A brief history of Bulgaria

The Bulgarian territory is inhabited from the early ages – The Stone era. Achaeological discoveries are made in the region of the present day town of Karlovo, near to Nova Zagora, Vidin , Sofia,Teteven, Troyan and in the Rodopi Range. The oldest golden treasure in the world, found near Varna, dates back from this time. During the Bronze epoche the Thracians settled here, mentioned from Omir for the first time. They dealed with agriculture and livestock- breeding and left many evidences for their rich culture (The treasure of Vulchtrun). In the XI- VI c. b.c. the first Thracian stats unions appeared. During the I c.b.c. their lands were conquered by the Romans, and from the V c. they were included in the area of Byzantium. They were gradually melted by the Slavs who settled in the Balkan peninsula.
In the second part of the VII c. in the present territory of Northern Bulgaria came the proto- Bulgarians, people with a Turkic origin. In union with the Slavs they formed the First Bulgarian country , recognized by Byzantium in 681. Khan Asparuh was chosen as a head of the country and Pliska was its capital.
Under the government of khan Tervel (700-718) Bulgaria expanded and became an important political power. During the rule of khan Krum Bulgaria had borders with the empire of Karl the Great and in the east the Bulgarian armies reached the walls of the Byzantine capital Konstantinopol. In 864 during the reign of tsar Bouris I Michail (852 -889) the Bulagarians accepted Christianity as an official religion. Thus the ethnic differences between proto-Bulgarians and Slavs were removed and the beginning of a new integrated Bulgarian nation started.
At the end of the IX century the two famous brothers Kiril (Konstantin Kiril The Philosopher) and Metodij created and spread the Slavonic alphabet. Their followers Kliment and Naum came in Bulgaria,where they found a good welcome and propper conditions to continuе their deed. From Bulgaria the Slavonic alphabet spread in other countries like Serbia and Russia. Towns like Ohrid and Pliska and later on the Great Preslav became centres of the Bulgarian and the Slavonic literacy. The reign of tsar Simeon (893-927) became known in history as “The golden century of the Bulgarian culture” and the Bulgarian borders reached the Black sea, the White sea and the Aegean sea.
During the reign of the Simeon’s heirs the country became weak because of an inner turbulence. In 1018 after many long-lasting battles Bulgaria was conquered by Byzantium. From the very first years under the Byzantine rule the Bulgarian people started to fight for their liberty. In 1186 the rebellion , headed by the two brothers boyars Asen and Peter,refused the Byzantine power.
The Second Bulgarian country was established with its new capital of Turnovo. After the year of 1186 the country was ruled by Asen and then by Peter. The former power of Bulgaria was restored during the rule of their younger brother Kaloyan (1197-1207). And during the time of tsar Ivan Asen II (1218-1241) the Second Bulgarian country reached its boom – founded a political hegemony in South-eastern Europe, the economy and the culture developed. After years of cultural stagnation a new top was reached, which lasted untill the end of the Second Bulgarian country (1186-1396). Literary and art schools in Turnovo develped traditions in the Bulgarian culture – an evidence for this are the wall-paintings of the Boyan church, the Turnovo churches, the Zemenski monastery, the churches , cut in the rocks of Ivanovo, the London gospel and the Manasieva chronicle. In 1235 the Bulgarian religious leader received the title patriarch.
The disagreements among some of the boyars led to the separation of the country into two divisions – The Vidinsko kingdom and the Turnovsko kingdom. Thus the country weakened and became an easy pray for the conquerers and as a result in 1396 it was subdued by the Ottoman empire. Bulgaria was under the Ottoman slavery five centuries. The first years under the yoke were with casual and unorganized tries for fights and rebellions. Later on was established a well organized movement for a national liberation.
At the beginning of the XVIII century the first steps in reorganizing the Bulgarian nation were made. The Bulgarian literacy started its development again. An evidence for this is the deed of the Bulgarian monk Paisij Hilendarski and its “ Slav-Bulgarian history” (Isroria Slavyanobulgarska), written in 1762. This work helped the Bulgarian people to realized and evaluated their national significance.
The beginning of the organized revolutionary movement for liberation from the Ottoman slavery is connected with the name of George Sava Rakovski (1821-1867) – a writer and a publicist, a establisher and an ideologist of the national movement for liberation. Its main figures are Vasil Levski (1837-1873) – a strategist and an ideologist of the movement, a national hero; Ljuben Karavelov (1834-1879) – a writer and a publicist, a leader and an ideologist of the movement ; Christo Botev (1848-1876) – a poet and a pubicist, a revolutioner- democrat , a national hero and many others.
In 1876 the April uprising bursted out – the first organized and massive try for liberation of the Ottoman slavery. The rebellion was crashed but it attracted the attention of the European countries towards the Bulgarian national question. In 1878 as a result of the Russian –Turkish war (1877-1878) The Bulgarian country was rebuilt but no national union was achieved. The ex-Bulgarian territories were devided into three parts – the principality of Bulgaria with prince Alexander Batemberg at the head of it, Eastern Roumelia and a Christian governer, appointed by the sultan and at last Thracia and Macedonia remained under the Ottoman rule.
In protest against the Berlin congress in 1878 an uprising, known as the Kresnensko –Razloshko uprising bursted out (1878-1879) as a result of which the union of the principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia was achieved. The Ilendensko-Preobrajensko rebellion arose in 1903 too. The Bulgarian prince Pherdinand Saks Koburgotski, a royal prince from 1887, proclaimed an independence from Turkey and during 1908 became a tsar of the Bulgarian people. Bulgaria participated in the Balkan war in 1912, which together with Serbia and Greece fought for the liberty of Thracia and Macedonia from the Ottoman empire. The Bulgarian country won this war but in the following Interallied war was thrown on its back in 1913 from Rumania, Turkey and its previous allies, which separated territories from it, inhabited by Bulgarian people.
The intervention of Bulgaria in the First World War at the side of the Central forces ended with a national collision. In 1918 tsar Pherdinand abdicated in favour of his son tsar Boris III. The peace Njojski treaty imposed severe clauses to Bulgaria – it losted its outlet of the White sea, West Thracia became a part of Greece, South Dobrudja joined the territory of Rumania, the surrounding area of Strumitca, Bosilegrad, Tcaribrod were given to the Serbian kingdom. As a result of the Bulgarian –Rumanian treaty from 1940 South Dobrudja was returned back to Bulgaria.
At the beginning of the 40-s Bulgarian politics were directed in favour of Germany. But later on tsar Boris III supported the social oppinion and did not allow 50 000 Bulgarian Jewish people to be deported.
In August 1943 tsar Boris III died and the people around the young heir Simeon II formed the new government of the country. On the 5-th of September 1944 the Soviet аrmy entered Bulgaria and on the 9-th of September the government of the so called Otechestwen front was established, headed by Kimon Georgiev. In 1946 Bulgaria is proclamated for a republic. The Bulgarian Communist party came into power. The political parties were forbidden, the economy and the banks were nationalized, the cultivable land was organized by force into cooperations.
The 10-th of November 1989 put the beginning of the democratic changes in Bulgaria. A new constitution was accepted in 1991, the political parties were reestablished, the land was given back to its owners, the privatization started.
In 1990 the first democratic president was chosen – Jeljo Jelev. Untill 1997 the prime-ministers of the republic were : Andrej Lukanov, Dimityr Popov,Philip Dimitrov,Ljuben Berov,Reneta Injova, Jan Videnov.
In 1997 the president of the country was Peter Stojanov.From 2001 the prime minister was Simeon Sakskoburgotski. Now the present prime minister is Sergej Stanishev and the president – Georgi Pyrvanov.