27 September 2005
The territory of Bulgaria has been inhabited since the earliest
historical times.
Bulgaria’s historical heritage is related to the rich culture of Ancient
Thrace. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Bulgarian land was
incorporated in the Byzantine Empire.
In the second half of the 7th century, today’s northeastern Bulgaria was
inhabited by Proto-Bulgarians. In alliance with the Slavs they formed
the Bulgarian State, which was recognised by the Byzantine Empire in 681
AD. Khan Asparouh stood at the head of that state and Pliska was made
its capital.
Under Khan Kroum (803-814 AD) Bulgaria bordered with the empire of
Charles the Great to the west, and to the east the Bulgarian troops
reached the walls of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine
Empire.
In 864 AD, during the rule of Prince Boris I Michail (852-889 AD), the
Bulgarians adopted Christianity as their official religion. This act
abolished the ethnic differences between Proto-Bulgarians and Slavs, and
started building a unified Bulgarian nation.
In late 9th century the brothers Cyril (Constantine the Philosopher) and
Methodius created and disseminated the Cyrillic alphabet. The cities of
Ochrid and Pliska, and subsequently the new capital city Veliki Preslav
as well, became centres of Bulgarian culture, and of Slavonic culture as
well.
The Slavonic alphabet spread to other Slavic countries. Today, it is
used in Serbia, Russia, Ukraine, Macedonia and Belarus.
The reign of King Simeon I (893-927 AD) marked the "Golden Age of
Bulgarian Culture", and the territory of his state reached the Black Sea
and the Aegean Sea.
In 1018, after prolonged wars, Bulgaria was conquered by the Byzantine
Empire. From the very first years under Byzantine rule, the Bulgarians
started fighting for their freedom. In 1186, the uprising led by two
boyars, the brothers Assen and Peter, overthrew the domination of the
Byzantine Empire. The Second Bulgarian Kingdom was founded, and Turnovo
became the new capital. After 1186, Bulgaria was initially ruled by
Assen, and after that by Peter.
The earlier power of Bulgaria was restored during the reign of their
youngest brother, Kaloyan (1197-1207), and during the reign of King Ivan
Assen II (1218 -1241) the Second Bulgarian Kingdom reached its greatest
upsurge: political hegemony was established in Southeastern Europe, the
territory of the country spread to the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea and the
Adriatic Sea, the economy and culture developed.
In 1235, the Head of the Bulgarian Church was given the title of
Patriarch.
The strife among some of the boyars resulted in the division of Bulgaria
into two kingdoms: the kingdoms of Vidin and Turnovo. This weakened the
country and it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1396. For nearly
five centuries Bulgaria was under Ottoman domination. The initial years
were characterised by sporadic and unorganised attempts to win freedom.
Later the appearance of the clandestine fighters, the “haydouts”, made
the emergence of a well-organised national liberation movement possible.
The start of the organised revolutionary movement for liberation from
Ottoman domination is associated with the work of Georgi Sava Rakovski
(1821-1867) - writer and journalist, founder and ideologist of the
national-liberal liberation movement.
The main figures in the national liberation movement were Vassil Levski
(1837-1873) - strategist and ideologist of the movement and national
hero; Lyuben Karavelov (1834-1879) - writer and journalist, leader and
ideologist of the movement; Hristo Botev (1848-1876) - poet and
journalist, revolutionary, democrat, national hero, and many other
Bulgarians.
In 1876 the April Uprising broke out - the first significant and
organised attempt at liberation from Ottoman domination. The uprising
was brutally crushed and drowned in blood, but it drew the attention of
the European countries to the Bulgarian national issues.
In 1878, as a result of the Russian-Turkish War of Liberation
(1877-1878), the Bulgarian State was restored. The Congress of Berlin
(1878) divided the Bulgarian territories into three parts: the
Principality of Bulgaria was proclaimed - with Prince Alexander
Battemberg at its head, Eastern Rumelia - with a Christian Governor
appointed by the Sultan, while Thrace and Macedonia remained under the
domination of the Ottoman Empire.
In 1879, the first Constitution of Bulgaria was adopted and it was one
of the most democratic at the time.
The decisions of the Congress of Berlin (1878) triggered the
Kresna-Razlog Uprising (1878-1879), which in 1885 led to the unification
of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. The
Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising also broke out (1903), striving for the
liberation of Macedonia and Ochrid region.
Ferdinand Saxe-Coburg Gotha, Bulgarian Prince since 1887, proclaimed
Bulgaria's independence from Turkey and in 1908 became king of the
Bulgarian people. Bulgaria took part in the Balkan War (1912) and fought
together with Serbia and Greece for the freedom of Thrace and Macedonia.
Bulgaria won that war, but in the subsequent war among the allies (1913)
it was defeated by Romania, Turkey and by its earlier allies, who tore
from her territories with a Bulgarian population.
The intervention of Bulgaria in World War I on the side of the Central
Powers ended in a national catastrophe. The Neuilly Peace Treaty of 1919
imposed severe provisions on Bulgaria: it lost a great part of its
lands.
In the early 1940s, Bulgaria led a policy in the interest of Germany and
the Axis powers. Later Bulgaria declared war on the USA and the UK, but
Bulgarian cavalry units did not fight on the Eastern Front. King Boris
III supported the public pressure and did not allow the deportation of
about 50,000 Bulgarian Jews.
After the end of World War II, Bulgaria was under the political and
economic influence of the Soviet Union. In 1946 Bulgaria was proclaimed
a Republic. The Communist party came to powerThe Queen-Mother, King
Simeon ²² and Princess Maria-Louisa left Bulgaria for Egypt via Turkey.
The Bulgarian Communist Party came to power. The political parties
outside the Fatherland Front were banned, the economy and banks were
nationalised, the arable land was organised in cooperatives.
The date 10 November 1989 marked the beginning of the democratic changes
in Bulgaria. A new Constitution was adopted (1991). Bulgaria chose the
way of democratic development and market economy.
Bulgaria’s foreign policy is oriented to cohesion with the European
structures. The country has been a member of the Council of Europe since
1991. In 2004, Bulgaria joined NATO. In 1995, Bulgaria started the
process of accession to the European Union. In 1999, it started the
accession negotiations. On 25 April 2005, in Luxembourg was signed the
Treaty of Accession of Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union.
