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75-480: Krum was a Bulgar chieftain from Pannonia . His family background and the surroundings of his accession are unknown. It has been speculated that Krum might have been a descendant of Khan Kubrat through his son Kuber . The Bulgarian name Krum comes from the Old Bulgarian krumen/krumen and means red. The Bulgarian ruler is depicted with red hair and a beard after the victory over Byzantium. Another possibility

150-751: A Turkic language , the Bulgar language of the Oghuric branch. They preserved the military titles, organization, and customs of Eurasian steppes as well as pagan shamanism and belief in the sky deity Tangra . The Bulgars became semi-sedentary during the 7th century in the Pontic-Caspian steppe, establishing the polity of Old Great Bulgaria c. 630–635, which was defeated by the Khazar Empire in 668 AD. In 681, Khan Asparukh conquered Scythia Minor , opening access to Moesia , and established

225-747: A "mixed race" and "troublemakers". Peter A. Boodberg noted that the Buluoji in the Chinese sources were recorded as remnants of the Xiongnu confederation, and had strong Caucasian elements. Another theory linking the Bulgars to a Turkic people of Inner Asia has been put forward by Boris Simeonov , who identified them with the Pugu (僕骨; buk/buok kwət ; Buqut ), a Tiele and/or Toquz Oguz tribe. The Pugu were mentioned in Chinese sources from 103 BC up to

300-496: A 15,000-strong Roman army led by magister militum Aristus. In 502, Bulgars again devastated Thrace as reportedly there were no Roman soldiers to oppose them. In 528–529 they again invaded the region and defeated Roman generals Justin and Baduarius . However, the Gothic general Mundus offered allegiance to Emperor Justinian I (527–565) in 530, and managed to kill 5,000 Bulgars plundering Thrace. John Malalas recorded that in

375-522: A demonstration of strength than serious intentions to capture the city. The aim was to force the Byzantine rulers to conclude a peace with which they would recognize the conquests of the Bulgarians. The discredited Michael was forced to abdicate and become a monk—the third Byzantine Emperor forced to give up the throne by Krum in as many years. The new emperor started the peace negotiations, with

450-713: A great impression on the inhabitants of Constantinople and was even described by Theophanes the Confessor and in the Scriptor incertus (an anonymous Byzantine short chronicle describing the events of the period 811 – 820). In addition, Krum orders a moat with a rampart to be dug from the Blacharnae to the Golden Gate . Thus, the capital is surrounded on the land side. These actions of the Bulgarian ruler are more

525-521: A return to the peace treaty of 716. Unwilling to compromise from a position of weakness, the new Emperor Michael I refused to accept the proposal, ostensibly opposing the clause for exchange of deserters. To apply more pressure on the Emperor, Krum besieged and captured Mesembria ( Nesebar ) in the autumn of 812. In February 813, the Bulgarians raided Thrace, but were repelled by the Emperor's forces. Encouraged by this success, Michael I summoned troops from

600-517: A secret idea that during the negotiations Krum will be killed. The requirements for a meeting between the two camps is that both sides are small in number and unarmed. For this reason, Kavhan Iratais and Krum's son-in-law Konstantin Pacik (who was most likely used as a translator) were present with Krum. In contrast, Leo V the Armenian did not attend in person. Already at the beginning of the meeting,

675-529: A small, hastily assembled army was in their way. Here Nikephoros helped himself to the treasures of the Bulgarians while setting the city afire and turning his army on the population. A new diplomatic initiative from Krum was rebuffed. The chronicle of the 12th-century patriarch of the Syrian Jacobites, Michael the Syrian , describes the brutalities and atrocities of Nikephoros: "Nikephoros, emperor of

750-737: A state of disorder", i.e. the "disturbers", was a more likely etymology for migrating nomads. According to Osman Karatay , if the "mixed" etymology relied on the westward migration of the Oğurs , meeting and merging with the Huns, north of the Black Sea, it was a faulty theory, since the Oghurs were documented in Europe as early as 463, while the Bulgars were not mentioned until 482 – an overly short time period for any such ethnogenesis to occur. However,

825-696: A stay in Avar territory left and settled in Italy, in Sepino , Bojano and Isernia . These Bulgars preserved their speech and identity until the late 8th century. The First Bulgarian Empire (681–1018) had a significant political influence in the Balkans. In the time of Tervel (700–721) the Bulgars helped Byzantines two times, in 705 the Emperor Justinian II to regain his throne, and 717–718 defeating

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900-517: A strict but just ruler, bringing Slavs and Bulgars into a centralized state. Novels have been written on his life, such as by Dmityar Mantov (1973) and Ivan Bogdanov (1990). Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians ) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region between

975-656: A topic of ongoing debate and controversy among scholars. The first clear mention and evidence of the Bulgars was in 480, when they served as the allies of the Byzantine Emperor Zeno (474–491) against the Ostrogoths . Anachronistic references about them can also be found in the 7th-century geography work Ashkharatsuyts by Anania Shirakatsi , where the Kup'i Bulgar , Duč'i Bulkar , Olxontor Błkar and immigrant Č'dar Bulkar tribes are mentioned as being in

1050-612: Is considered as the indication of the confines of the Bulgar settlement. In the Balkans they merged with the Slavs and other autochthonous Romance and Greek speaking population, like the Thracians and Vlachs , becoming a political and military elite. However, the influence of the pre-Slavic population had relatively little influence on the Slavs and Bulgars, indicating their population was reduced in previous centuries. The hinterlands of

1125-569: Is now under the sway of the Avars, having made an alliance with the local peoples". Kuber later led a revolt against the Avars and with his people moved as far as the region of Thessaloniki in Greek Macedonia . The fifth brother, reported by Nikephoros I and Theophanes, "settling in the five Ravennate cities became a subject of the Romans". This brother is believed to be Alcek , who after

1200-469: Is placed between 650 and 663 AD. According to Nikephoros I, Kubrat instructed his five sons to "never separate their place of dwelling from one another, so that by being in concordance with one another, their power might thrive". Subsequent events proved Old Great Bulgaria to be only a loose tribal union, as there emerged a rivalry between the Khazars and the Bulgars over Turk patrimony and dominance in

1275-698: Is recorded "in the country in which I live, there formerly lived the Vununtur (< Vunundur < Onoğundur). Our ancestors, the Khazars warred with them. The Vununtur were more numerous, as numerous as the sand by the sea, but they could not withstand the Khazars. They left their country and fled... until they reached the river called Duna ( Danube )". This migration and the foundation of the Danube Bulgaria (the First Bulgarian Empire )

1350-430: Is said that Krum had the Emperor's skull lined with silver and used it as a drinking cup . Staurakios was forced to abdicate after a brief reign (he died from his wound in 812), and he was succeeded by his brother-in-law Michael I Rangabe . In 812 Krum invaded Byzantine Thrace , taking Develt and scaring the population of nearby fortresses to flee towards Constantinople . From this position of strength, Krum offered

1425-746: Is that it comes from the Old Bulgarian kreme, meaning rock. Around 805, Krum defeated the Avar Khaganate to destroy the remainder of the Avars and to restore Bulgar authority in Ongal again, the traditional Bulgar name for the area north of the Danube across the Carpathians covering Transylvania and along the Danube into eastern Pannonia. This resulted in the establishment of a common border between

1500-857: Is usually dated c. 681. The composition of the horde is unknown, and sources only mention tribal names Čakarar, Kubiar, Küriger, and clan names Dulo , Ukil/Vokil , Ermiyar, Ugain and Duar. The Onglos where Bulgars settled is considered northern Dobruja , secured to the West and North by Danube and its Delta , and bounded to the East by the Black Sea . They re-settled in North-Eastern Bulgaria, between Shumen and Varna , including Ludogorie plateau and southern Dobruja. The distribution of pre-Christian burial assemblages in Bulgaria and Romania

1575-460: The Bulgar ethnonym could be due to the dialect differentiations in their language. By the middle of the 6th century, the Bulgars momentarily fade from the sources and the Kutrigurs and Utigurs come to the front. Between 548 and 576, mostly due to Justinian I (527–565), through diplomatic persuasion and bribery the Kutrigurs and Utigurs were drawn into mutual warfare, decimating one another. In

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1650-695: The Caspian Gates and to the sea, which are in the Hunnish lands. Beyond the gates live the Burgars (Bulgars), who have their language, and are people pagan and barbarian. They have towns. And the Alans – they have five towns... Avnagur (Aunagur, considered Onoğurs) are people, who live in tents Then he records 13 tribes, the wngwr ( Onogur ), wgr (Oğur), sbr ( Sabir ), bwrgr (Burğa, i.e. Bulgar), kwrtrgr (Kutriğurs), br (probably Vars , also known as

1725-647: The Frankish Empire and Bulgaria , which would have important repercussions for the policy of Krum's successors. Krum engaged in a policy of territorial expansion. In 807, Bulgarian forces defeated the Byzantine army in the Struma valley. In 809 Krum besieged and forced the surrender of Serdica , slaughtering the garrison of 6,000 despite a guarantee of safe conduct. This victory provoked Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I to settle Anatolian populations along

1800-633: The Gepids , according to Paul the Deacon. However, when Theoderic the Great with his Ostrogoths departed for Italy in 489, the Illyricum and Thrace were open for Bulgar raids. In 493, according to Marcellinus Comes , they defeated and killed magister militum Julian. In 499, they crossed the Danube and reached Thrace where on the banks of the river Tzurta (considered a tributary of Maritsa ) defeated

1875-769: The Hunni divided into two tribes: the Altziagiri (who trade and live next to Cherson ) and Saviri , while the Hunuguri (believed to be the Onoğurs) were notable for the marten skin trade. In the Middle Ages, marten skin was used as a substitute for minted money. The Syriac translation of Pseudo-Zacharias Rhetor 's Ecclesiastical History (c. 555) in Western Eurasia records: The land Bazgun... extends up to

1950-695: The Olxontor Błkar , and the 5th century History by Movses Khorenatsi, which includes an additional comment from a 9th-century writer about the colony of the Vłĕndur Bułkar. Marquart and Golden connected these forms with the Iġndr (*Uluġundur) of Ibn al-Kalbi (c. 820), the Vnndur (*Wunundur) of Hudud al-'Alam (982), the Wlndr (*Wulundur) of Al-Masudi (10th century) and Hungarian name for Belgrad Nándor Fejérvár ,

2025-610: The Vulgares killed the Lombard king Agelmund. Scholars attribute this account to the Huns, Avars or some Bulgar groups who were probably carried away by the Huns to the Central Europe. The Lombards, led by their new king Laimicho, rose up and defeated the Bulgars with great slaughter, gaining great booty and confidence as they "became bolder in undertaking the toils of war." The defeated Bulgars then became subjects of

2100-482: The nndr (*Nandur) of Gardīzī (11th century) and *Wununtur in the letter by the Khazar King Joseph . All the forms show the phonetic changes typical of later Oğuric (prothetic v-). Scholars consider it unclear how this union came about, viewing it as a long process in which a number of different groups were merged. During that time, the Bulgars may have represented a large confederation including

2175-590: The "mixing" in question may have occurred before the Bulgars migrated from further east, and scholars such as Sanping Chen have noted analogous groups in Inner Asia , with phonologically similar names, who were frequently described in similar terms: during the 4th century, the Buluoji ( Middle Chinese b'uo-lak-kiei ), a component of the " Five Barbarian " groups in Ancient China, were portrayed as both

2250-492: The 13th century. The modern Volga Tatars , Bashkirs and Chuvash people claim to have originated from the Volga Bulgars. The etymology of the ethnonym Bulgar is not completely understood and difficult to trace back earlier than the 4th century AD. Since the work of Tomaschek (1873), it is generally said to be derived from Proto-Turkic root * bulga- ("to stir", "to mix"; "to become mixed"), which with

2325-532: The 5th and 7th centuries. They became known as nomadic equestrians in the Volga-Ural region , but some researchers trace Bulgar ethnic roots to Central Asia . During their westward migration across the Eurasian Steppe , the Bulgar tribes absorbed other tribal groups and cultural influences in a process of ethnogenesis, including Iranic , Finno-Ugric , and Hunnic tribes. The Bulgars spoke

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2400-427: The 7th and 9th centuries, where they founded Volga Bulgaria , with Bolghar as its capital. According to Ahmad ibn Rustah (10th century), the Volga Bulgars were divided into three branches: "the first branch was called Bersula (Barsils), the second Esegel , and the third Bulgar". In 922 they accepted Islam as the official religion. They preserved their national identity well into the 13th century by repelling

2475-619: The 8th century AD, and later were situated among the eastern Tiele tribes, as one of the highest-ranking tribes after the Uyghurs . According to the Chronicle by Michael the Syrian , which comprises several historical events of different age into one story, three mythical Scythian brothers set out on a journey from the mountain Imaon ( Tian Shan ) in Asia and reached the river Tanais ( Don ),

2550-647: The Arabs during the siege of Constantinople. Sevar (738–753) was the last ruler from the Dulo clan, and the period until c. 768–772 was characterized by the Byzantino-Bulgar conflict and internal crisis. In the short period followed seven rulers from the Uokil and Ugain clan. Telerig (768–777) managed to establish a pacific policy with Byzantium, and restore imperial power. During the reign of Krum (803–814),

2625-403: The Armenian Ashkharatsuyts . The Olxontor Błkar is one of the variations used for the Onoğurs Bulgars, while others could be related to the ancient river names, such as the Kup'i Bulgar and the Kuban (Kuphis). The Duč'i could read Kuchi Bulkar and as such could be related to the Dnieper (Kocho). However, the Č'dar Bulkar location is unclear. Dimitrov theorized that the differences in

2700-663: The Avars), ksr ( Kasr ; possibly Akatziri ), srwrgwr ( Saragur ), dyrmr (unknown), b'grsyq ( Bagrasir , i.e. Barsil ), kwls (unknown), bdl (probably Abdali ), and ftlyt (Hephthalite) ... They are described in typical phrases reserved for nomads in the ethnographic literature of the period, as people who "live in tents, earn their living on the meat of livestock and fish, of wild animals and by their weapons (plunder)". Agathias (c. 579–582) wrote: ...all of them are called in general Scythians and Huns in particular according to their nation. Thus, some are Koutrigours or Outigours and yet others are Oultizurs and Bourougounds...

2775-429: The Bulgarian ruler noticed the signs that the Romans were making to the soldiers waiting in ambush, and although he was wounded, he managed to escape. Kavkhan was killed, and Konstantin Patsik together with his son (Krum's nephew) were captured. Enraged by the baseness of the Romans, Krum ordered the looting and burning of churches and monasteries in Eastern Thrace . His wrath culminated in the capture of Adrianople and

2850-493: The Byzantine empire, walked into the Bulgarians' land: he was victorious and killed great number of them. He reached their capital, seized it and devastated it. His savagery went to the point that he ordered to bring their small children, got them tied down on earth and made thresh grain stones to smash them." While Nikephoros I and his army pillaged and plundered the Bulgarian capital, Krum mobilized as many soldiers as possible, giving weapons to women and even to peasants. This army

2925-439: The Byzantine territory were for years occupied by many groups of Slavs. According to Theophanes, the Bulgars subjugated the so-called Seven Slavic tribes , of which the Severians were re-settled from the pass of Beregaba or Veregava, most likely the Rish Pass of the Balkan Mountains , to the East, while the other six tribes to the Southern and Western regions as far the boundary with the Pannonian Avars. Scholars consider that

3000-484: The Danubian Bulgaria – the First Bulgarian Empire , where the Bulgars became a political and military elite. They merged subsequently with established Byzantine populations , as well as with previously settled Slavic tribes , and were eventually Slavicized , thus becoming one of the ancestors of modern Bulgarians . The remaining Pontic Bulgars migrated in the 7th century to the Volga River , where they founded Volga Bulgaria ; they preserved their identity well into

3075-402: The Empire and prosperity during the time of Simeon I (893–927) is considered as the Bulgarian Golden Age . However, from the time of Peter I (927–969) their power declined. The Hungarians, Kievan Rus' Slavs, as well Pechenegs and Cumans held many raids into their territory, and so weakened were eventually conquered in 1018 by the Byzantine Empire. Bulgars had the typical culture of

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3150-399: The Empire doubled its size, including new lands in Macedonia and Serbia . He also successfully repelled the invading force of the Byzantines, as well defeated the Pannonian Avars where additionally extended the Empire size. In 865, during the reign of Khan Boris I (852–889), the Bulgars accepted Christianity as the official religion, and Eastern Orthodoxy in 879. The greatest expansion of

3225-459: The Hunnic tribes, causing the migration, may have occurred there, but the Pontic–Caspian steppe seems a more likely location. Some scholars propose that the Bulgars may have been a branch or offshoot of the Huns or at least Huns seem to have been absorbed by the Onogur-Bulgars after Dengizich 's death. Hyun Jin Kim however, argues that the Huns continued under Ernak, becoming the Kutrigur and Utigur Hunno -Bulgars. These conclusions remain

3300-449: The Hunnic union were attacked by the Šarağurs, one of the first Oğuric Turkic tribes that entered the Ponto-Caspian steppes as the result of migrations set off in Inner Asia. According to Priscus , in 463 the representatives of Šarağur, Oğur and Onoğur came to the Emperor in Constantinople , and explained they had been driven out of their homeland by the Sabirs , who had been attacked by the Avars . This tangle of events indicates that

3375-406: The Imperial powers, for whom it was easier to deal with one ruler than several tribal chieftains. In nomadic society the tribes were political organizations based on kinship, with diffused power. Tribes developed according to the relation with sedentary states, and only managed to conquer them when had social cohesion. If the raiding by the nomads had negative effect on the economic development of

3450-413: The Kutrigurs and Utigurs to be two related, ancestral people, and prominent tribes in the later Bulgar union, but different from the Bulgars. Among many other theories regarding the etymology of Bulgar, the following have also had limited support. The origin of the early Bulgars is still unclear. Their homeland is believed to be situated in Kazakhstan and the North Caucasian steppes. Interaction with

3525-482: The Lombards and later migrated in Italy with their king Alboin . When the army of Ostrogoth chieftain Theodoric Strabo grew to 30,000-men strong, it was felt as a menace to Byzantine Emperor Zeno , who somehow managed to convince the Bulgars to attack the Thracian Goths. The Bulgars were eventually defeated by Strabo in 480/481. In 486 and 488 they fought against the Goths again, first as allies of Byzantium, according to Magnus Felix Ennodius , and later as allies of

3600-462: The North Caucasian-Kuban steppes. An obscure reference to Ziezi ex quo Vulgares , with Ziezi being an offspring of Biblical Shem , is in the Chronography of 354 . According to D. Dimitrov, the 5th-century History of Armenia by Movses Khorenatsi speaks about two migrations of the Bulgars, from Caucasus to Armenia . The first migration is mentioned in the association with the campaign of Armenian ruler Valarshak (probably Varazdat ) to

3675-453: The Ostrogoths, are believed to be the Bulgars. In 515, Bulgar mercenaries were listed along with others from the Goths, Scythians and Hunnic tribes as part of the Vitalian army. In 539, two Hunnic "kinglets" defeated two Roman generals during the raid into Scythia Minor and Moesia . A Roman army led by magister militum Ascum and Constantiolus intercepted and defeated them in Thrace; however, another raiding party ambushed and captured

3750-404: The Oultizurs and Bourougounds were known up to the time of the Emperor Leo (457–474) and the Romans of that time and appeared to have been strong. We, however, in this day, neither know them, nor, I think, will we. Perhaps, they have perished or perhaps they have moved off to very far place. According to D. Dimitrov, scholars partially managed to identify and locate the Bulgar groups mentioned in

3825-402: The Oğuric tribes are related to the Ting-ling and Tiele people . It seems that Kutrigurs and Unigurs arrived with the initial waves of Oğuric peoples entering the Pontic steppes. The Bulgars were not mentioned in 463. The account by Paul the Deacon in his History of the Lombards (8th century) says that at the beginning of the 5th century in the North-Western slopes of the Carpathians

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3900-416: The Pontic–Caspian steppe. Some historians consider the war an extension of the Western Turks struggle, between the Nushibi tribes and Ashina clan , who led the Khazars, and the Duolu/Tu-lu tribes, which some scholars associated with the Dulo clan , from which Kubrat and many Bulgar rulers originated. The Khazars were ultimately victorious and parts of the Bulgar union broke up. It is unclear whether

3975-433: The Sasanian–Avar alliance. With his uncle Organa in 619, Kubrat had been baptized in Constantinople. He founded the Old Great Bulgaria ( Magna Bulgaria ), also known as Onoğundur–Bulğars state, or Patria Onoguria in the Ravenna Cosmography . Little is known about Kubrat's activities. It is considered that Onogur Bulgars remained the only steppe tribes in good relations with the Byzantines. His date of death

4050-424: The absence of any source recording the Slavic resistance to the invasion was because it was in their interest to be liberated from the Byzantine taxation. It is considered that the Slavic tribal organization was left intact, and paid tribute to the ruling Bulgars. According to Nikephoros I and Theophanes, an unnamed fourth brother, believed to be Kuber , "having crossed the river Ister, resides in Pannonia, which

4125-400: The battle a Bulgar warlord was captured. In 535, magister militum Sittas defeated the Bulgar army at the river Yantra . Ennodius, Jordanes and Procopius identified the Bulgars with the Huns in a 6th-century literary topos , in which Ennodius referred to a captured Bulgar horse as " equum Huniscum ". In 505, the alleged 10,000 Hun horsemen in the Sabinian army, which was defeated by

4200-405: The brothers' parting ways was caused by the internal conflicts or strong Khazar pressure. The latter is considered more likely. The Bulgars led by the first two brothers Batbayan and Kotrag remained in the Pontic steppe zone, where they were known as Black Bulgars by Byzantine and Rus sources, and became Khazar vassals. The Bulgars led by Kotrag migrated to the middle Volga region during

4275-405: The capture of 10,000 soldiers defending the city (including the parents of the future Emperor Basil I ). Although Krum realized the defensive capabilities of the Byzantine capital, he ordered massive preparations for the attack on Constantinople to begin, which included Slavs, Avars and special siege equipment ("turtles", battle towers, "rams", flamethrowers, etc.). Worried by all these preparations,

4350-435: The consonant suffix -r implies a noun meaning "mixed". Other scholars have added that bulğa might also imply "stir", "disturb", "confuse" and Talat Tekin interpreted Bulgar as the verb form "mixing" (i.e. rather than the adjective "mixed"). Both Gyula Németh and Peter Benjamin Golden initially advocated the "mixed race" theory, but later, like Paul Pelliot , considered that "to incite", "rebel", or "to produce

4425-496: The country of the Alans called Barsalia , which would be later inhabited by the Bulgars and the Pugurs ( Puguraje ). The names Onoğur and Bulgar were linked by later Byzantine sources for reasons that are unclear. Tekin derived -gur from the Altaic suffix -gir . Generally, modern scholars consider the terms oğuz or oğur , as generic terms for Turkic tribal confederations , to be derived from Turkic *og/uq , meaning "kinship or being akin to". The terms initially were not

4500-453: The emperor began to strengthen the city walls and defenses. But this grandiose plan of the Bulgarian ruler was not implemented. On April 13, 814 , Krum died, most likely of a hemorrhage and stroke. Krum was remembered for instituting the first known written Bulgarian law code, which ensured subsidies to beggars and state protection to all poor Bulgarians. Drinking, slander, and robbery were severely punished. Through his laws he became known as

4575-413: The end, the Kutrigurs were overwhelmed by the Avars, while the Utigurs came under the rule of the Western Turks. The Oğurs and Onoğurs, in the 6th- and 7th-century sources, were mentioned mostly in connection with the Avar and Turk conquest of Western Eurasia. From the 8th century, the Byzantine sources often mention the Onoğurs in close connection with the Bulgars. Agathon (early 8th century) wrote about

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4650-403: The entire Byzantine Empire and headed north, hoping for a decisive victory. Krum led his army south towards Adrianople and pitched camp near Versinikia. Michael I lined up his army against the Bulgarians, but neither side initiated an attack for two weeks. Finally, on 22 June 813, the Byzantines attacked but were immediately turned to flight. With Krum's cavalry in pursuit, the rout of Michael I

4725-500: The ethnonym Bulgar as a "spreading" adjective . Golden considered the origin of the Kutrigurs and Utigurs to be obscure and their relationship to the Onogurs and Bulgars – who lived in similar areas at the same time – as unclear. He noted, however, an implication that the Kutrigurs and Utigurs were related to the Šarağur ( šara oğur , shara oghur ; "white oğhurs"), and that according to Procopius these were Hunnish tribal unions, of partly Cimmerian descent. Karatay considered

4800-546: The first Mongol attacks in 1223. They were eventually subdued by the Mongols in 1237. They gradually lost their identity after 1431 when their towns and region were captured by the Russians. The third and most famous son, Asparukh , according to Nikephoros I: crossed the river Danapros and Danastros, lived in the locale around the Ister, having occupied a place suitable for settlement, called in their language ογγλον (ogglon; Slav. o(n)gl , "angle", "corner"; Turk. agyl , "yard" )... The people having been divided and scattered,

4875-494: The frontier to protect it and to attempt to retake and refortify Serdica, although this enterprise failed. In early 811, Nikephoros I undertook a massive expedition against Bulgaria, advancing to Marcellae (near Karnobat ). Here Krum attempted to negotiate on 11 July 811, but Nikephoros was determined to continue with his plunder. His army somehow avoided Bulgarian ambushes in the Balkan Mountains and made its way into Moesia . They managed to take over Pliska on 20 July, as only

4950-462: The lands "named Basen by the ancients... and which were afterwards populated by immigrants of the vh' ndur Bulgar Vund, after whose name they (the lands) were named Vanand ". The second migration took place during the time of the ruler Arshak III , when "great disturbances occurred in the range of the great Caucasus mountain, in the land of the Bulgars, many of whom migrated and came to our lands and settled south of Kokh". Both migrations are dated to

5025-406: The nation of Onoğurs Bulğars. Nikephoros I (early 9th century) noted that Kubrat was the lord of the Onoğundurs ; his contemporary Theophanes referred to them as Onoğundur–Bulğars . Constantine VII (mid-10th century) remarked that the Bulğars formerly called themselves Onoğundurs . This association was previously mirrored in Armenian sources, such as the Ashkharatsuyts , which refers to

5100-435: The nomadic equestrians of Central Asia, who migrated seasonally in pursuit of good pastures, as well attraction to economic and cultural interaction with sedentary societies. Being in contact with sedentary cultures, they began mastering the crafts of blacksmithing , pottery , and carpentry . The politically dominant tribe or clan usually gave its name to the tribal confederation. Such confederations were often encouraged by

5175-476: The remnants of Onoğurs, Utigurs and Kutrigurs among others. The Turk rule weakened sometime after 600, allowing the Avars to reestablish the control over the region. As the Western Turkic Khaganate declined, finally collapsing in the middle of the 7th century, it was against Avar rule that the Bulgars, recorded as Onoğundur–Bulğars , reappeared. They revolted under their leader Kubrat (c. 635), who seems to have been prepared by Heraclius (610–641) against

5250-531: The same, as oq/ogsiz meant "arrow", while oğul meant "offspring, child, son", oğuš/uğuš was "tribe, clan", and the verb oğša-/oqša meant "to be like, resemble". There also appears to be an etymological association between the Bulgars and the preceding Kutrigur ( Kuturgur > Quturğur > *Toqur(o)ğur < toqur ; "nine" in Proto-Bulgar; toquz in Common Turkic) and Utigur ( Uturgur > Uturğur < utur/otur ; "thirty" in Proto-Bulgar; otuz in Common Turkic) – as 'Oğur (Oghur) tribes, with

5325-426: The second half of the 4th century AD. The "disturbances" which caused them are believed to be the expansion of the Huns in the East-European steppes. Dimitrov recorded that the toponyms of the Bolha and Vorotan rivers, tributaries of the Aras river, are known as Bolgaru-chaj and Vanand-chaj , and could confirm the Bulgar settlement of Armenia. Around 463 AD, the Akatziroi and other tribes that had been part of

5400-654: The tribe of the Khazars, from within Berulia ( Bessarabia ), which neighbors with Sarmatia, attacked them with impunity. They overran all the lands lying behind the Pontos Euxeinos and penetrated to the sea. After this, having made Bayan a subject, they forced him to pay tribute. Asparukh, according to the Pseudo –Zacharias Rhetor, "fled from the Khazars out of the Bulgarian mountains". In the Khazar ruler Joseph's letter

5475-737: The two Roman generals. In 539 and 540, Procopius reported a powerful Hunnic army crossed the Danube, devastated Illyricum and reached up to the Anastasian Wall . Such large distances covered in a short time indicate they were horsemen. Jordanes described, in his work Getica (551), the Pontic steppe beyond the Akatziri, above the Pontic Sea, as the habitat of the Bulgari , "whom the evils of our sins have made famous". In this region,

5550-532: Was assembled in the mountain passes to intercept the Byzantines as they returned to Constantinople. At dawn on 26 July, the Bulgarians managed to trap the retreating Nikephoros in the Varbitsa Pass . The Byzantine army was wiped out in the ensuing battle and Nikephoros was killed, while his son Staurakios was carried to safety by the imperial bodyguard after receiving a paralyzing wound to the neck. It

5625-429: Was complete, and Krum advanced on Constantinople. On the way, most of the fortresses, hearing about the strength of the Bulgarian army, surrendered without a fight. Only Adrianople resisted. The siege of this city was led by Krum's brother, who continued the advance towards the Byzantine capital. In front of the walls of the Byzantine capital, the ruler performed impressive pagan sacrifices of people and animals. This made

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