Historical data
As a state established by Khan Asparoukh, Bulgaria has been in
existence for more than 13 centuries.
Thracians were the first settlers in the Bulgarian lands, and their
civilisation is evidenced by numerous archaeological finds, tombs,
gold and silver treasures.
Evidence of the presence of life in prehistoric times exists in
the best preserved Neolithic dwellings discovered world-wide – namely
those near the town of Stara Zagora, in the Bacho Kiro cave near
the town of Dryanovo, and in the Magurata cave, close to the town
of Belogradchik.
The first written reference of the name “Bulgarians” is
found in an anonymous Roman chronography of AD 452.
The history of Bulgaria is divided into four major periods: First
Bulgarian kingdom (AD 681 – 1018); Second Bulgarian kingdom
(AD 1185 – 1396); Third Bulgarian kingdom (1878 – 1945),
and Modern Bulgaria.
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First Bulgarian kingdom
AD 681 – The Bulgarian state was established – one
of the first ever European states. The first Bulgarian capital
was Pliska. Its tzars (khans) Asparoukh, Krum the Dreadful (AD
803 – 814) and Omurtag (AD 852 – 831), turned it
into a mighty power in south-eastern Europe.
AD 855 – The Saints Cyril and
Methodius, brothers, created the Slavonic alphabet.
AD 865 – Prince St. Boris (AD
852 – 907) did away with paganism, and introduced
Eastern Orthodox Christianity as the official religion
in Bulgaria. In AD 865 he moved the capital from Pliska
to Veliki Preslav (Great Preslav). The Byzantine Empire
recognised him as tzar of the Bulgarians.
AD 893 – 927 – Under the
reign of Tzar Simeon (the Great), son of Tzar Boris I,
the Bulgarian kingdom became the largest in territory
and the most powerful in Europe. The “golden age” of
Bulgarian culture set in.
AD 1018 – Emperor Basil II conquered
Bulgaria and turned it into a province of the Byzantine
empire. more... |
Second Bulgarian kingdom
1185-1396 – The era of the Second Bulgarian
kingdom, which came into being after a successful uprising by
the Bulgarian aristocracy. The reign of the Assen dynasty began.
They proclaimed the town of Turnovo as capital.
John-Assen II (1218 – 1241) was the best known and most powerful
ruler of the period of the Second Bulgarian kingdom.
1396 – Bulgaria fell entirely under
Ottoman domination.
For five centuries Bulgaria was a province of the Ottoman Empire.
During the conquest the aristocracy was destroyed, the Bulgarian
administration was done away with, the Bulgarian Church was deprived
of autocephaly and partriarchical rank, and was placed under the
patriarchy of Constantinople.
1652 – The beginning of the Bulgarian
National Revival. Monk Paissii of the Hilendar monastery (on
Mount Athos) wrote the book Slav-Bulgarian History.
1870 – Start of the organised national
liberation movement.
1876 – The April uprising of the enslaved
Bulgarian people broke out. It was put down in a sea of blood,
but caused a notable international response of indignation
at Turkish tyranny.
1877-1878 – The war of Russian-Turkish Liberation,
in which Bulgaria gave many lives for the sake of freedom. more... |
Third Bulgarian kingdom
The Third Bulgarian state began with the San Stefano peace agreement,
signed on 3 March 1878. On the basis of that agreement Bulgaria
regained the territories of the three historic and ethnic Bulgarian
regions, namely Moesia, Thrace and Macedonia. Bulgaria became the
largest Balkan country.
13 July 1878 – The Treaty of Berlin was signed, on the basis
of which newly liberated Bulgaria was divided into the Principality
of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia, and a large portion of Bulgarian
lands was sequestered, to remain under Ottoman domination.
16 April 1879 – The Turnovo Constitution was passed solemnly
by the First Grand National Assembly.
26 June 1879 – Alexander Battenberg became prince of Bulgaria,
and Sofia the capital of the new Bulgarian state.
6 September 1885 – Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria
and Eastern Rumelia (the real liberation of Bulgaria).
22 September 1908 – King Ferdinand I proclaimed Bulgaria’s
full independence from Turkish rule. more...
The
Rulers of Bulgaria |
Modern Bulgaria
After the restoration of national statehood in 1878 Bulgaria was
a constitutional monarchy with a democratic government and a rapidly
developing economy. The process of successful growth was curtailed
as a result of the adventurism of King Ferdinand I, which led to
the catastrophes of 1913, when the country had to wage simultaneous
wars against Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, Turkey, and Romania, and
of 1918, during the war against the Entente countries.
1923 and 1934 – Democratically elected governments were toppled
by coups d’état that brought authoritarian regimes to
power.
1941 – Bulgaria entered World War II on the side of the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo
Axis. Bulgaria was the only ally of Hitler's Germany which did not
allow the killing of its Jewish citizens. It was thanks to King Boris
III and the Bulgarian government that no hostilities were waged on
its territory.
1944 – After Word War II, as a result of the Yalta agreement
between the Great Powers, Bulgaria fell under the sphere of influence
of the Soviet Union.
1953-1989 – Years of the communist rule of Todor Zhivkov who
headed both the party and the state.
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10 November 1989 – Under the pressure of domestic
and international circumstances Todor Zhivkov was forced
to resign. Bulgaria once again embarked on the road to
democratic development.
7 December 1989 – The Union of Democratic Forces (UDF)
was formed as a unification of 13 opposition organisations.
10-17 June 1990 – First free parliamentary elections.
12 July 1991 – A new democratic Constitution was passed.
13 October 1991 – First free local authority elections.
January 1992 – First free presidential elections. Zhelyu
Zhelev was elected as head of state. |
3 November 1996 – Petar Stoyanov, proposed by the UDF, was
elected with a landslide majority as President of the Republic of
Bulgaria.
19 April 1997 – The Parliamentary elections were won by the
Democratic Forces United (DFU). A government was formed, headed by
Ivan Kostov as Prime Minister. Bulgaria started on the road to genuine
democratic reforms. more... |
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