After the 5th century, barbarian peoples, blinded by the aura of Roman magnificence, began to establish their own states on the territory of the Roman Empire. They carefully copied Roman laws and institutions; their nobles proclaimed themselves patricians and their rulers called themselves kings, minting coins in imitation of Roman models. The short-lived kingdoms of Vandals, Suevi, Ostrogoths and Langobards inspired terror and awe in their contemporaries. None of them survived the Early Middle Ages. It was almost at the same time, however, that a state, which continues to exist in one form or another to this very day, was established on the Balkans. Present-day Bulgaria has existed for more than thirteen centuries in the lands south of the Danube. With centuries of grandeur and decline behind them, Bulgarians have deep roots in their land and have managed to preserve the tradition of their statehood, while much more powerful peoples faded in the past like shadows.

Continue reading The Ragged Shining Armour of the Bulgarian Middle Ages pretalk