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Bulgarian History
Bulgaria is the site of one of the world's oldest civilizations, and
the oldest known writing system (the Gradeshnitsa Tablets which date to at least 4000 BC).
In early classical times the territory of Bulgaria was
inhabited by the Thracians. The Thracians were divided into various tribes,
but eventually united as the Odrysian kingdom under King Teres in the 5th century BC.
The region was invaded by the Romans in 188 BC, and wars continued until 45 AD when
Thrace became a Roman province.
Beginning in the 2nd century AD, a semi-nomadic people, the Bulgars, began to
migrate towards the West from Central Asia. By the 4th century, the Bulgars had settled in the lands
to the North of the Black Sea, around the Sea of Azov, and by the 7th century had established a state
known as "Great Bulgaria" or "Onoghuria" in the region. Later in the 7th century, one tribe
of Bulgars moved West, defeated the Byzantine empire in a war, and were recognized
in the subsequent peace treaty with the Byzantines as an independent state in 681.
The First Bulgarian Empire was established under the warrior Khan Krum (802 to 814) who conquered
a number of lands in the Balkans. The empire eventually encompassed all of present day Romania, as well as
parts of Serbia, Macedonia, Albania and
Greece. It was during this period the Cyrillic
alphabet was adopted, and Christianity was introduced to the Bulgarians.
The Byzantine Empire ruled Bulgaria from 1018 to 1185, but after a revolt in 1185, a Second Bulgarian
Empire was established. However, this Empire was relatively short lived.
In 1354 the Ottoman Turks crossed into Europe,
and by 1396 had conquered the whole of Bulgaria.
After hundreds of years of Ottoman rule, Bulgaria began to experience a national
revival inspired by western ideas from the enlightment, and the Greek revolt against Ottoman rule.
In 1870, a Bulgarian Church ("Exarchate") was established, and in 1876 Bulgarians revolted
against Ottoman rule in the April Uprising. Russia declared war on the Ottomans in 1877,
and by 1878, most of Bulgaria was liberated from the Ottomans.
Additional Ottoman territories in Europe
were liberated in the First Balkan War
(1912 to
1913),
however Bulgaria was then defeated by the combinaton of
Serbia,
Greece,
Romania and
the Ottoman Empire in the Second Balkan War
(1913)
and lost a significant amount of territory as a result.
During World War I, Bulgaria was allied with
Germany, Austria-Hungary
and the Ottoman Empire, and was for a while successful in making territorial
gains. However, the war gradually became increasingly unpopular because of economic hardships, and because
the population did not wish to fight in alliance with the Muslim Ottoman Empire
against the Orthodox Christians of
Serbia and
Greece. As a result, mutinies
broke out in the army, the government resigned, and a republic was proclaimed.
During World War II, Bulgaria attempted to avoid involvement in
the war, and even managed to peacefully regain the territory of
Southern Dobruja from Romania as a result of the
1940
Treaty of Craiova. Ultimately however, in
1941,
Bulgaria had no choice but
to join the Axis when German troops passed through the country in order to invade
Greece.
After World War II, Bulgaria became officially known was the
People's Republic of Bulgaria, and was ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party.
Communist rule ended in
1990,
when the Communists voluntarily gave up power and held the first free elections since
1931.
The transition from communism to capitalism has not been easy for Bulgaria;
living standards fell dramatically and the country even experienced a sharp decline
in population. However, since
1997,
the economy has been growing steadily, and in
2007,
Bulgaria joined the European Union.
Here are some books about the history of
Bulgaria:
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By R. J. Crampton
Cambridge University Press
Paperback (310 pages)
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Richard Crampton presents a general introduction to Bulgaria at the cross-roads of Christendom and Islam. This concise history traces the country's growth from pre-history, through its days as the center of a powerful medieval empire and five centuries of Ottoman rule, to the political upheavals of the twentieth century which led to three wars. It highlights 1995 to 2004, a vital period during which Bulgaria endured financial meltdown, set itself seriously on the road to reform, elected its former King as prime minister, and finally secured membership in NATO and admission to the European Union. First Edition Hb (1997) 0-521-56183-3 First Edition Pb (1997) 0-521-56719-X |
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By R.J. Crampton
Oxford University Press, USA
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Tracing the evolution of the Bulgarian state and its people, from the beginning of the Bulgarian national revival in the middle of the nineteenth century to the entry of the country into the European Union, Richard Crampton examines key political, social, and economic developments, revealing the history of a country which evolved from a backward and troublesome Balkan state to become a modern European nation.
Seeing the collapse as well as the establishment and evolution of communist rule, Bulgaria survived an often painful journey from monolithic authoritarianism to representative democracy and the market system. Crampton follows this journey, and analyses the development of Bulgaria's political culture, examining the emergence of radical movements, both agrarian and socialist, as well as looking at the role of religion and the position of minorities. Crampton highlights the problems and dilemmas created by the country's position situated between East and West, problems which might not be entirely solved by the country's admission to the EU. |
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By Frederick B. Chary
Greenwood
Hardcover (210 pages)
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Now an Eastern European leader in the fields of science and technology, a nation with impressive renewable energy production capabilities and an extensive communication infrastructure, as well as a top exporter of minerals and metals, Bulgaria has grown both economically and politically over the past two decades. The History of Bulgaria examines the country's development, describing its cultural, political, and social history and development over 13 centuries. The modern era is particularly emphasized, including Bulgaria's role in World War II, the long tenure of Communist leader Todor Zhivkov, the role of Aleksandur Stamboliiski and the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union, and the myriad changes in Bulgaria's post-Communist period. The author also highlights significant individuals in Bulgarian history, such as Dimitur Peshev, the Deputy Speaker whose actions saved 50,000 Jews from the Holocaust. |
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By Nevill Forbes
CreateSpace
Paperback (188 pages)
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This book was written in 1915. This was a time that saw many significant events that affected the Balkans. Written by four different authors from different locations, here is their preface to "The Balkans". PREFACE The authors of this volume have not worked in conjunction. Widely separated, engaged on other duties, and pressed for time, we have had no opportunity for interchange of views. Each must be held responsible, therefore, for his own section alone. If there be any discrepancies in our writings (it is not unlikely in so disputed a field of history) we can only regret an unfortunate result of the circumstances. Owing to rapid change in the relations of our country to the several Balkan peoples, the tone of a section written earlier may differ from that of another written later. It may be well to state that the sections on Serbia and Bulgaria were finished before the decisive Balkan developments of the past two months. Those on Greece and Rumania represent only a little later stage of the evolution. That on Turkey, compiled between one mission abroad and another, was the latest to be finished. If our sympathies are not all the same, or given equally to friends and foes, none of us would find it possible to indite a Hymn of Hate about any Balkan people. Every one of these peoples, on whatever side he be fighting to-day, has a past worthy of more than our respect and interwoven in some intimate way with our history. That any one of them is arrayed against us to-day is not to be laid entirely or chiefly at its own door. They are all fine peoples who have not obtained their proper places in the sun. |
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By Nevill Forbes & D. Mitrany
Public Domain Books
Released: 2006-03-17
Kindle Edition (326 pages)
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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. |
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By R. J. Crampton
Cambridge University Press
Paperback (236 pages)
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Since the Second World War, Bulgaria has been little known to the outside world. This survey of its history from its liberation from the Ottoman Empire in 1878 to 1985 offers an understanding of the country's present position and the recent past that has shaped it. Dr Crampton begins with a short introduction covering the period of Ottoman rule and then examines the political evolution of the new state. In 1915 the ruler, 'Foxy Ferdinard', chose to join the Germans in the First World War. During the 1920s and early 1930s Bulgaria suffered from political violence, though in the second half of the 1930s stability returned under the strong but not dictatorial rule of King Boris. In 1940 Bulgaria's leaders again chose the wrong side in the Second World War and violence returned as the Communists plotted a bloody path to power. From the mid-1950s the dictatorial rule of Todor Zhivkov ensured stability and, though grave problems remained, the rise in living standards was a considerable achievement. |
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By Steven Otfinoski
Facts on File
Hardcover (126 pages)
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Examines the people, religion, daily life, politics, culture, history, and geography of Bulgaria, emphasizing its transition from a communist to a free nation. |
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By Cristofer Scarboro
Lexington Books
Hardcover (266 pages)
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This work investigates attempts by Bulgarian Communist Party leaders, bureaucrats and subjects to model, disseminate, and appropriate a local version of the "homo-sovieticus," or new soviet man and woman, during the 1960s and 1970s, a period of “socialist humanism.” Defining and living socialist humanism was a complex process questioning, among other things, the place of work and leisure, sex and pleasure, and the relationship between Bulgaria and the outside world. The socialist system, in these and other programs, invested tremendous resources to direct the movements of its population, at least in part, in order to transform it subjectively. Framed by four programs each linked with the values that socialist humanism sought to instill: the brigadier movement (work); the workings of the brother-city relationship between Haskovo and Tashkent in the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (international socialism); internal tourism (nation); and the exhibition of art in the Haskovo gallery (aesthetics) The Late Socialist Good Life examines the way in which socialism was lived in a time of transition. Viewed from the center, state-manipulated brigades, excursions, art exhibitions and cultural exchanges demonstrate the ability of the state to oblige all to find their place within systemic requirements-but closer perspectives reveal the contingencies produced by interactions between these systems and their subjects. Tashkent, meant to be a model of Soviet progress and a glimpse into Haskovo's future, proved as often to be understood as a symbol of a degraded (if enticing) oriental past. Brigadiers were more interested in playing soccer or gossiping and fighting than in working. Tourists grumbled at inadequate facilities and drank and smoked rather than gaining an appreciation for the beauty of nature and the largesse of the system that allowed them to tour. Socialist Humanist, Socialist Realist art revealed images of the bourgeois and the private in place of earlier tropes of workers working. Bulgarian socialist humanists' navigation of these programs resolved themselves in many outcomes in the search for the socialist good life: in the field of interactions people created solaces, expressed discontents, and above all, manufactured alterations in systems meant to instill uniformity. |
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By Yavor Boyadzhiev
British Archaeological Reports
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The first in a series of five volumes of inventories of 'First Neolithic Sites' in Europe. The series will consist of I) Bulgaria, II) Romania, III) Eastern Hungary, IV) Eastern Slovakia, V) Southeastern Poland. The main themes of each volume will be: 1) General information about cultural evolution at the onset of the Neolithic, 2) Additional data on cultural and economic problems specific for a given region, 3) A list of radiometric dates, 4) A catalogue of sites in alphabetical order. Contents of volume I: 1) Early Neolithic Cultures on the territory of Bulgaria (Yavor D. Boyadzhiev); 2) Lithic production of the earliest Neolithic on the territory of Bulgaria (Ivan Gatsov and Petranka Nedelcheva); 3) Flint raw materials in Bulgaria (Chavdar Nachev); 4) Plant economy and vegetation during the Early Neolithic of Bulgaria (Elena Marinova); 5) Catalogue of the Early Neolithic settlements on the territory of Bulgaria (Ekaterina Stamboliyska and Zhivko Uzunov). |
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