) in 8 or 9 AD. According to Suetonius , with

8379-446: The Bulgarian court in Pliska and had them all executed. The next year Constantine   V died during a retaliatory campaign against Bulgaria. Despite being able to defeat the Bulgarians several times the Byzantines were able neither to conquer Bulgaria, nor to impose their suzerainty and a lasting peace, which is a testimony to the resilience, fighting skills and ideological coherence of the Bulgarian state. The devastation brought to

8550-438: The Bulgarian domination of the Balkans, restored the status of Bulgaria as a most favoured nation, abolished the commercial restrictions and obliged the Byzantine Empire to pay annual tribute. The peace treaty remained in force until 912 although Simeon   I did violate it following the sack of Thessaloniki in 904, extracting further territorial concessions in Macedonia . In 913 the Byzantine emperor Alexander provoked

8721-441: The Bulgarian elite. It is likely that the relationship between the politically dominant Bulgars and the more numerous Slavs was the main issue behind the struggle but there is no evidence about the aims of the rival factions. Zlatarski speculates that the old Bulgar military aristocracy was leaning towards war while other Bulgars supported by the majority of the Slavs were inclined for peace with Byzantium. The internal instability

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8892-415: 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 . The ruling Bulgars and other non-Slavic tribes in the empire gradually mixed and adopted the prevailing Slavic language , thus gradually forming the Bulgarian nation from the 7th to the 10th century. Since the 10th century,

9063-414: The Bulgarians of their natural leaders. Although the Bulgarian Patriarchate was demoted to the Archbishopric of Justiniana Prima and all Bulgaria (Archbishopric of Ohrid) , it retained its sees and enjoyed a privileged autonomy. Despite several major attempts at restoring its independence, Bulgaria remained under Byzantine rule until the brothers Asen and Peter liberated the country in 1185, establishing

9234-402: The Bulgarians took most of Macedonia , and the borders of the country reached the Adriatic Sea near Valona and Aegean Sea . Byzantine historians do not mention any resistance against the Bulgarian expansion in Macedonia, leading to the conclusion that the expansion was largely peaceful. With this, Bulgaria had become the dominant power in the Balkans. The advance further west was blocked by

9405-403: The Bulgarians were decisively defeated at Kleidion . Some 14,000 Bulgarians were 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   II the moniker "Bulgaroktonos", the Bulgar Killer. When the returning men arrived in Samuel's residence in Prespa , the Bulgarian Emperor suffered

9576-469: The Bulgarians, the prospect of the Byzantines losing all their Balkan themes was quite real. Threatened by an alliance between the Byzantines and the Serbian state of Duklja , in 997 Samuel defeated and captured its Prince Jovan Vladimir and took control of the Serb lands. In 997, following the death of Roman, the last heir of the Krum's dynasty , Samuel was proclaimed Emperor of Bulgaria. He established friendly relations with Stephen I of Hungary through

9747-405: The Bulgars and the local Slavs is a matter of debate depending on the interpretation of the Byzantine sources. Vasil Zlatarski asserts that they concluded a treaty, but most historians agree that they were subjugated. The Bulgars were superior organisationally and militarily and came to politically dominate the new state, but there was cooperation between them and the Slavs for the protection of

9918-400: The Bulgars occasionally raided the Byzantine Empire, but in the second half of the century the Kutrigurs were subjugated by the Avar Khaganate and the Utigurs came under the rule of the Western Turkic Khaganate . As the power of the Western Turks faded in the 600s the Avars reasserted their domination over the Bulgars. Between 630 and 635 Khan Kubrat of the Dulo clan managed to unite

10089-400: The Bulgars were forced to retreat. The Bulgarians suffered a brutal invasion by Sviatoslav I Igorevich, the Grand-Prince of the Kievan Rus between 967 and 969, that saw the empire vassalised to the Rus. Sviatoslav was killed in 972 however, seeing the empire able to briefly recover, but was unable to reclaim lost territories north of the Danube, in Thrace and Southern Macedonia. Their old rivals,

10260-436: The Byzantine Emperor was bound to enforce the imperial sovereignty over them. This led to more than 40 years of increasingly bitter warfare. A capable general and good politician, at first Samuel 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 with his life. The Byzantine poet John Geometres wrote of

10431-419: The Byzantine and Frankish Empires . Between 804 and 806 the Bulgarian armies thoroughly eliminated the Avar Khaganate, which had suffered a crippling blow by the Franks in 796, and a border with the Frankish Empire was established along the middle Danube or Tisza. Prompted by the Byzantine moves to consolidate their hold on the Slavs in Macedonia and northern Greece and in response to a Byzantine raid against

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10602-435: The Byzantine point of view of the ensuing political turmoil in Bulgaria. They describe two factions struggling for power – one that sought peaceful relations with the Empire, which was dominant until 755, and one that favoured war. These sources present the relations with the Byzantine Empire as the main issue in this internal struggle and do not mention the other reasons, which could have been more important for

10773-407: The Byzantines eventually recovered, and in 1014, under Basil II "the Bulgar Slayer", a crushing defeat was inflicted on the Bulgarians at the Battle of Kleidion . Basil famously ordered that every 100 of the captured 15,000 Bulgarian prisoners be blinded, with the 100th soldier spared one eye to guide the rest back home, forcing their communities to care for them for the rest of their lives. By 1018,

10944-406: The Byzantines near the Calabrian coast. The Byzantine Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos managed to avert a Bulgarian–Arab alliance by showering the Arabs with generous gifts. The war dragged on until Simeon I's death in May 927. By then Bulgaria controlled almost all Byzantine possessions in the Balkans, but without a fleet it did not attempt to storm Constantinople. Both countries were exhausted by

11115-431: The Byzantine–Bulgarian victory with stopping the Arab offensives against Europe . With the demise of Khan Sevar (r.   738–753) the ruling Dulo clan died out and the Khanate fell into a long political crisis during which the young country was on the verge of destruction. In just fifteen years seven Khans reigned, and all of them were murdered. The only surviving sources of this period are Byzantine and present only

11286-440: The Celts in Transdanubia disrupted the flow of amber from the Baltic Sea region , through the Amber Road , to the Illyrians. They founded many villages. Those that held prominent economic significance developed into oppida . Independent tribes minted their own coins with the faces of their leaders. These were at first modelled on Macedonian and, later, Roman currency . Upon the Scordisci's withdrawal and settlement, they and

11457-447: The Confessor wrote of the treaty: ... the Emperor [Constantine   IV] signed peace with them [the Bulgars], and agreed to pay them tribute for shame of the Romans and for our many sins. For it was wondrous for faraway and close peoples to hear that he, who made everyone pay him tribute – to the east and to the west, to the north and to the south, had been defeated by these unclean and newly emerged people. The relations between

11628-478: The Council of Preslav brought an end to the Byzantine hopes to exert influence over the newly Christianized country. In 894 the Byzantines moved the Bulgarian market from Constantinople to Thessaloniki , affecting the commercial interests of Bulgaria and the principle of Byzantine–Bulgarian trade, regulated under the Treaty of 716 and later agreements on the most favoured nation basis. The new Prince, Simeon I (r.   893–927), who came to be known as Simeon

11799-400: The Danube in order to secure it as the imperial border and defend the threatened new land. Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus 's (consul 16 BC) operation in 1 AD extended as far as the Elbe. In 10 AD, Cornelius Lentulus Augur was able to debar not just the Dacians, but also the Sarmatians "from access to the Danube", says Florus . Locally more important was the offensive of Marcus Vinicius against

11970-457: The Danubian Germans again under Nerva ( r.  96–98 ). Between 103 and 107, Trajan ( r.  98–117 ) executed the division of the province into Pannonia Inferior and Pannonia Superior . This allowed the Empire to better combat the radically different Germanic and Sarmatian tribes. While Superior had most urbanized areas and a shorter frontier with three legions, Inferior contained one municipium and one legion, virtually being

12141-446: The Drava and almost certainly brought the whole Transdanubia under Roman control even though there's no direct evidence to that. Through Tiberius Nero, then my stepson and legate, I brought under Roman authority Pannonian peoples which no Roman army had approached before I became princeps and advanced the boundaries of lIIyricum to the bank of the Danube. Pannonia was invaded by the Dacians in 10 BC. The Romans launched campaigns through

12312-594: The Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious . Due to the sudden death of Krum on 14 April 814, however, the campaign was never launched. Khan Krum implemented legal reforms and issued the first known written law code of Bulgaria that established equal rules for all peoples living within the country's boundaries, intending to reduce poverty and to strengthen the social ties in his vastly enlarged state. Krum's successor Khan Omurtag (r.   814–831) concluded

12483-676: The Great, declared war and defeated the Byzantine army in Thrace. The Byzantines turned for aid to the Magyars , who at the time inhabited the steppes to the north-east of Bulgaria. The Magyars scored two victories over the Bulgarians and pillaged Dobrudzha , but Simeon   I allied with the Pechenegs further east, and in 895 the Bulgarian army inflicted a crushing defeat on the Magyars in

12654-581: The Iazyges to make peace. In the same year, the land of the Danubian Germans was occupied by a force Cassius Dio claims to be 40,000 men—the number of soldiers stationed in Pannonia Inferior and Pannonia Superior combined. Control over tribes was taken over by prefects. Valerius Maximianus , born in Pannonia, was an important general here. Any possible plans with the creation of two new provinces—Marcomannia and Sarmatia—were aborted after

12825-565: The Rishki Pass in 759 in addition to hundreds of ships lost to storms in the Black Sea. The Byzantine military successes further exacerbated the crisis in Bulgaria, but also rallied together many different factions to resist the Byzantines, as shown at the council of 766 when the nobility and the "armed people" denounced Khan Sabin with the words "Thanks to you, the Romans will enslave Bulgaria!". In 774 Khan Telerig (r.   768–777) tricked Constantine   V into revealing his spies at

12996-460: The Scordisci, forcing them to become allies. This was in response to Pannonian and Scordisci incursions the previous year. The following events were part of the Roman Empire 's efforts to reach the Danube and are sometimes known thematically as Bellum Pannonicum . In 14 BC, the Pannonians rose up. Vipsanius Agrippa was sent to the region after another rebellion in 13 BC. After his death

13167-567: The Slavic Knyaz (Prince), and since 913 the Bulgarian monarchs were recognised as Tsars (Emperors). The authority of the Khan was limited by the leading noble families and the People's Council. The People's Council, which included the nobility and the "armed people", was gathered to discuss issues of crucial importance for the state. A People's Council in 766 dethroned Khan Sabin because he

13338-534: The South Slavs was divided into Antes and Sclaveni who spoke the same language. The Slavic incursions in the Balkans increased during the second half of Justinian I's reign and while these were initially pillaging raids, large-scale settlement began in the 570s and 580s. This migration is associated with the arrival of the Avars who settled in the plains of Pannonia between the rivers Danube and Tisza in

13509-470: The adoption of Christianity regulated their relations. The number of personally dependent peasants bound to nobility or ecclesiastical estates increased since the 10th century. Due to the limited remaining sources it is very difficult to reconstruct the administrative evolution and division of the country. Initially the Slavic tribes retained their autonomy but since the beginning of the 9th century commenced

13680-707: The allies of the Byzantine Emperor Zeno (r. 474–491) against the Ostrogoths , although an obscure reference to Ziezi ex quo Vulgares , with Ziezi being an offspring of Biblical Shem , son of Noah , is in the Chronography of 354 . In the 490s the Kutrigurs had moved west of the Black Sea while the Utigurs inhabited the steppes to the east of them. In the first half of the 6th century,

13851-412: The ancients, it is probable that it contained iron and silver mines. Slavery held a less important role in Pannonia's economy than in earlier established provinces. Rich civilians had domestic slaves do the housework while soldiers who had been awarded with land had their slaves cultivate it. Slaves worked in workshops primarily in western cities for rich industrialist. In Aquincum, they were freed in

14022-667: The assumption of the imperial title by its rulers in 913, the country is also referred to as the Principality of Bulgaria . In English-language sources, the country is often known as the Bulgarian Empire . Parts of the eastern Balkan Peninsula were in antiquity inhabited by the Thracians who were a group of Indo-European tribes. The whole region as far north as the Danube River was gradually incorporated into

14193-438: The battle formation to avoid surprise attacks from the rear. The Bulgarian army used ambushes and feigned retreats, during which the cavalrymen rode with their backs to the horse, firing clouds of arrows on the enemy. If the enemy pursued disorganized, they would turn back and fiercely attack them. In 918 the Bulgarians took the capital of the Byzantine theme Hellas Thebes without bloodshed after sending five men with axes into

14364-486: The borders and the Byzantine tribute, regulated trade relations and provided for the exchange of prisoners and fugitives. When the Arabs laid siege to Constantinople in 717–718 Tervel dispatched his army to help the besieged city. In the decisive battle before the Walls of Constantinople the Bulgarians slaughtered between 22,000 and 30,000 Arabs forcing them to abandon the undertaking. Most historians primarily attribute

14535-570: The borders of Roman Pannonia to the east, annexing the plains of what is now eastern Hungary, northern Serbia and western Romania up to the limes that he created: the Devil's Dykes . In the 4th-5th century, one of the dioceses of the Roman Empire was known as the Diocese of Pannonia . It had its capital in Sirmium and included all four provinces that were formed from historical Pannonia, as well as

14706-423: The city, who eliminated the guards, broke the hinges of the gates, and opened them to the main forces. The Bulgarians were also able to fight at night – e.g., their victory over the Byzantines in the battle of Katasyrtai . The Bulgarian army was well equipped with siege engines . The Bulgarians employed the services of Byzantine and Arab captives and fugitives to produce siege equipment, such as

14877-420: The coastal areas and certain cities in the interior. Nonetheless, it never relinquished the claim to the whole region up to the Danube. A series of administrative, legislative, military and economic reforms somewhat improved the situation but despite these reforms disorder continued in much of the Balkans. The reign of Emperor Justinian I (r.   527–565) saw temporary recovery of control and reconstruction of

15048-519: The common people. The nobility were initially known as the boila but after the 10th century the word was transformed to bolyar , which was eventually adopted in many countries in Eastern Europe . Each boila clan had its own totem and was believed to have been divinely established, hence their staunch opposition to Christianity, which was seen as a threat to their privileges. Many of the clans had ancient origin that could be traced back to

15219-452: The country by the nine campaigns of Constantine   V firmly rallied the Slavs behind the Bulgars and greatly increased the dislike of the Byzantines, turning Bulgaria into a hostile neighbour. The hostilities continued until 792 when Khan Kardam (r.   777–803) achieved an important victory in the battle of Marcellae , forcing the Byzantines once again to pay tribute to the Khans. As

15390-668: The country is also called by modern historians as the Bulgarian Khanate , or the Bulgar Khaganate , from the Turkic title of khan / khagan borne by its rulers. It is often further specified as the Danube Bulgarian Khanate , or Danube Bulgar Khanate in order to differentiate it from Volga Bulgaria , which emerged from another Bulgar group. From the country's Christianization in 864 and

15561-548: The country, the Bulgarians confronted the Byzantine Empire. In 808 they raided the valley of the Struma River, defeating a Byzantine army, and in 809 captured the important city of Serdica (modern Sofia ). In 811 the Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus I launched a massive offensive against Bulgaria and seized, plundered and burned down the capital Pliska, but on the way back the Byzantine army

15732-476: The country. The Slavs were allowed to retain their chiefs, to abide to their customs and in return they were to pay tribute in kind and to provide foot soldiers for the army. The Seven Slavic tribes were relocated to the west to protect the frontier with the Avar Khaganate , while the Severi were resettled in the eastern Balkan Mountains to guard the passes to the Byzantine Empire. The number of Asparuh's Bulgars

15903-470: The country. To cap it all, there was an incursion of locusts. Yet, despite all the military setbacks and natural disasters, the skilful diplomacy of Boris   I prevented any territorial losses and kept the realm intact. In this complex international situation Christianity had become attractive as a religion by the mid 9th-century because it provided better opportunities for forging reliable alliances and diplomatic ties. Taking this into account, as well as

16074-531: The crown to his son Boris II (r.   969–971), who had little choice but to cooperate with Svyatoslav. The unexpected success of the Rus' campaigns led to a confrontation with the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimiskes eventually defeated Svyatoslav's forces and compelled him to leave the Balkans in 971. In the course of their campaign the Byzantines seized Preslav and detained Boris   II. Initially John   I Tzimiskes presented himself as

16245-484: The dangerous Dacians. At first, the primary goal of the Roman administration was the conclusion of the barbarian conflicts outside the province. In Nero 's time ( r.  54 – 68 AD ) as many as 100,000 barbarians were moved from Pannonia to Moesia by Plautius Silvanus Aelianus , and 50,000 may have been settled in Pannonia by Tampius Flavianus . During his important governorship, money began to circulate in

16416-417: The death of Marcus in 180. Commodus returned to the old border and client system, to which new residents were seemingly willing to join. As the barbarians pillaged during the war, taking cattle and captives away en masse, the destruction and loss of life in Pannonia was huge. Commodus vigorously started to strengthen the limes with new fortifications. Minor raids on the province continued to occur, prompting

16587-526: The death of governor of Moesia Superior and Dacia Claudius Fronto and praetorian prefect Macrinius Vindex . Claudius Pompeianus and future-emperor Pertinax returned part of the spoils taken by the enemy and led the offensive starting from 172. Against severe losses, the Romans forced first the Quadi, then the Marcomanni to surrender (172-173), while the military emphasis shifted to the Iazyges. Despite

16758-509: The death of his elder siblings. When in 976 the rightful heir to the throne, Boris   II's brother Roman (r.   971–997), escaped from captivity in Constantinople, he was recognized as Emperor by Samuel, who remained the chief commander of the Bulgarian army. Peace was impossible; as a result of the symbolic ending of the Bulgarian Empire following Boris   II's abdication, Roman, and later Samuel, were seen as rebels and

16929-636: The defeat: Even if the sun would have come down, I would have never thought that the Moesian [Bulgarian] arrows were stronger than the Ausonian [Roman, Byzantine] spears. ... And when you, Phaethon [Sun], descend to the earth with your gold-shining chariot, tell the great soul of the Caesar: The Istros [Bulgaria] took the crown of Rome. Take up arms, the arrows of the Moesians broke

17100-529: The development of a new Slavic state under Byzantine patronage, the Principality of Serbia . Between 839 and 842 the Bulgarians waged war on the Serbs but did not make any progress. Historian Mark Whittow asserts that the claim for a Serb victory in that war in De Administrando Imperio was wishful Byzantine thinking, but notes that any Serb submission to the Bulgarians went no further than

17271-601: The different elements under a single code of laws. However, since the text is not preserved its precise aims remain unknown. After the conversion to Christianity Boris   I was concerned with the legal matters and asked Pope Nicholas I to provide legal texts. Eventually, the Законъ соудный людьмъ ( Zakon sudnyi ljud'm , Court Law for the People), was compiled, based heavily on the Byzantine Ecloga and Nomocanon, but adapted to Bulgarian conditions and valid for

17442-457: The disloyal Danubian Germans. When the Romans started supporting the Lugii against them, they made a pact with the Iazyges. This produced another war, almost completely unknown except for another catastrophe and destruction of a legion at the hands of the nomads. In 92 or 93, he finished the war, but held only an ovation , indicating he probably had further plans in Pannonia. We hear of war with

17613-501: The dispatched forces could get back. When the threat became fully clear, Marcus even raised new legions. The first attack came in the winter of 166-167, from the Lombards and Ubii , between Brigetio and Arrabona . It was quickly repulsed by two auxiliary units. Cassius Dio tells of a legation of 11 tribes led by the Marcomanni subsequently petitioning the governor of Pannonia Superior, Iallius Bassus to concede. This may have been

17784-627: The early 1st century BC, the Dacians emerged as a new dominant power. While their hold on the area between the Danube and the Tisza river was loose, they had considerable influence in the territories beyond. In 88 BC, Scipio Asiaticus (consul 83 BC) defeated the Scordisci so badly that they retreated to the eastern part of Syrmia. Taking advantage of this situation, the Dacian king Burebista vanquished them sometime between 65 and 50 BC, and subsequently

17955-482: The early Bulgarians and were often decorated with golden, silver, bronze or copper buckles that reflected the illustrious origin of the holder. The most important part of the army was the heavy cavalry . In the early 9th century the Bulgarian Khan could muster 30,000 riders "all covered in iron" who were armoured with iron helms and chainmail. The horses too were covered with armour. As the capital, Pliska,

18126-689: The end of that year. Further expansion in the Western Balkans was checked by King Tomislav of Croatia , who was a Byzantine ally and defeated a Bulgarian invasion in 926. Simeon   I was aware that he needed naval support to conquer Constantinople and in 922 sent envoys to the Fatimid caliph Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah in Mahdia to negotiate the assistance of the powerful Arab navy. The caliph sent representatives to Bulgaria to arrange an alliance, but his emissaries were captured en route by

18297-454: The ending of a new campaign but the reestablishment of foederatus relationship by the investiture of a new Quadi king. Discharges and detachments of troops happened. Findings of hoards of coins likely buried during the rule of Marcus Aurelius ( r.  161–180 ) evidence turmoil due to barbarian attacks. Large-scale population movements in Northern and Eastern Europe related to

18468-419: The engineer Eumathius, who sought refuge with Khan Krum after the capture of Serdica in 809. The 9th century anonymous Byzantine chronicler known as Scrptor incertus lists the contemporary machinery produced and used by the Bulgarians. These included catapults ; scorpions ; multi-storey siege towers with a battering ram on the bottom floor; testudos  – battering rams with metal plating on

18639-417: The existence of a chancellery to the Khan that was probably organised in the Byzantine manner. Part of the chancellery's staff might have been Greeks and even monks, despite the fact that the country was still pagan. According to an inscription dated from the reign of Khan Malamir (r.   831–836) there were three classes in pagan Bulgaria –  boilas , bagains and Bulgarians , i.e.

18810-632: The following year, the campaign was taken over by Tiberius, who celebrated his triumph in 11 BC. The province of Illyricum was established between the Sava and the Adriatic Sea . In 10 BC, Tiberius returned to quell a new uprising of the Pannonians and Dalmatae. After winning in 9 BC, he sold the youth of the Breuci and Amantini as slaves in Italy and held an ovation . His operations between 12 and 9 BC included constant expeditions into territories north of

18981-606: The foremost cultural and spiritual centre of Slavic Europe . Its leading cultural position was further consolidated with the adoption of the Glagolitic alphabet , the invention of the Early Cyrillic alphabet shortly after in the capital Preslav , and the literature produced in Old Church Slavonic soon began spreading north. Old Church Slavonic became the lingua franca of much of Eastern Europe. In 927,

19152-542: The fully independent Bulgarian Patriarchate was officially recognized. During the late 9th and early 10th centuries, Simeon I achieved a string of victories over the Byzantines. Thereafter, he was recognized with the title of Tsar (Slavic for Caeser), and proceeded to expand the state to its greatest extent. After the annihilation of the Byzantine army in the Battle of Anchialus in 917, the Bulgarians laid siege to Constantinople in 923 and 924. The siege failed however, and

19323-409: The great forests had been cleared by Probus and Galerius . Before that time, timber had been one of its most important exports. Its chief agricultural products were oats and barley , from which the inhabitants brewed a kind of beer named sabaea. Vines and olive trees were little cultivated. Pannonia was also famous for its breed of hunting dogs. Although no mention is made of its mineral wealth by

19494-573: The head of a huge army and fleet to drive off the Bulgars but suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands of Asparuh at Onglos , a swampy region in or around the Danube Delta where the Bulgars had set a fortified camp. The Bulgars advanced south, crossed the Balkan Mountains and invaded Thrace . In 681, the Byzantines were compelled to sign a humiliating peace treaty, forcing them to acknowledge Bulgaria as an independent state, to cede

19665-550: The huge military efforts that had taken a heavy toll on the population and economy. Simeon's successor Peter I (r.   927–969) negotiated a favourable peace treaty . The Byzantines agreed to recognize him as Emperor of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church as an independent Patriarchate, as well as to pay an annual tribute. The peace was reinforced with a marriage between Peter and Romanos's granddaughter Irene Lekapene . This agreement ushered in

19836-565: The important city of Adrianople in Thrace and seized the capital of the Theme of Hellas , Thebes , deep in southern Greece. Following the disaster at Achelous, Byzantine diplomacy incited the Principality of Serbia to attack Bulgaria from the west, but this assault was easily contained. In 924, the Serbs ambushed and defeated a small Bulgarian army, provoking a major retaliatory campaign that ended with Bulgaria's annexation of Serbia at

20007-533: The insurgents, who retreated into the Fruška gora Mountains . He annihilated them the following year when they tried to intercept him on his way to join Tiberius at Siscia. Tiberius competently initiated a scorched-earth policy which was unsatisfactory for Augustus, who sent more generals, including Germanicus and Plautius Silvanus (consul 2 BC) to the war theatre . A capitulation was forced out in 8 AD, and Bato

20178-546: The internal matters of Bulgaria, he sponsored the disciples of the brothers Cyril and Methodius to create literature in Old Bulgarian language . Boris   I dealt ruthlessly with the opposition to the Christianisation of Bulgaria , crushing a revolt of the nobility in 866 and overthrowing his own son Vladimir (r.   889–893) after he attempted to restore the traditional religion. In 893 he convened

20349-492: The landed nobility and the higher clergy at the expense of the personal privileges of the peasantry, led to the emergence of Bogomilism , a dualistic heretic sect that in the subsequent centuries spread to the Byzantine Empire, northern Italy and southern France (cf. Cathars ). To the south, the Byzantine Empire reversed the course of the Byzantine–Arab wars against the declining Abbasid Caliphate and in 965 discontinued

20520-515: The last Bulgarian strongholds had surrendered to the Byzantine Empire, and the First Bulgarian Empire had ceased to exist. It was succeeded by the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1185. The First Bulgarian Empire became known simply as Bulgaria since its recognition by the Byzantine Empire in 681. Some historians use the terms Danube Bulgaria , First Bulgarian State , or First Bulgarian Tsardom (Empire) . Between 681 and 864

20691-552: The last attempt at making peace, as next, a barbarian coalition formed to fight Rome. In 168, Marcus and Verus returned to Aquileia and set up their base there. The Marcomanni and Quadi broke through the border and the Alps' crosses, besieging the city and burning the small town of Opitergium . The peak of the Antonine Plague in the peninsula was at this time, causing Verus's death. The next years' heavy fighting resulted in

20862-499: The last years of Hadrian's reign, which his adopted son and joint governor of the Pannonian provinces, Aelius Caesar successfully handled until he died in 138. Command of Pannonia Superior was taken over by Haterius Nepos , who ended the war with a Roman victory, becoming the last person to be awarded with ornamenta triumphalia . Under Antoninus Pius 's ( r.  138–161 ) quiet reign, some coins were issued propagating not

21033-429: The leading Bulgar aristocratic families. Since that time certain Slavic titles became more prominent, such as župan , and some of them mingled forming titles like župan tarkhan . The peasants lived in rural communities known as zadruga and had collective responsibility. The majority of the peasantry were personally free under the direct rule of the central administration and the legislation introduced following

21204-401: The left wing of the army, and at times the whole army. He could be a co-ruler or a regent during the minority of the monarch; the sources mention that Khan Malamir "ruled together with kavhan Isbul " (fl. 820s–830s) and kavhan Dometian is noted as an associate [in the government] of Gavril Radomir (r. 1014–1015). The third highest-ranking official was the ichirgu-boila , who commanded

21375-524: The local limes . Systematic integration into the Empire accompanied by the establishment of settled Roman life progressed subsequently. In 50 AD, Vannius was overthrown by Vangio and Sido , who enjoyed the emperor's support. By this date, the nomadic Sarmatian population of the Iazyges had taken possession of the Danube–Tisza Interfluve , helping the Romans by being a buffer state against

21546-408: The lower Danube. The fourth one, Kuber , initially settled in Pannonia under Avar suzerainty but revolted and moved to the region of Macedonia , while the fifth brother Alcek settled in central Italy . The Bulgars of Asparuh moved westwards to what is now Bessarabia , subdued the territories to the north of the Danube in modern Romania , and established themselves in the Danube Delta . In

21717-815: The main Bulgar tribes and to declare independence from the Avars, creating a powerful confederation called Old Great Bulgaria , also known as Patria Onoguria , between the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Caucasus . Kubrat, who was baptised in Constantinople in 619, concluded an alliance with the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641) and the two countries remained in good relations until Kubrat's death between 650 and 665. Kubrat fought with

21888-549: The most widely used being sabres , swords , battle axes , spears , pikes , daggers , arkans , and bows and arrows . The soldiers were often trained to use both spears and bows. The Bulgarians wore helms, mail armor and shields for defence. The helms were usually cone-shaped, while the shields were round and light. The armor was of two types –  wedge riveted mail consisting of small metal rings linked together, and scale armour consisting of small armour plates attached to each other. Belts were very important for

22059-400: The negotiations the Byzantines attempted to assassinate Krum. In response, the Bulgarians pillaged Eastern Thrace and seized the important city of Adrianople , resettling its 10,000 inhabitants in " Bulgaria across the Danube ". Krum made extensive preparations to capture Constantinople: 5,000 iron-plated wagons were built to carry the siege equipment; the Byzantines even pleaded for help from

22230-551: The nomads would instead take possession of the region between the Tisza and the Apuseni Mountains , not incorporated into the new province. However, taking advantage of Trajan's death and the preoccupation of the Empire with the Parthian war , they joined forces with the relative Roxolani and attacked again in 117, to which Dacia's governor, Julius Quadratus Bassus fell victim. Hadrian ( r.  117–138 ) traveled to

22401-463: The north-east the war with the Khazars persisted and in 700 Khan Asparuh perished in battle with them. Despite this setback the consolidation of the country continued under Asparuh's successor, Khan Tervel (r.   700–721). In 705 he assisted the deposed Byzantine Emperor Justinian II in regaining his throne in return for the Zagore region of Northern Thrace , the first expansion of Bulgaria to

22572-491: The payment of the tribute, leading to sharp deterioration in their relations. In 968 the Byzantines incited Kievan Rus' to invade Bulgaria . In two years the Kievan Prince Svyatoslav I defeated the Bulgarian army, captured Preslav and established his capital at the important Bulgarian city of Preslavets (meaning "Little Preslav"). In this desperate situation the aging Peter   I abdicated, leaving

22743-462: The payment of tribute. The reign of Boris I (r.   852–889) began with numerous setbacks. For ten years the country fought against the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Francia , Great Moravia , the Croats and the Serbs, forming several unsuccessful alliances and changing sides. Around August 863 there was a period of 40 days of earthquakes and there was a lean harvest, which caused famine throughout

22914-451: The persecution of Christians, in particular against the Byzantine prisoners of war settled north of the Danube. The expansion to the south and south-west continued with Omurtag's successors under the guidance of the capable kavhan (First Minister) Isbul . During the short reign of Khan Malamir (r.   831–836), the important city of Philippopolis ( Plovdiv ) was incorporated into the country. Under Khan Presian (r.   836–852),

23085-504: The province as foederati . The Eastern Roman Empire controlled southern parts of Pannonia in the 6th century, during the reign of Justinian I . The Byzantine province of Pannonia with its capital at Sirmium was temporarily restored, but it included only a small southeastern part of historical Pannonia. Afterwards, it was again invaded by the Avars in the 560s, and the Slavs , who first may settled c. 480s but became independent only from

23256-409: The province benefited from many constructions. The road network was fully repaired, civilian and military buildings were inaugurated, military camps were improved and cities were protected with walls thus increasing their rank. Pannonia Superior was under the consular legate, who had formerly administered the single province, and had three legions under his control. Pannonia Inferior was at first under

23427-617: The provinces of Dalmatia , Noricum Mediterraneum and Noricum Ripense. In the 4th century, the Romans (especially under Valentinian I ) fortified the villas and relocated barbarians to the border regions. In 358 they won a great victory over the Sarmatians , but raids didn't stop. In 401 the Visigoths fled to the province from the Huns , and the border guarding peoples fled to Italia from them, but were beaten by Uldin in exchange for

23598-408: The region that Rome would make allowances for. The Pannonians were driven into conflict due to their support of the Dalmatae in their strife against Rome, but weren't long-term and known enemies. The tribes north of the Drava River didn't participate in nor this, nor the subsequent fights. In 35 BC, Octavian led a campaign against the Iapydes and the Pannonians, in which he captured Siscia in

23769-455: The right wing of the army at war and might have had the role of a foreign minister. Under his direct command were 1,300 soldiers. Historian Veselin Beshevliev assumes that the post might have been created under the reign of Khan Krum (r. 803–814), or earlier, in order to limit the power of the kavhan . Although initially the Bulgarians did not have their own writing system, the presence of numerous stone inscriptions, mainly in Greek, indicate

23940-429: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Bulgarian Empire . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bulgarian_Empire&oldid=1257107694 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

24111-424: The sides agreed to make peace. Vangio and Sido were most likely dead by now, the Marcomanni and Quadi denied vassal duties. When the emperor's punitive expedition (partially sent through Dacian territory) was repelled in 89, he—despite the damages suffered—settled for mild terms with Decebalus, instead committing his forces elsewhere. In the same year, he held his triumphs over the Dacians and Chatti , but not over

24282-450: The south of the Balkan mountains. In addition Tervel obtained the title Caesar and, having been enthroned alongside the Emperor, received the obeisance of the citizenry of Constantinople and numerous gifts. However, three years later, Justinian tried to regain the ceded territory by force, but his army was defeated at Anchialus . Skirmishes continued until 716 when Khan Tervel signed an important agreement with Byzantium that defined

24453-407: The south of the Danube and made several attempts to enforce that claim. Throughout the existence of the First Empire Bulgaria could expect Byzantine onslaughts aimed at its destruction. The steppes to the north-east were home to numerous peoples whose unpredictable pillaging raids were also of concern. Therefore, military preparedness was a top priority. Guards always stood on the alert and if anyone

24624-427: The spears of the Ausonians. Immediately after the victory Samuel pushed east and recovered north-eastern Bulgaria, along with the old capitals, Pliska and Preslav. In the next ten years the Bulgarian armies expanded the country south annexing the whole of Thessaly and Epirus and plundering the Peloponnese Peninsula. With the major Bulgarian military successes and the defection of a number of Byzantine officials to

24795-411: The spot and invested Marcius Turbo as governor of both Dacia and Pannonia Inferior to defeat the barbarians. The Roxolani were pacified first. Turbo's authorization was over in 119 as Iazyx peace envoys appeared in Rome. The postal connection between the two provinces through the Danube–Tisza Interfluve—which aggravated relations with the Sarmatians—was completed. War with the Quadi broke out again in

24966-445: The steppes along the Southern Bug River. At the same time, the Pechenegs advanced westwards and prevented the Magyars from returning to their homeland. The blow was so heavy that the Magyars were forced to migrate west, eventually settling in the Pannonian Basin , where they eventually established the Kingdom of Hungary . In 896 the Byzantines were routed in the decisive battle of Boulgarophygon and pleaded for peace that confirmed

25137-410: The territories to the north of the Balkan Mountains and to pay an annual tribute. In his universal chronicle the Western European author Sigebert of Gembloux remarked that the Bulgarian state was established in 680. This was the first state that the empire recognised in the Balkans and the first time it legally surrendered claims to part of its Balkan dominions. The Byzantine chronicler Theophanes

25308-493: The territory of the peoples north of the Drava, which, for them, had no economic, but strategic significance. Augustus formed a kind of alliance where the Romans would act as supervisors, and it was not until his death (14 AD) that legions would be moved over from South Pannonia. The second emperor Tiberius ( r.  17 – 37 AD ) founded multiple coloniae in the province and developed its road network. However, due to these land's unsuitability for cultivation, it

25479-451: The throne. In the coming years, the arrival of foreign groups led to new conflicts, but these were centered on Dacia and Pannonia only experienced collateral effects. The Severans' rule was supported by the Pannonian military and other provinces of the collective "Illyricum" region, which became politically important. In 202, a thorough visit to Pannonia by the imperial house was organized. Partly during this tour and throughout Severus' reign,

25650-493: The time when the Bulgars inhabited the steppes to the north and east of the Black Sea. The Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans mentions monarchs of three clans that ruled Bulgaria until 766 – Dulo, Vokil and Ugain. The power of the principal noble families was greatly crippled in the aftermath of the anti-Christian rebellion of 866, when Boris   I executed 52 leading boilas along with their families. The boila were divided into inner and outer boilas and it

25821-414: The top; τρίβόλοι  – iron tridents placed hidden amidst the battlefield to hinder the enemy cavalry; ladders, etc. Iron-plated wagons were used for transportation. It is known that Khan Krum prepared 5,000 such wagons for his intended siege of Constantinople in 814. Wooden pontoon bridges were also constructed for crossing rivers. Pannonia In the Early Iron Age , Transdanubia

25992-456: The transferring of Eastern Pannonia. In 433 Rome completely handed over the territory to Attila for the subjugation of the Burgundians attacking Gaul . During the Migration Period in the 5th century, some parts of Pannonia were ceded to the Huns in 433 by Flavius Aetius , the magister militum of the Western Roman Empire . After the collapse of the Hunnic empire in 454, large numbers of Ostrogoths were settled by Emperor Marcian in

26163-464: The treaty and the largely peaceful era that followed, the strategic position of the Bulgarian Empire remained difficult. The country was surrounded by aggressive neighbours – the Magyars to the north-west, the Pechenegs and the growing power of Kievan Rus' to the north-east, and the Byzantine Empire to the south. Bulgaria suffered several devastating Magyar raids between 934 and 965. The growing insecurity, as well as expanding influence of

26334-478: The tribes east of the Danube Bend , showing an intent of "monopolizing" the Northern Transdanubian region politically. The last decade of the century saw the Marcomanni under their king Maroboduus —settling north of Pannonia. Augustus planned a two-sided attack on them, with one army approaching their territory from the Rhine and another one under Tiberius crossing the Danube at Carnuntum . Before witnessing any result, Tiberius had to rush back in 6 AD and face

26505-444: The uprooting of all vineyards as a measure against drunkenness but this claim is refuted in the contemporary sources, which indicate that, after capturing Pliska in 811, the Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus   I found large quantities of wine, and after the final Bulgarian victory Krum drank wine in the Emperor's skull. Krum's legal code is seen by many historians as an attempt to centralise the state and to homogenize society by putting

26676-463: The wars with Persia persisted, the 610s and 620s saw a new and even larger migration wave with the Slavs penetrating further south into the Balkans, reaching Thessaly , Thrace and Peloponnese and raiding some islands in the Aegean Sea . The Byzantines held out in Salonica and a number of coastal towns, but beyond these areas the imperial authority in the Balkans disappeared. The Bulgars were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in

26847-406: The whole population of the country. It combined elements of civil, criminal, canon and military law, as well as public and private law, and included substantive norms and procedural guidelines. The Court Law for the People dealt with combating paganism, testimony of witnesses, sexual morality, marital relations, distribution of war booty, etc. To eradicate the residual paganism the law provided that

27018-500: The winter incursion of the Iazyges was crushed (173-174), the Quadi overthrew their Roman-installed king and started to support the nomads. While the two nations tried to negotiate, Marcus eventually defeated both of them in separate campaigns. The second phase of the war started in 177. The attacking barbarians were kept in check, with Marcus and his son, the newly acclaimed Commodus ( r.  177–192 ) coming to Pannonia. A decisive campaign by Tarrutenius Paternus in 179 convinced

27189-424: The year, instead of the usual short campaigning of the epoch with the troops returning home to winter. In 1001 they seized Pliska and Preslav in the east; in 1003 a major offensive along the Danube resulted in the fall of Vidin after an eight-month siege; and in 1004 Basil   II defeated Samuel in the battle of Skopje and took possession of the city. This war of attrition dragged on for a decade until 1014, when

27360-474: Was a hard task to persuade veterans to comply with settling there, and he had to silence a mutiny right when assuming power. He sent his son Drusus Julius Caesar to create tranquility and depose Maroboduus, who needed Roman support for his war against Arminius . This ultimately caused the rise of Vannius (20 AD), who ruled over an extended realm. It was Claudius ( r.  41 – 54 AD ) who finished Pannonia's occupation and began to construct of

27531-408: Was among their ranks that the holders of the highest military and administrative posts were selected. Most likely the outer boilas resided outside the capital, while the inner ones were member of the court under the direct influence of the monarch. The bagains were the second-ranking aristocratic class and were divided into numerous sub-ranks. The presence of two separate classes of nobility

27702-439: Was decisively defeated in the battle of the Varbitsa Pass . Nicephorus   I himself was slain along with most of his troops, and his skull was lined with silver and used as a drinking cup. Krum took the initiative and in 812 moved the war towards Thrace , capturing the key Black Sea port of Messembria and defeating the Byzantines once more at Versinikia in 813 before proposing a generous peace settlement. However, during

27873-405: Was divided into comitati , governed by a comita , although this term was used by Western European chroniclers, who wrote in Latin. It is likely that the Bulgarians used the term земя ( zemya , meaning "land"), as mentioned in the Court Law for the People. Their number is unknown, but the Archbishop of Reims Hincmar mentioned that the 866 rebellion against Boris I was headed by the nobility of

28044-432: Was founded in 680–681 after part of the Bulgars , led by Asparuh , moved south to the northeastern Balkans . There they secured Byzantine recognition of their right to settle south of the Danube by defeating  – possibly with the help of local South Slavic tribes  – the Byzantine army led by Constantine IV . During the 9th and 10th century, Bulgaria at the height of its power spread from

28215-436: Was inhabited by the Pannonians or Pannonii, a collection of Illyrian tribes. The Celts invaded in the Late Iron Age and Gallo-Roman historian Pompeius Trogus writes that the Celts met with heavy resistance from the locals and were not able to overrun the southern part of Transdanubia. Some tribes advanced as far as Delphi , with the Scordisci settling in Syrmia (279 BC) upon being forced to withdraw. The arrival of

28386-410: Was issued by Khan Krum at a People's Council in the very beginning of the 9th century but the text has not survived in its entirety and only certain items have been preserved in the 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia Suda . It prescribed the death penalty for false oaths and accusations and severe penalties for thieves and those who gave them shelter. The Suda also mentioned that the laws foresaw

28557-413: Was seeking peace with the Byzantines. According to the old Bulgarian tradition the Khan was first among equals, which was among the reasons why Boris I decided to convert to Christianity, as Christian monarchs ruled by the grace of God. However, the divinity of the Bulgarian ruler, as well as his superiority over the Byzantine Emperor, were already asserted by Khan Omurtag (r.   814–831), as stated in

28728-463: Was situated in an open plain, the cavalry was essential for its protection. The fortification system of the inner regions of the country was reinforced with several fortified trenches covering huge spaces and supporting the manoeuvrability of the cavalry. The army was well versed in the use of stratagems . A strong cavalry unit was often held in reserve and would attack the enemy at an opportune moment. Free horses would be sometimes concentrated behind

28899-502: Was the first step towards the Roman takeover of Pannonia. The town functioned as the starting station of the Amber Road and the starting point of attacks in that direction. The Scordisci, in alliance with the Dalmatae were in armed conflict with the Romans as early as 156 BC and 119 BC. In both wars, the Romans failed to take Siscia (now Sisak , Croatia), which laid in a key position. After these setbacks, Rome instead turned towards Noricum which had both iron and silver mines. As part of

29070-415: Was to flee during a watch, the responsible guards were to be killed without hesitation. Before battle, a "most faithful and prudent man" was sent to inspect all the arms, horses, and materiel, and being ill-prepared or readied in a useless fashion was punishable by death. Capital punishment was also prescribed for riding war horses in peacetime. The Bulgarian army was armed with various types of weapons,

29241-400: Was used by the "soldier Emperor" Constantine V (r.   741–775), who launched nine major campaigns aiming to eliminate Bulgaria. Having contained the Arab threat during the first part of his reign, Constantine   V was able to concentrate his forces on Bulgaria after 755. He defeated the Bulgarians at Marcellae in 756, Anchialus in 763 and Berzitia in 774, but lost the Battle of

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