Ptolemy
12-10-2005, 03:29 PM
BULGARIA
State in the northern Balkans. Founded in 681 by Asparugh, Bulgaria included former Roman territory between the Danube, the Black Sea, the Balkan range, and the river Iskur.
It was populated by Slavs, Bulgars, Vlachs, and some remaining Greek inhabitants. The capital was established at Pliska.
The Slav and Bulgar occupation led to the deurbanization of the region and the expulsion of the Christian church with its hierarchy built upon urban foundations.
The focal point of domestic development in the late 7th-9th century was the union of Slavs and Bulgars into a single ethnos that used the Slavic
language, a Bulgar administrative system, and the Greek alphabet for the Proto-Bulgarian inscriptions. This unity was reinforced by the christianization of the country by 864/5.
Even though Bulgaria profited from the defeat of the Avars by Charlemagne and extended its power to the northwest as far as the river Theiss,
Bulgarian northern policy was primarily defensive: Bulgaria had to protect its northern frontier from the Germans, the Rus’, and later the Tatars.
Bulgaria’s policy in the south was more active, and Bulgarians were often involved in Byzantine affairs, sometimes as allies (Tervel supported
Justinian II), sometimes as dangerous adversaries (especially under Krum and Symeon of Bulgaria). The periods of war were interrupted by peace treaties (the 30-year treaty under Omurtag), and sometimes Byzantium managed to exercise considerable influence on Bulgaria, as happened in the reign of Boris I.
Despite the arrival in 885 of pupils of Constantine the Philosopher and Methodios who brought the Slavic alphabet and incipient Slavic literature
and liturgy, Byzantine administrative and cultural influence on Bulgaria increased from the end of the 9th century onward.
Bulgarian rulers accepted Byzantine imperial and ceremonial titulature ('basileus' for the former 'khan', 'patriarch' for the 'archbishop', etc.); the new capital Preslav, harbored a significant artisan population; and a substantial selection of Greek theological literature was translated into Church Slavonic. Trade and intermarriage (e.g. Tsar Peter and Maria, Romanos I's granddaughter) helped consolidate Bulgaro-Byzantine links.
From the second half of the 10th century Byzantium began to gain the upper hand in the Balkans. After the plan to subjugate Bulgaria with the
assistance of Svjatoslav of Kieb had miscarried, John I Tzimiskes evicted Svjatoslav from Bulgaria, annexed a substantial part of the country, and
abolished the autocephalous Bulgarian patriarchate.
The struggle of the Kometopouloi and Samuel of Bulgaria against Basil II, despite temporary success, was lost; by 1018 the whole of Bulgaria had been incorporated in Byzantium and formed several themes -Bulgaria, Paradounavion, Dyrrachion, etc.
The imposition of the "Byzantine yoke" strengthened the Byzantine impact on Bulgaria. The Byzantine system of taxation was extended to the new themes, along with Byzantine secular and ecclesiastical administration and Byzantine forms of peasant dependence (paroikoi, etc.). Intensified trade and the mass penetration of Byzantine coinage accompanied the development of urban life.
On the other hand, the Bulgarian aristocracy entered the ranks of the Byzantine ruling class; Bulgarian topics were treated in Byzantine literature; and specific Bulgarian forms of ideology, such as the Bogomil heresy, gained a strong hold in Byzantium.
The Byzantine domination over Bulgaria was several times challenged in the 11th century (revolts of Deljan and George Voitech, the Bogomil rebellion in 1086).
In 1185 a new revolt broke out, and by 1188 the weakened Byzantine government has recognized the independence of Bulgaria north of the Balkan range, with its capital in Turnovo. The Bulgarian victory at Arkadiopolis in 1193 led to the annexation of much of central Thrace. A new Bulgaria emerged, usually called the Second Bulgarian Empire.
State in the northern Balkans. Founded in 681 by Asparugh, Bulgaria included former Roman territory between the Danube, the Black Sea, the Balkan range, and the river Iskur.
It was populated by Slavs, Bulgars, Vlachs, and some remaining Greek inhabitants. The capital was established at Pliska.
The Slav and Bulgar occupation led to the deurbanization of the region and the expulsion of the Christian church with its hierarchy built upon urban foundations.
The focal point of domestic development in the late 7th-9th century was the union of Slavs and Bulgars into a single ethnos that used the Slavic
language, a Bulgar administrative system, and the Greek alphabet for the Proto-Bulgarian inscriptions. This unity was reinforced by the christianization of the country by 864/5.
Even though Bulgaria profited from the defeat of the Avars by Charlemagne and extended its power to the northwest as far as the river Theiss,
Bulgarian northern policy was primarily defensive: Bulgaria had to protect its northern frontier from the Germans, the Rus’, and later the Tatars.
Bulgaria’s policy in the south was more active, and Bulgarians were often involved in Byzantine affairs, sometimes as allies (Tervel supported
Justinian II), sometimes as dangerous adversaries (especially under Krum and Symeon of Bulgaria). The periods of war were interrupted by peace treaties (the 30-year treaty under Omurtag), and sometimes Byzantium managed to exercise considerable influence on Bulgaria, as happened in the reign of Boris I.
Despite the arrival in 885 of pupils of Constantine the Philosopher and Methodios who brought the Slavic alphabet and incipient Slavic literature
and liturgy, Byzantine administrative and cultural influence on Bulgaria increased from the end of the 9th century onward.
Bulgarian rulers accepted Byzantine imperial and ceremonial titulature ('basileus' for the former 'khan', 'patriarch' for the 'archbishop', etc.); the new capital Preslav, harbored a significant artisan population; and a substantial selection of Greek theological literature was translated into Church Slavonic. Trade and intermarriage (e.g. Tsar Peter and Maria, Romanos I's granddaughter) helped consolidate Bulgaro-Byzantine links.
From the second half of the 10th century Byzantium began to gain the upper hand in the Balkans. After the plan to subjugate Bulgaria with the
assistance of Svjatoslav of Kieb had miscarried, John I Tzimiskes evicted Svjatoslav from Bulgaria, annexed a substantial part of the country, and
abolished the autocephalous Bulgarian patriarchate.
The struggle of the Kometopouloi and Samuel of Bulgaria against Basil II, despite temporary success, was lost; by 1018 the whole of Bulgaria had been incorporated in Byzantium and formed several themes -Bulgaria, Paradounavion, Dyrrachion, etc.
The imposition of the "Byzantine yoke" strengthened the Byzantine impact on Bulgaria. The Byzantine system of taxation was extended to the new themes, along with Byzantine secular and ecclesiastical administration and Byzantine forms of peasant dependence (paroikoi, etc.). Intensified trade and the mass penetration of Byzantine coinage accompanied the development of urban life.
On the other hand, the Bulgarian aristocracy entered the ranks of the Byzantine ruling class; Bulgarian topics were treated in Byzantine literature; and specific Bulgarian forms of ideology, such as the Bogomil heresy, gained a strong hold in Byzantium.
The Byzantine domination over Bulgaria was several times challenged in the 11th century (revolts of Deljan and George Voitech, the Bogomil rebellion in 1086).
In 1185 a new revolt broke out, and by 1188 the weakened Byzantine government has recognized the independence of Bulgaria north of the Balkan range, with its capital in Turnovo. The Bulgarian victory at Arkadiopolis in 1193 led to the annexation of much of central Thrace. A new Bulgaria emerged, usually called the Second Bulgarian Empire.