Bulgarian kingdom: history of origin

In the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula is the Republic of Bulgaria, which has developed a long and difficult path in its development, during which the stages of political and cultural upheaval were followed by periods of decline. The formation of the Bulgarian kingdom and its subsequent history became the topic of this article.

The creation of the first state in the Balkans

The main stages of the history of the Bulgarian kingdom can be divided into three separate periods. The first people who settled a significant part of the Balkan Peninsula in 681 AD. E., Became protobo-Bulgarians, consisting of representatives of the Turkic tribes, from the IV century inhabited the Black Sea steppes up to the foothills of the North Caucasus. They were joined also by separate Slavic and Thracian tribes. The state formed by them went down in history as the First Bulgarian Kingdom and existed until 1018, when it fell under the onslaught of Byzantium.

The period of its highest flowering is considered to be the reign of King Simeon I of Great, which lasted from 893 to 927. Under him, the capital of the First Bulgarian Kingdom, until 893 in Pliska, and then transferred to Preslav, was not only a major trade and political center, but also played the role of a link linking many Slavic peoples.

The heyday of the First Bulgarian Kingdom

During the reign of Simeon I the borders of his state covered most of the Balkan Peninsula, providing access to the three seas - the Black, Aegean and Adriatic. According to the testimony of the largest modern Byzantinist - French scientist of Greek origin Eleni Arveler - it was the first state created by barbarians in the territory that belonged to those years of Byzantium.

The first Bulgarian kingdom deserved the gratitude of the descendants in that it greatly contributed to the education of the pagan Slavic tribes by the light of Orthodoxy. It was here that during the reign of the pious Tsar Boris I (852-889), later glorified in the saints' image, the first Slavic alphabet appeared, and hence the spread of literacy in the countries of Eastern Europe.

The fall of the state under the onslaught of Byzantium

Throughout the history of the First Bulgarian Kingdom, political tension remained between its rulers and Byzantine emperors, part of the territory of which was captured by Proto-Bulgarians in 681. Often it grew into armed clashes, and sometimes into full-scale wars. After a series of such open aggressions, perpetrated by the Byzantine emperors Nikifor Foka, John Tzimisce and Basil III, the First Bulgarian kingdom fell, unable to withstand the invasion of a more numerous and strong neighbor.

To our days have reached remarkable monuments of architecture of that period, preserved mainly in the two capitals of the ancient state - Pliska and Preslav. The first of them was famous for its citadel - a fortress that remained inaccessible for several centuries. Even today you can see the remains of the surrounding stone walls, the thickness of which reached two and a half meters, and towered above them pentahedral towers.

Revival of the Bulgarian Kingdom

About how and when the Second Bulgarian Kingdom arose, historians have a very definite opinion. Byzantine rule in the Balkans put an end to the uprising that broke out in 1185 under the leadership of Theodor-Peter and his brothers Assenia and Kaloyan. As a result, the independent statehood was restored, and the leaders of the insurgents went down in history under the names of the kings Peter IV and his co-ruler Ivan Asen I. The Second Bulgarian kingdom that they created lasted until 1422 and, like the First, after a long resistance fell under the onslaught of the invaders. This time, his independence was put an end to the Ottoman Empire.

Country in crisis

The history of the Bulgarian kingdom of this period is marked by the historical cataclysm that befell many peoples of that era - the invasion of nomadic Mongol tribes. This misfortune befell the country when, after the death of King Peter IV and his brother, she fell into the hands of weak and incompetent rulers, which caused the loss of influence in the Balkan Peninsula. As a result, Bulgaria was forced to pay tribute to the Horde for a long time.

Its difficult position and obvious weakness was not slow to take advantage of neighbors who seized part of the territories formerly owned by the Bulgarian kingdom. Thus, Macedonia and Northern Thrace once again moved to Byzantium, and Belgrade was conquered by Hungarians. Gradually, Walachia was lost. The state to such a degree lost its former power, that at one time the son of the Tatar Khan Nagoya was his king.

The end of independence and the beginning of the Turkish yoke

However, the Ottoman Turks began to make devastating raids on the Balkan Peninsula in the XIV century, during one of which they were plundered the capital of the Bulgarian kingdom of that period - the town of Tyrnov, which completely passed under the control of the conquerors in 1393.

One of the reasons for the defeat of the Bulgarian kingdom was an unsuccessful attempt to conclude an alliance with neighboring states that were also under threat of seizure. Particularly active were the actions of the Turks after the Bulgarian king Ivan Alexander IV died in 1371, who managed to maintain peaceful relations with them.

The result was sad: a series of defeats, which began in 1371 with the defeat of the Battle of the Maritsa River and ended with a victorious march through the Balkan Peninsula of Sultan Bayazid I, led to the loss of political independence by the Bulgarian state for the long five centuries that went down in history as a period of Turkish yoke.

The creation of the last Bulgarian monarchy

The third Bulgarian kingdom was established in 1908 as a result of the proclamation of the independence of the state from the Ottoman Empire, which was extremely weakened by that time. Taking advantage of the crisis, the Bulgarians managed to throw off the centuries-old yoke and create an independent constitutional monarchy headed by King Ferdinand I. One of his first political actions was the seizure and annexation to the Bulgarian kingdom of Eastern Romania, which until then was an autonomous Turkish province.

The territory of Bulgaria underwent significant changes during the two Balkan wars, which followed one after another in the period from 1912 to 1913. As a result of the first of them, Ferdinand I managed to return and annex the vast territory of Thrace to the state, and also to secure access to the Aegean Sea. In the second, military success changed the Bulgarians, and part of the lands seized earlier came out of their control.

During the First World War, Bulgaria was one of the Entente countries and thereby tarnished itself by betraying the interests of the Slavic world. The reason for this was the desire of Ferdinand I, using an alliance with Germany, Austria-Hungary and its recent enemy - Turkey, to join the state so desired by the land of Macedonia. However, this adventure resulted in Bulgaria's military defeat and its forced abdication.

Participation of the country in the Second World War and the end of the monarchy

World War II Bulgaria began with the voluntary provision of its territory to accommodate the German troops. Then followed her adherence to the military alliance of Germany, Italy and Japan. As a result of joint military actions with these states, Bulgaria seized a significant coast of the Aegean Sea, which included part of Western Thrace and the territory of Vardar Macedonia.

In the history of the Second World War, a disgraceful page became terror, equivalent to genocide, deployed by the Bulgarian occupation forces in the Greek city of Drama, the majority of whose population were Turkish immigrants. At the same time since 1941 on the territory of Bulgaria active units of popular resistance, fighting against the Nazis. Their organizers and leaders were members who were then underground in the Bulgarian Communist Party. Through their actions they made a significant contribution to the weakening of the forces of the Third Reich.

From the official declaration of war to the Soviet Union, the Bulgarian government abstained and did not undertake military operations. Even when in September 1944 Stalin declared war on them, this did not provoke an active resistance on the part of the Bulgarian army, which by that time numbered half a million people. The anti-fascist insurrection, organized by the Patriotic Front, which broke out at the beginning of September, put an end to the rule of the pro-German government, as a result of which the new authorities announced Bulgaria's joining the anti-Hitler coalition.

The monarchical order in Bulgaria ceased to exist on September 8, 1946. He quietly and painlessly gave way to the republic, for which the majority of the population voted during the referendum.