1

having established their independence from

Bulgarian Medieval Avars and Turks. Upon their ruler Kubrat’s
Empire (First and Second) death in 665, his polity fragmented, and
part of the Bulgars settled on the Danube
ALEXANDER ANGELOV
under the leadership of his son Asparukh
The College of William and Mary, USA
(r.668–694). After a victory over the Byzan-
The designation “empire,” when applied to tines, Asparukh forced Emperor Constantine
medieval Bulgaria, is entangled in issues IV (r. 668–685) to recognize his settlement in
related to struggles for political sovereignty, Moesia (northern Bulgaria) and established
19th-century national sensibilities, and schol- his capital in Pliska. Early Bulgar rulers used
arly debates over titulature and ideology. the title kana sybigi, usually interpreted as
Traditional Bulgarian historiography has identical or equivalent to the Turkic titles
adopted the Slavic word tsarstvo to designate khan/qaghan; Greek sources generally label
the two medieval polities that emerged on the these monarchs archon (“ruler”) and Latin
Danube in the eastern Balkans. Although it is ones rex (“king”).
often translated as “empire,” the word has a Given the clan structure of the early medi-
more complex sense due to the equivalence eval Bulgars, their unclear notions of sover-
of the term tsar with Greek basileus and the eignty, and hegemony over native Slavic
varying historical and literary usages of groups, it is practically impossible to establish
each title. specific borders for Asparukh’s polity. The
Apart from the monarch’s imperial title, if original extent of the Bulgar state on the Dan-
the annexation and subjugation of alien ube generally encompassed the Moesian and
groups or lands are to be considered basic Wallachian plains in between the Balkan
characteristics of “empire,” medieval Bulgaria and the Carpathian Mountains. Asparukh
certainly qualifies as it incorporated and and subsequent rulers proved to be skillful
partly absorbed foreign populations like leaders and managed to secure and extend
Slavs, Thraco-Illyrians, Greeks, Cumans, their power in the Balkans. Among them,
and Vlachs. The foundation of the Bulgarian most notable was Tervel (r.694–715) who
state on the Danube is usually set at 681; it helped the Byzantine emperor Justinian II
lasted until 1018 when it was conquered by (r.685–695 and 705–711) to reclaim his
Byzantium. The second Bulgarian polity throne in 705. Tervel was rewarded with the
was formed in 1185 after the successful rebel- title Caesar, making him second only to Jus-
lion of the Asenevtsi family against the tinian and the first foreign ruler to receive
Byzantines and endured until 1422 when such high honor from Byzantium.
the Ottomans subjugated its last vestiges. One the most successful early Bulgar rulers
The ethnic and linguistic origins of the Bul- was Krum (r.796–814), who gained control
gars are disputed, but they seem to have over additional territories to the south and
included both Turkic- and Iranian-speaking northwest. Conflict with Byzantium culmi-
elements as indicated by names, titles, and nated in a campaign led by the Byzantine
attested vocabulary. In the early 7th century, emperor Nikephoros I (802–811), who sacked
the Bulgars lived north of the Black Sea, Pliska, but Krum ambushed and killed

The Encyclopedia of Empire, First Edition. Edited by John M. MacKenzie.

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe184
2

Nikephoros on his retreat through the known as Old Church Slavonic (also referred
Balkan Mountains. Krum’s son Omurtag to as Old Bulgarian, not without much con-
(r.814–831) signed a 30-year peace with the troversy). The endorsement of Old Church
Byzantines. This, and his emulation of the Byz- Slavonic proved of monumental significance,
antine court, did not keep him from persecut- as it now underpins most South- and East-
ing Christians within his realm. Apart from Slavic languages and is used in the Eastern
territorial advances westward into Pannonia Orthodox liturgy.
and southwestward into the Balkans, Omurtag Boris’s dedicated promotion of Old Church
is best known for his domestic policy and Slavonic was certainly crucial, but the alpha-
building projects. bet’s invention and its original development
Bulgaria’s proximity to Byzantium pro- were largely due to the work of two Christian
foundly influenced the historical and cultural missionaries from Thessaloniki. Constantine
development of its society. In 864/865, after (826/7–869), better known as Cyril, and Meth-
a series of diplomatic exchanges both odius (815–885) were Byzantines who grew up
with the papacy and the Constantinopolitan among the local Slavic community. The major
patriarchate, Boris I (r.852–889) sought missionary activity of the two brothers began
Christianity from the Byzantines. He was in 863 when Rastislav, the ruler of Great Mora-
baptized, adopting the name of the Byzantine via, invited them into his lands. According
emperor, Michael. Boris’s conversion and the to tradition, Constantine single-handedly
Christianization of Bulgaria were complex invented the first Slavic alphabet, called Glag-
processes intertwined with major political olitic, enabling the translation of biblical and
and social developments beyond the Balkans other Christian texts. Despite the early suc-
like papal and patriarchal confrontation over cesses, Great Moravia re-oriented itself toward
ecclesiastical jurisdiction. In later Christian the papacy, and in 885 Cyril and Methodius’
accounts and especially in Bulgaria’s modern students were expelled. Boris saw an opportu-
national imagination, however, they are nity in them, welcomed them into his polity,
often construed as a singular event with and urged them to resume the work of their
epochal significance for Bulgarian ethnic teachers. Glagolitic became the official
formation and the endurance of its native script of Bulgaria. Under Boris’s son Symeon
culture. I (r.893–927), Glagolitic was replaced with
Intertwined with modern debates on an adaptation of the Greek alphabet, aug-
Europe’s cultural identity, the foundation of mented with Glagolitic symbols for sounds
an autocephalous national church, and the absent in it. This new script was called Cyrillic
universal authority of the pope, Bulgaria’s after Constantine’s monastic name. To this
conversion is bound to remain a debated sub- day, it is at the core of South- and East-Slavic
ject. Whatever any retrospective evaluations alphabets.
might be, however, Boris’s immediate policies Symeon ascended the throne unexpect-
were indisputably ambitious. He sought polit- edly in 893, after the removal of his
ical, religious, and cultural independence, and brother Vladimir for anti-Christian policies.
in 870 obtained autonomy for his new Symeon’s early reign was devoted to cultural
church. By the 880s, he had launched a gen- and domestic activities continuing his
eral educational program to promote Slavic father’s policies, but also including the
culture. It included building churches and construction of the new capital Preslav. Lit-
monasteries, setting up missionary schools, erary production included translations of
and establishing a new written language biblical, patristic, and historical literature,
 3

not without creative compositions of a more The years after Peter’s death in 970, how-
contemporary nature like Khrabur’s On the ever, proved tumultuous. Rus’ and Byzantine
Alphabet (written sometime between 885 invasions diminished the state. In 971 the
and 893) and John the Exarch’s Hexameron Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes
(written in c.893). Otherwise, Symeon is best (r.969–976) annexed northeastern Bulgaria.
remembered for a series of generally success- The western portions of the Bulgarian state
ful military campaigns and the ambition remained independent, under the leadership
to either obtain the Byzantine throne or be of Samuel, who eventually took the throne
recognized as an equal emperor to the (r.997–1014). After Samuel’s initial successes,
Byzantines; these issues are debated in histo- the able Byzantine emperor Basil II
riography. The Constantinopolitan patri- (r.976–1025) inflicted a series of defeats on
arch Nicholas Mystikos (r.901–907 and Bulgaria. In 1018, Basil, who came to be
912–925) did crown him “emperor of the known as the Bulgar-Slayer, officially
Bulgarians” in 913, but, as illustrated by a annexed the last vestiges of the first Bulgarian
surviving seal, Symeon saw himself as state.
“emperor of the Romans.” Symeon also pro- From 1018 to 1185, Bulgaria became part
moted his archbishop to patriarch, without of the Byzantine Empire. After completing
Byzantine recognition. his conquest, Basil II demoted the Bulgarian
Symeon’s son Peter I (r.927–969) contin- patriarch to an autocephalous archbishop,
ued his father’s policies. Soon after coming but kept his seat at Ohrid, thus using the
to power, he signed a lasting peace treaty with pre-existing ecclesiastical system to govern
the Byzantines. To cement it, he married the local population. Bulgaria was split into
Maria Lakapene, the granddaughter of themes (Byzantine administrative units),
Emperor Romanos I (r.920–944), the first most notably that of Bulgaria in the west
certain foreign marriage of a Byzantine prin- and Paristrion (later called Mysia/Vlachia)
cess. The treaty officially recognized Peter as in the northeast. Garrisons were established
the emperor (tsar) of the Bulgarians, and in key towns to ensure prompt reaction in
accepted the Bulgarian patriarchate. The case of rebellions and to guard against Peche-
terms of the treaty of 927 lasted for four dec- neg and Cuman nomadic raids from across
ades, marking a period of general stability. the Danube. Rebellions did occur, most nota-
Peter’s Christian devotion enriched the bly in 1040 and in 1072, under the leadership
church and secured him a place, like his of Samuel’s descendants.
grandfather Boris, among the saints of the It was another such rebellion, however,
Bulgarian church. On the other end of the that established the Second Bulgarian Empire
social spectrum, a simple hermit named Ivan in 1185, when two brothers, Theodore and
of Rila (c.876–946) laid the foundation of the Ivan Asen from the region of Turnovo, mobi-
most famous medieval Bulgarian monastery. lized local opposition against Byzantine rule.
A form of religious dissension in the period They were successful, not least because they
is the appearance of the Bogomil movement, co-opted Cuman support and because Byzan-
said to be a medieval descendant of ancient tine armies were preoccupied with a Norman
Manichaean dualism. Its actual social influ- invasion of the Balkans. Theodore pro-
ence, however, is disputed. The achievements claimed himself emperor and took the name
of Symeon and Peter’s reigns have led Peter after Symeon’s son, thus claiming polit-
to the period’s designation as Bulgaria’s ical continuity with the earlier state. Failing to
“golden age.” regain the former capital Preslav at first, Peter
4

IV (r.1185–1197) and Ivan Asen made Turn- and Thrace. In 1235, Ivan Asen II restored
ovo the new capital and the seat of Bulgaria’s the Bulgarian patriarchate as part of his
new independent archbishop. In 1188, a for- new alliance with the Byzantine empire of
mal treaty with Byzantium left the territory Nicaea and separated from papal jurisdiction.
north of the Balkan Mountains to Bulgaria. Considering the relative peace, expansion,
The two brothers initially ruled together, and domestic development, the rule of Ivan
but Ivan Asen I (r.1188–1196) eventually Asen II proved one of the most successful
came to the fore. in the history of medieval Bulgaria. After
After Peter and Ivan Asen I, their younger his death in 1241, however, attacks from
brother and successor Kaloian (r.1197–1207) Nicaea, Epirus, Hungary, and the Mongol
continued their policies of territorial expan- Golden Horde rapidly weakened the state.
sion and securing political legitimation. In The rule of minors, palace coups, and civil
1202, Kaloian entered negotiations with Pope wars further undermined Bulgaria.
Innocent III (r.1198–1216), offering to accept Constantine Asen I (r.1257–1277) and
Roman ecclesiastical jurisdiction if the pope George Terter I (r.1280–1292) attempted to
recognized him as an emperor and granted reassert Bulgaria’s position by rejecting
him an independent patriarchate. Kaloian Byzantine ecclesiastical policy while making
was indeed crowned by a papal envoy but only alliances with western would-be crusaders
as a rex (king) alongside a primate archbishop. against Byzantium. Such plans proved futile
Like his predecessors, however, Kaloian amidst internal troubles and foreign aggres-
claimed more and continued to style himself sion. Bulgaria fared better in the early 14th
emperor. By defeating and capturing the Latin century, particularly under Theodore Sveto-
emperor Baldwin I of Flanders at Adrianople slav (r.1299–1322) who asserted himself in
in 1205, Kaloian helped the development of spite of Byzantine interference and saw the
Byzantine successor states after the fall of Con- decline of Mongol influence. Michael Asen
stantinople to the crusaders in 1204. III “Shishman” (r.1323–1330) pursued an
Kaloian died in 1207 and was succeeded by aggressive policy, which ended with his death
his nephew Boril (r.1207–1218). Boril faced in battle against Serbia, but his nephew Ivan
considerable domestic opposition, including Alexander (r.1331–1371) allied with the Serbs
rebel kinsmen and Bogomil agitation (con- and profited from Byzantine civil wars to
demned as a heresy by a church council in recover some of the lost ground. In spite of
1211). Defeated by the Hungarians and by a political and military decline at the end of
the Latin Empire, Boril lost considerable ter- his long reign, he presided over a relatively
ritory in the south and west. After a civil war, prosperous society that brought about a
Ivan Asen I’s son, Ivan Asen II (r.1218–1241), second “golden age” of Bulgarian art and
seized the throne. While his predecessors had literature.
relied on war to secure their personal and After earlier Ottoman raids for plunder in
state power, Ivan Asen II initially relied on the 1350s, sultan Murad I (r.1362–1389)
diplomacy. Multiple alliances and strategic began to expand Ottoman rule into the Bal-
marriages secured relative peace for his polity kans, a development that no Balkan state
and brought about its consolidation. Attacked could resist. By 1376, Bulgaria had become
by Theodore Komnenos of Epirus and Thes- an Ottoman vassal. Turkish raids in the
saloniki (r.1215–1230), Ivan Asen II won the region, however, persisted with the conquests
battle of Klokotnitsa in 1230, capturing his of Sofia (1385), and of Preslav and Silistra
enemy and annexing most of Macedonia (1388). The Ottoman advance into Bulgarian
 5

territory was facilitated by the fragmentation who became metropolitan of Kiev in 1415.
of the state into polities centered on Turnovo, These and other personal accomplishments
Vidin, and Dobrudzha. have led scholars to characterize the period
Although Bulgaria’s political authority as the Second South Slavic influence on
unraveled, its culture had continued to pros- Russia. Outside of Russia, Constantine of
per till the end. Various religious and secular Kostenets, better known as Constantine
texts were written or translated. Surviving the Philosopher, deserves notice. He estab-
examples of the literary production for the lished himself in Serbia in 1411. Due to
court include the London Gospels of Ivan his erudition, he secured a position at the
Alexander and a translation of the Byzantine court of the despot Stefan Lazarević
chronicle of Constantine Manasses commis- (r.1389–1427) and soon became the leading
sioned by the same monarch. Among the figure of the local cultural elite. Among
numerous churches and monasteries built other works, Constantine wrote On
in this period is the Boiana church famous Letters, which endorsed and promoted the
for its elaborate mid-13th-century frescoes. linguistic reforms of Euthymius in Serbia
The major cultural center, however, remained and beyond.
Turnovo until its fall in 1393. Bulgarian rulers The accomplishments and influence of
transferred to their fortified capital relics of the Bulgarian émigrés abroad, however,
the saints like Paraskeue of Epibaton and were of no avail to the struggling Bulgarian
miracle-working icons like Demetrios of rulers. Having lost much of his land, Ivan
Thessaloniki as marks of status and divine Shishman (r.1371–1395), who ruled from
protection. Turnovo, sought the assistance of Serbia
The most prominent intellectual in the and Hungary against the Ottomans, but
final days of Turnovo was Euthymius, the last only undermined his own position. Reduced
patriarch (r.1375–1393). The primary objec- to Nikopol after losing Turnovo in 1393 to
tive of Euthymius’ intellectual program was the Ottomans, he was executed in 1395. His
to establish grammatical consistency and brother Ivan Sratsimir (r.1356–1397) still
impose standard orthography for the various ruled from Vidin in the west, but was also
Slavic languages. He found the solution in the deposed by the Ottomans soon after the
Old Church Slavonic of Constantine and failure of the anti-Ottoman crusade at
Methodius. The script of his great intellectual Nikopol in 1396.
predecessors, he believed, should standardize After Turnovo, Vidin stood as the last rem-
the numerous local dialects and forms into a nant of the Bulgarian polity, but it did not
single Slavic language and official form of survive for much longer. Although Ivan Srat-
expression. Exiled to Bachkovo monastery simir lost his throne in 1397, recent scholar-
after the fall of Turnovo in 1393, he taught ship has suggested that the last vestiges of the
until his death around 1402. medieval Bulgarian state endured until 1422.
The Ottoman conquest of Bulgaria scat- Certainly, by the early 15th century, medieval
tered many intellectuals abroad. They Bulgaria had ceased to exist and passed under
sought refuge in Serbia, Moldavia, Walla- Ottoman sovereignty for nearly five hun-
chia, and Russia. A number of them estab- dred years.
lished successful careers there. One of the
most notable examples is Cyprian who SEE ALSO: Byzantine Empire: 2. 650–1204;
became the metropolitan of all Russia Byzantine Empire: 3. 1204–1461; Christianity
(1390–1406). Another is Grigorii Tsamblak and empire; Golden Horde Khanate; Mongol
6

Empire, Great; Ottoman Empire; Russia: 2. Fine, J. V. A. 1987. The Late Medieval Balkans:
Moscow, Grand Duchy of (13th century A Critical Survey from the late Twelfth Century
to 1547) to the Ottoman Conquest. Ann Arbor: The
University of Michigan Press.
Moskov, M. 1988. Imennik na bulgarskite
FURTHER READING khanove (novo tulkuvane) [Nominalia of Bul-
garian khans (new interpretation)]. Sofia: Dr
Bozhilov, I. and V. Giuzelev. 2006. Istoriia na sred- Petur Beron.
novekovna Bulgariia VII–XIV vek [History of Runciman, S. 1930. A History of the First Bulgarian
medieval Bulgaria, 7th–14th century]. Sofia: Empire. London: G. Bell & Sons.
Anubis. Sophoulis, P. 2012. Byzantium and Bulgaria,
Browning, R. 1975. Byzantium and Bulgaria: 775–831. Leiden: Brill.
A Comparative Study across the Early Medieval Tiutiundzhiev, I. and P. Pavlov. 1992. Bulgarskata
Frontier. Berkeley: University of Califor- durzhava i osmanskata ekspanziia (1369–1422)
nia Press. [The Bulgarian State and the Ottoman Expan-
Curta, F. 2006. Southeastern Europe in the Middle sion (1369–1422)]. Veliko Turnovo: Purva chas-
Ages (500–1250). Cambridge: Cambridge Uni- tna pechatnitsa-Iambol.
versity Press. Wolff, R. L. 1949. “The ‘Second Bulgarian Empire.’
Fine, J. V. A. 1977. “The Bulgarian Bogomil Move- Its Origin and History to 1204.” Speculum, 40
ment.” East European Quarterly, 11(4): 385–412. (2): 167–206.
Fine, J. V. A. 1983. The Early Medieval Balkans: Zlatarski, V. 1918–1940. Istoriia na bulgarskata
A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late durzhava prez srednite vekove [History of the
Twelfth Century. Ann Arbor: The University Bulgarian State during the Middle Ages]. 3 vols.
of Michigan Press. in 4 parts. Sofia: Pridvorna Pechatnitsa.