Khan Kardam took the helm in the midst of this chaos and ruled from 777 to 803. When Kardam put an end to internecine fights, the young state once again rallied around it’s ruler.
In 789 Khan Kardam defeated the Byzantine army in the valley of the Struma river. The local Slavic tribe of Strimonians welcomed the Khan and his warriors. Enraged, Emperor Constantine VI himself led his army in a march on Bulgaria. A fierce battle ensued in July 796, near the fortress of Markella in Eastern Thrace, and the Byzantines suffered a crushing defeat. The elite of Byzantine commanders were killed. The Bulgarians captured part of the Byzantine army, the treasure hoard, horses, and the royal tent and servants, reads the gloomy account of the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes.

Emperor Constantine VI returned to Constantinople humiliated. He signed a peace treaty with Khan Kardam under which he was to pay him annual tribute. Later the Byzantines attempted to ignore the annual taxes they had to pay to Bulgaria and the Bulgarian ruler sent them a warning: “Pay your dues or I’ll ravage Thrace”.
Continue reading Khan Kardam Ruler of Bulgaria from 777 to 803

Khan Krum was in power from 803 to 814. He layeth the smack down on Byzantine! But first, Khan Krum joined forces with the Frankish empire of Charles the Great and destroyed the Avar Khanate. Krum annexed the Avar Khanate’s lands and incorporated Transylvania into Bulgaria; in 812 he pushed the frontiers of his domain all the way north to the Tisza {or Tisa, or Theiss} River. Thus Bulgaria’s territory was expanded to cover the lands between the Danube and the Carpathians. A common border was established with the empire of Charles the Great and Bulgaria became an outstanding power in Europe. It is understandable that now the Byzantine emperor felt very alarmed. Nicephorus I Genik’s planned campaign against Bulgaria was prevented by infighting amongst the Byzantines. But Khan Krum wasn’t going to sit still and wait, attack is the best means of defense. In 808-809 the Khan’s soldiers defeated the Byzantine army in the Struma valley, seizing an immense loot and much gold. The defenders of Sredets {Serdika} laid down their arms and surrendered the town which was later to become Bulgaria’s capital. Not long after that Nish and Belgrade fall into the hands of the Bulgarians. Krum was ready to march on Macedonia.
Continue reading Why Khan Krum is maybe the first most important bulgarian ruler

I will tell you a story of a very interesting people who, measured even with the standards of world history. They are important because they succeeded in organizing in a national the DISORGANIZED AND THE SUBJECT TO BARBARIAN ATTACKS SLAVIC TRIBES IN THE EASTERN AND CENTRAL PARTS OF THE BALKANS. IT CREATED IN THE MIXING POT OF THE BALKAN PENINSULA A STABLE STATE THAT STILL EXISTS. THE ANCIENT BULGARIANS ORGANIZED THE SLAVIC TRIBES INTO A NATION, WHICH THE OLD BULGARIAN SPIRIT HAS REMAINED AS AN INCENTIVE FOREVER…

In 809 Khan Krum conquers Sofia. Not long after that Nish and Belgrade fall into the hands of the Bulgarians.

After the conquest of Sofia - the heart of the Balkan Peninsula, BULGARIA becomes important factor in the life of Europe as well. The most important part of the major trade route the Peninsula, which leads from the East to the West, fell into the hands of the Bulgarians. Started from the Bulgarian-Byzantine boundary, it passes through the towns of Sofia, Nish, Belgrade, and then along the Danube and further on through Bulgarian territory. Byzantine commercial goods the North and the West had to be carried primarily through Bulgarian territory. This made Bulgaria an important factor in world trade. It becomes important territory for transit carriers and got taxes for all Byzantine goods exported to the North. This furnishes Bulgaria with profit unheard till that time. Soon after the conquest of the Macedonian regions the other important route Thessaloniki-Nish - is also in the hands of the Bulgarians.
Continue reading BULGARIA UNDER THE RULE OF KHAN KRUM (803-814) AND KHAN OMURTAG (814-831)

Seuthopolis was an ancient city founded by the Thracian king Seuthes III, and the capital of the Odrysian kingdom since 320 BC. It was a small city, built on the site of an earlier settlement, and its ruins are located at the bottom of the Koprinka Resevoir near Kazanlak, Plovdiv Province, in central Bulgaria.

Seuthopolis was not a true polis, but rather the seat of Seuthes and his court. His palace had a dual role, functioning also as a sanctuary of the Kabeiroi. Most of the space within the city was occupied not by homes but by official structures, the majority of the people living outside the city.

The dual role of Seuthes palace (royal court and sanctuary) indicates that Seuthes was a priest-king: the high priest of the Kabeiroi among the Odrysian Thracians. A hearth altar stood in the center of the Kabeiroi sanctuary, the Kabeiroi being associated with fire and metallurgy and with the smith-god Hephaestus.

The cemetery of Seuthopolis included a number of brick tholos tombs, some covered by tumuli, in which the upper-class were interred, sometimes along with their horses. The less affluent were cremated, with modest grave goods laid alongside.

The ruins of the city were discovered and excavated in 1948 by Bulgarian archaeologists during the construction of the Georgi Dimitrov (later renamed Koprinka) Reservoir. However, it was decided to continue with the construction and flood the dam, leaving Seuthopolis at its bottom.
Continue reading Ancient Thracian city of Seuthopolis

The Kazanluk Tomb is of the beehive type. Thirty-four Thracian tombs have so far been discovered in Bulgaria and all of them have pre-classical vaults (false vaults) made during the period 5 th - 3 rd Century B.C. The plans of this type of tomb were varied. Some of them, apart from the burial chamber, contain a corridor and other rooms. Fifteen of the tombs found in Bulgaria have round burial chambers. The rest have square burial chambers. The round chambers were roofed with a false beehive dome, while the square ones had a flat roof or a false vault. The tombs were made of ashlar with dry joints, or of bricks and mortar.
Continue reading The Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak Architecture

The geographical center of Bulgaria - between the Stara Planina and Sredna Gora mountains - is known as the Rose Valley. For centuries the fragrant Bulgarian rose has been grown there and the attar of roses is extracted fro the production of rose oil. There, 40 years ago, in the town of Kazanluk a small Thracian Tomb was found, with murals which are of exceptional interest in the world’s cultural heritage.

The settlements in the Rose Valley date from ancient times. A Neolithic settlement (5,000 - 4,000 B.C.) was found in the western area of Kazanluk. The excavations revealed that the settlement had existed during the Stone-Copper Age and during the first half of the Bronze Age ( 4,000 - 3,000 B.C.).

The Thracian ruler and the noble Thracian woman from the Funerary Feast sceneThe next settlers in the Rose Valley were the Thracians. Their way of life and knowledge were based on the conditions and prerequisites established by their predecessors.
Continue reading The Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak Introduction