History > Bulgaria

During the Great Migration of Peoples the proto-Bulgarians asserted their importance as a factor in the history of Central and Eastern Europe. According to the most distinguished Bulgarian medievalist Vasil Zlatarski, the proto-Bulgarians contributed to the organizational structure and the name of the state and the ethnos while the Slavs provided the human resources and the basis for power.

The proto-Bulgarians belonged to the Turco-Altaic language group. Their native land is thought to have been Western Siberia, along the valley of the Irtish River. During the 1st-2nd centuries AD they migrated in the direction of Eastern Europe and settled in the region north of the Caucusus. There the proto-Bulgarians established contact with the local native tribes of Iranian origin, whose cultural achievements and social hierarchy had a substantial impact on their further development. The proto-Bulgarians were mentioned and called by their own ethnic name (Bulgars - there are numerous speculations as to its meaning) for the first time by a Roman chronographer in 354 AD.

The settlement of Slavic tribes in Central Europe and in the Balkans is one of the most significant results of the Great Migration of Peoples. The Slavs belong to the Indo-European language family, and their formation as a distinctive group within the Indo-European community took place in 1000 BC.

They inhabited the vast open spaces of Eastern Europe, north of the Carpathian mountains. The Medieval authors were unanimous that the Slavs were the most numerous of all peoples who inhabited Europe at that time. The Slavs lived in close proximity to the Germanic tribes and thus became known to the ancient Roman writers, who called them venedi. The Roman history writer Tacitus (1st century AD) thought that the Slavs were related to the Germans, because their way of life was similar in many ways.

The division of the powerful Roman Empire in 395 AD into an Eastern Empire with its capital in Constantinople, and a Western Empire with its capital in Rome, was a fact with an extreme importance in European history.

The Eastern Roman empire, better known in historical literature as Byzantium, turned out to possess a far greater vitality and stability than its Western counterpart. While in 476 AD the Western Roman Empire collapsed under the vicious attacks of the Barbarian tribes, Byzantium was to continue its existence for another thousand years. Its excellent military and administrative apparatus, as well as its brilliant diplomatic flexibility, succeeded at preserving its territorial integrity and independence from the neighboring states and the constantly invading Barbarian tribes.

The Balkan Peninsula during the 4th-7th centuries AD
The Migration of the Slavs to the Balkan Peninsula
The Proto-Bulgarians in European History

The thirteen centuries of Bulgarian history are usually divided in five distinctive periods: First Bulgarian Empire, Byzantine occupation, Second Bulgarian Empire, Ottoman occupation, and Third Bulgarian State.

Origins of the Bulgarian nation
First Bulgarian Empire (681-1018)
Byzantine Occupation (1018-1186)
Second Bulgarian Empire (1186-1396)
Ottoman Occupation (1396-1878)
Third Bulgarian State (1878-present)