The elder brother, Methodius, returned to Great Moravia only to encounter the growing hostility of the German clergy. He and his disciples were vilified, persecuted, and imprisoned. After his death some of the disciples were sold as slaves in Italian markets. Others, who were luckier, sailed down the Danube and found refuge in one of the Bulgarian ports on the river. From there they went to the capital Pliska, where Prince Boris welcomed them as dear guests and created all the necessary conditions for their work. Schools for future priests and administrators were opened, establishments that were to give their disciples the invaluable advantage of being able to read and write in their mother tongue. In this case the language was based on the Slavonic, albeit with many borrowings from the Bulgarian. The state, however, was vast and one literary centre did not suffice. That was why one of Cyril’s most able disciples, Clement, was consecrated bishop of Koutmichevitsa, a region in present-daySouthwest Macedonia with Ochrid as a centre. This was where the second literary centre was established in which more than 3,500 students were trained over a period of twenty years.
The example of Byzantium - the most developed and cultured state of its time - also played an important role in the development of Bulgaria’s administration, bureaucracy, and government. Government terminology was a queer mixture of old Bulgarian and new Byzantine titles. Court ceremonial largely followed that of the imperial one in Constantinople. King Simeon chose Preslav for his capital instead of Pliska, related as it was too closely with pagan traditions. Contemporaries called it Great Preslav, and it was really an impressive city for its time, with a population of several tens of thousands. High walls surrounded Preslav. The palace of the sovereign stood in the middle, complete with a water-supply network, a hypocaust-type heating system, and a large reception hall. Its luxury appealed to Simeon’s closest v aides. According to the writer John Exarch, the interior of the palace was decorated with “marble and copper, silver and gold”. The large church in the southern part of the city was impressive. It was exceptional for its time, for it wasn’t built like a basilica but like a rotunda with a round nave, while 12 marble columns supported the round dome. It was called the “Golden Church” because of its impressive architecture, marble decorations, and the typical local Preslav painted pottery. As a sign of luxury, “gold” remained a symbol for many of the characteristics of the time. Writers regarded the age as the “Golden Age” of Bulgaria. As for the peasants - well, whoever would have thought of asking them!Clement of Ochrid, as he was called, was probably also responsible for a fundamental literary reform. Being more pragmatic than Constantine the Philosopher, he offered the Bulgarians an alphabet based on the quite familiar Greek alphabet but with certain differences which had to meet the linguistic ones. Thus the Slavs were to come closer to Greek culture, while simultaneously retaining their differences from it. The alphabet, named Cyrillic after his teacher, quickly replaced the Glagolitic.As he had achieved his main objectives and was tired with power (something quite rare in history), Boris himself retired to a monastery. His eldest son, Vladimir, took the throne (889-893). It turned out, however, that Vladimir did not approve his father’s policy. Without rejecting Christianity officially, he let it be known that he favoured the old customs. He changed his name to the old pagan one of Rassate, and began to actively support the priesthood of Tangra - a priesthood, which until then had lain low but had now crawled back into the light. It seemed the wheel of history had made a full circle. History, however, had not taken the old prince into account. He was not ready to see his life’s work be thrown away like garbage. Fortunately, he had another son, and in preparing him to head the Bulgarian Church, he had sent him to Constantinople to study.Young Simeon (893-927) had made a strong impression on his teachers with his ambition and ability, to the point that he was called “half-Greek”. From the point of view of our contemporaries this might seem a questionable compliment, but the Byzantines regarded this as the ultimate praise.
Thus the old prince left the monastery, gathered under his banner those who believed in his reforms, dethroned Vladimir and, instead of having him killed, blinded him mercifully as was the custom of the age. Christianity was established once and for all. No one even thought of questioning it - a pastime that had proved quite unhealthy. A special council released Simeon of his monastic vows and proclaimed him prince of Bulgaria. It was equally important that the language spoken by the Bulgarians was proclaimed the official and liturgical one. Thus the Bulgarians distinguished themselves from Byzantine culture only borrowing from it what they thought was necessary. It is quite another matter whether they managed to avoid Byzantine cultural influence.
With Simeon, the Bulgarian state entered one of its few periods of power. It seems all Balkan peoples had them. They tended to pass into oblivion quickly but left durable historical memories, which feed the ambitions and desires of a host of nationalists in modern times.
Simeon ruled his country for more than thirty years - a period considerable even now, and nearly unheard of in the loth century (in fact, his son ruled for 42 years, and one is tempted to assume that the fact that only two men ruled over three-quarters of a century directly contributed to Bulgaria’s relative stability). The first few years were peaceful, as the young ruler seemed to be getting his bearings and gathered power. He was a patron of Christianity, a patron of literature, and a patron of art. During his reign, the men of letters were subject to until then infrequent loving touches of power. Translations of holy books, contemplation on subjects from the Holy Scriptures, and imitations of established Byzantine literary models came out under their pens. To this day historians argue about whether Simeon lent a hand in the compilation of at least some of the works that have survived all this time. In any case, he was frequently better skilled for the job than many of the writers then. They, in turn, forged standards of the literary language, which were also adopted by neighbouring Balkan peoples. The Cyrillic alphabet gradually edged north and became the official alphabet of the Kievan Rus’ in a couple of decades. There the Bulgarian books, which were strongly influenced by Byzantine models, in turn, became models to emulate. Both the official and the liturgical documents of the later principalities of Walachia and Moldova were written in Cyrillic right until the end of the middle ages. The Serbs also began to use the Cyrillic script.
Similar Topics from Ancient Bulgaria Archive
» The Rise of the First Bulgarian Kingdom part I» Two seals from the First Bulgarian Kingdom were found at Veliki Preslav
» Western Bulgarian Outlands
» The Rise of Bulgaria from the middle of the 12th century part I
» Temple ' the Assu of Most Holy Merry' Varna Municipality
