Coordinates: 42°45′N 25°30′E / 42.750°N 25.500°E
Bulgaria (i/bʌlˈɡɛəriə/, /bʊlˈ-/; Bulgarian: България, tr. Bǎlgarija, IPA: [bɐɫˈɡarijɐ]), officially the Republic of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Република България, tr. Republika Bǎlgarija), is a country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, and the Black Sea to the east. With a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi), Bulgaria is Europe's 16th-largest country.
Organised prehistoric cultures began developing on Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period. Its ancient history saw the presence of the Thracians and later the Persians,Greeks and Romans. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian state dates back to the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681 AD, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavs during the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries. The Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) led to the formation of the Third Bulgarian State. The following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both world wars. In 1946 it became a one-party socialist state as part of the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc. In December 1989 the ruling Communist Party allowed multi-party elections, which subsequently led to Bulgaria's transition into a democracy and a market-based economy.
Searching, the abstract colours reason
But I persist to fail in the absence of faith
Cycles bound by throes of attrition
Oft united, yet surely more is lost in time
Beyond fathom, billions firing
Flashes burn and spew prostrate
Wisped monads from crimson puncture
Our bonds are broken, all meaning sundered
Striving for constant reduction
Bursting from the pit beneath
Unyielding yet beyond the grasp
Of scale and form
Nothingness born
Fleetingly
Of sprawl and flame
From nothing it came
Seemingly
The gap between us tears apart
Impel our end
Layers surge and strip away
Cast into nought
Of matter torn
As eons I mourn
Achingly
Of atoms maimed
As epochs are tamed
Blindingly
In that final absence,