The founding of the First Bulgarian Empire in the southeastern Balkans in the late 7th century CE is a fascinating tale of migration, conquest, and political maneuvering. This important event in East European history marked the emergence of a powerful new state that would shape the region for centuries to come.

Origins of the Bulgars

The Bulgars were a Turkic semi-nomadic warrior people who originally inhabited the Pontic-Caspian steppe, a vast grassland stretching from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. They were skilled horsemen and archers, with a society organized around tribal structures and led by powerful khans. The Bulgars’ early history is intertwined with other nomadic groups of the Eurasian steppes, including the Huns, Avars, and Khazars.

In the 5th and 6th centuries, the Bulgars were subject to various powers, including the Hunnic Empire and later the Western Turkic Khaganate. However, as these larger empires weakened, the Bulgars began to assert their independence and form their own political entities.

The Rise of Old Great Bulgaria

A crucial turning point in Bulgar history came in the 630s CE with the emergence of Khan Kubrat. Kubrat, who had been baptized in Constantinople in 619, managed to unite the main Bulgar tribes and declare independence from the Avars. This new confederation, known as Old Great Bulgaria (Magna Bulgaria), stretched across the steppes north of the Black Sea.

Kubrat’s achievement was significant, as he created a powerful polity that could challenge both the Byzantine Empire and the emerging Khazar Khaganate. In 635, Kubrat signed a peace treaty with Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, which helped to legitimize and strengthen his rule.

The Disintegration of Old Great Bulgaria

Despite its initial strength, Old Great Bulgaria was short-lived. After Kubrat’s death around 642, the confederation began to fracture under pressure from the expanding Khazar Empire. According to Byzantine sources, Kubrat’s five sons divided the Bulgar people and led them in different directions.

This period of migration and resettlement was crucial in shaping the future of the Bulgars and the Balkan region. While some Bulgar groups moved eastward to the Volga region, where they would later establish Volga Bulgaria, others headed west and south.

Asparuh and the Migration to the Balkans

The most consequential of these migrations was led by Asparuh (also known as Asparukh or Isperikh), one of Kubrat’s sons. Asparuh led his group of Bulgars westward, first settling in an area called Onglos, near the Danube Delta. This region, part of the Byzantine province of Scythia Minor, provided the Bulgars with excellent pastures for their herds and a strategic position from which to launch further expansion.

From this base, Asparuh began to raid Byzantine territories south of the Danube. The timing was opportune, as the Byzantine Empire was weakened by recent conflicts with the Arabs and internal strife. The Balkan provinces, in particular, had been destabilized by previous invasions of Avars and Slavs, leaving them vulnerable to new incursions.

The Byzantine Response and the Battle of Onglos

The increasing Bulgar raids and settlement activity alarmed Byzantine Emperor Constantine IV. In 680, he led a massive military expedition against the Bulgars, hoping to drive them back across the Danube. However, this campaign would prove disastrous for the Byzantines.

The decisive engagement, known as the Battle of Onglos, took place in the swampy region of the Danube Delta where Asparuh had established his fortified camp. The Bulgars, likely aided by allied Slavic tribes, numbered around 10,000-12,000 troops, but faced a larger Byzantine force of 15,000-25,000 soldiers commanded by Emperor Constantine IV. 

The Bulgars, constructed wooden ramparts in the swampy terrain, using the challenging landscape to their advantage. The Byzantine made the mistake of being drawn into the march where their attack was hindered by the conditions, forcing them to advance in smaller, less effective groups. The Bulgars’ well-organized defense, coupled with sudden strikes from their fortifications, eventually compelled the Byzantines to retreat. This retreat quickly devolved into a chaotic rout, with the Bulgar cavalry pursuing and inflicting heavy casualties on the fleeing enemy.

The Founding of the First Bulgarian Empire

Following their victory at Onglos, the Bulgars swiftly capitalized on their success. They crossed the Danube en masse, pushed south across the Balkan Mountains, and invaded the region of Thrace. The Byzantine Empire, reeling from its defeat and faced with other threats, was unable to mount an effective resistance.

In 681, Constantine IV was compelled to sue for peace. The resulting treaty marked the official founding of the First Bulgarian Empire and represented a significant shift in the balance of power in the Balkans. The key points of this agreement were: Byzantine recognition of Bulgaria as an independent state and all territories north of the Balkan Mountains placed under Bulgarian control. Additionally, Constantine agreed to pay an annual tribute to the Bulgars.

This treaty was a humiliating concession for the Byzantine Empire, which had long claimed sovereignty over the entire Balkan Peninsula. As the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes the Confessor noted, it was “wondrous for faraway and close peoples to hear” that the mighty empire now paid tribute to “these unclean and newly emerged people”.

Establishment of the Bulgarian State

With their control over a significant territory now recognized, Asparuh and his Bulgars set about consolidating their new state. They established their capital at Pliska, in the northeast of their territory. Initially, Pliska was a vast encampment covering 23 square kilometers, protected by earthen ramparts. Over time, it would develop into a true city and the center of the growing Bulgarian state.

The new Bulgarian realm was a multi-ethnic entity from its inception. The Bulgars, while forming the ruling elite, were a minority compared to the existing population of Slavs, Thracians, and other groups. This demographic reality would shape the development of Bulgarian society and culture in the centuries to come.

Early Challenges and Expansion

The early years of the Bulgarian state were marked by both challenges and opportunities for expansion. To the northeast, conflict with the Khazars continued, and in 700, Khan Asparuh himself perished in battle against them. However, this setback did not halt the consolidation and growth of the Bulgarian state.

Under Asparuh’s successor, Khan Tervel (700-721), Bulgaria continued to assert its power in the region. In 705, Tervel intervened in Byzantine politics, helping the deposed Emperor Justinian II regain his throne. This action demonstrated Bulgaria’s growing influence and earned Tervel the Byzantine title of “Caesar”.

The Impact of Bulgaria’s Founding

The establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire had profound and lasting consequences for the Balkan region and beyond. It created a powerful new player in European politics, one that would alternately clash and cooperate with the Byzantine Empire for centuries.

Importantly, it marked the emergence of the first lasting Slavic state in the Balkans and challenged Byzantine hegemony in the region. The Bulgarian state would go on to play a crucial role in the medieval Balkans, reaching its zenith under Simeon I in the early 10th century, when it briefly became the most powerful state in Eastern Europe. It contributed to the Slavicization of much of the Balkan Peninsula, as the Bulgarian state incorporated and organized the previously scattered Slavic tribes.

The legacy of this early Bulgarian state continues to resonate in modern Bulgaria. The year 681 is celebrated as the birth of the Bulgarian nation, and figures like Asparuh are revered as national heroes. Moreover, the complex interplay between Bulgar, Slavic, and Byzantine elements that began with the state’s founding would shape Bulgarian culture, language, and identity in profound ways.

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