Asparuh In 675, the youngest son of Kubrat Asparukh with his people went to the west, to the Danube River. Numerous Slavic tribes lived in these places. Asparuh became their leader and created the state of Danube Bulgaria in a new place, which quickly became a prosperous state. At one time, even proud Byzantium paid tribute to her. Gradually, the Bulgarians mixed with the Slavic population, and since there were many more Slavs, they almost completely forgot their Bulgarian language. Now it is the modern state of Bulgaria. And in the name of this state, the ancient name of the Asparukh tribe is preserved.

Migration of the Bulgar tribes In the VIII century, the Bulgarians began to gradually move to the places where the Kama River flows into the Volga. And during the 9th and 10th centuries, more and more groups of Bulgarians and other tribes of the Khazar Khaganate, including the Suvars, converged there, as this state began to be attacked by nomadic tribes and Arab troops.

Check your knowledge 1. Batbai belonged to the following tribes: a) Silver Bulgarbs) Golden Bulgars c) Black Bulgars 2. Batbai tribes were subordinated to: a) Khazars b) Slavs c) Alans d) Sarmatians 3. Bulgars remaining between Cherny and Kasp. seas later became part of: a) Chechens b) Balkars c) Ukrainians d) Bulgarians 4. Asparukh and his tribe went to the river: a) Seversky Donets b) Volga c) Kuban d) Danube 5. Tribes lived in the places where Asparuh went: a) Mari b) Ukrainians c) Polovtsians d) Slavs 6. In these places, the Bulgars began to rule because: a) they were richer and stronger b) they were higher in culture and they had experience in organizing the state c) they were better equipped with weapons d) they were militant and knew how to organize the state 7. The state of Asparuh was called: a) Danube Bulgaria b) Golden Bulgaria c) Silver Bulgaria d) Slavic Bulgaria 8. The first capital of Bulgaria Asparuh: a) Phanagoria b) Sofia c) Pliska d) Bulgar 9. The capital of modern Bulgaria: a) Phanagoria b) Sofia c) Pliska d) Bulgar 10. Official language modern Bulgaria: a) Slavic b) Chuvash c) Russian

GREAT BULGARIA - an association of Proto-Bulgarian Turkic-speaking nomadic tribes that took shape in the 1st third of the 7th century. in the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov during the collapse of the Western Turkic Khaganate (see Turkic Khaganate). From 635 Khan Kubrat owned lands from the Kuban to the Dnieper. In the middle of the 7th c. under the blows of the Khazars, the Proto-Bulgarians settled on the Lower Don, in the Lower Danube, on the Middle Volga, where the Volga-Kama Bulgaria was formed.

Creation of the state

Khan Kubrat (632-665) managed to unite his horde with other Bulgar tribes of the Kutrigurs, Utigurs (formerly dependent on the Turks), and Onogurs (possibly the Hunnogurs, Khungurs). The unification of the Bulgar tribes was started by Khan Organ, the uncle of Kubrat. Nicephorus (IX century), describing the events under 635, noted: “At the same time, Kuvrat, a relative of Organa, the sovereign of the Hunno-Gundurs, rebelled again against the Avar Khagan and all the people who were around him, subjecting insults, drove away from native land. (Kuvrat) sent ambassadors to Heraclius and made peace with him, which they maintained until the end of their lives. And Heraclius sent him gifts and honored him with the rank of patrician. Freed from the power of the Western Turkic Khaganate, Kubrat expanded and strengthened his state, which the Greeks called the Great Bulgaria.

Reign of Kubrat

Kubrat (Kurt or Huvrat) was born c. 605. In 632 Kubrat ascended the throne. From the emperor of Byzantium Heraclius Kubrat received the rank of patrician.

Great Bulgaria under Khan Kubrat was independent from both the Avars and the Khazars. But if from the west the danger was completely over due to the weakening of the Avar Khaganate, then from the east a threat constantly loomed. While Kubrat was alive, he had enough strength to keep the Bulgar tribes in unity and resist the danger. Around 665 Kubrat died. His grave, possibly, is located near the village of Malaya Pereshchepina, Poltava region of Ukraine, where a rich burial place of a nomadic leader was found, containing a large number of gold and silver items and a seal with a monogram, in which it is possible to read the name of Kubrat.

The collapse of the state

After the death of Kubrat, the territory of Great Bulgaria was divided by five of his sons: Batbayan, Kotrag, Asparukh, Kuber, Alcek. Each of the sons of Kubrat led his own horde, and none of them individually had the strength to compete with the Khazars. During the clash with the Khazars, which followed in the 660s, Great Bulgaria ceased to exist. The ethnic basis of the Khazar Khaganate was the same kindred peoples of the Hunnic-Bulgarian circle.

Black Bulgarians

The eldest son Batbay (Batbayan) with his horde remained in place. These groups became Khazar tributaries and were subsequently known as "black Bulgarians". They are mentioned in the treaty between Prince Igor and Byzantium. Igor undertakes to defend the Byzantine possessions in the Crimea from the attacks of the black Bulgarians.

Volga Bulgaria

The second son of Kubrat - Kotrag crossed the Don and settled opposite Batbay. More likely, it was this group of Bulgar tribes that moved north and subsequently settled on the middle Volga and Kama, where the Volga Bulgaria arose. The Volga Bulgars are the ancestors of the population of the Volga region represented by the Chuvash and Kazan Tatars. There were several migrations to the Kama of the Bulgarian peoples from the territories of Great Bulgaria and the Khazar Khagant.

Danube Bulgaria

The third son of Kubrat - Asparuh with his horde went to the Danube and approx. 650, stopping in the region of the lower Danube, created the Bulgarian kingdom. The local Slavic tribes, who had no experience in creating states, fell under the dominion of the Bulgars. Over time, the Bulgars merged with the Slavs, and from the mixture of the Asparuh Bulgars and the various Slavic and remnants of the Thracian tribes included in it, the Bulgarian nation was formed.

Bulgars in Vojvodina and Macedonia

The fourth son of Kubrat - Kuber (Kuver), with his horde Kuber moved to Pannonia and joined the Avars. In the city of Sirmium, he made an attempt to become the Khagan of the Avar Khaganate. After an unsuccessful uprising, he led his people to Macedonia. There he settled in the area of ​​Keremisia and made an unsuccessful attempt to capture the city of Thessaloniki. After that, he disappears from the pages of history, and his people united with the Slavic tribes of Macedonia.

Bulgars in Southern Italy

"Slavs and prabalgari prez VІ and VІІІv." in atlas "Atlas of history in Bulgaria for secondary schools", "Cartography", Sofia, 1990

The fifth son of Kubrat - Alcek went with his horde to Italy. Around 662, he settled in the possessions of the Lombards and asked for land from King Grimoald I of Benevento in Benevento in exchange for military service. King Grimuald sent the Bulgars to his son Romuald in Benevento, where they settled in Sepini, Bovian and Inzernia. Romuald accepted the Bulgars well and gave them lands. He also ordered that the title of Alcek be changed from duke, as the historian Paul the Deacon calls him, to gastaldia (meaning perhaps the title of prince), in accordance with the Latin title.

Pavel Deacon completes the story about the Bulgars of Alcek as follows: And they live in these places, about which we spoke, until now, and although they also speak Latin also, but still have not completely abandoned the use of their language.

Excavations in the Vicenne-Campochiaro necropolis near Boino, which date back to the 7th century, among 130 burials, there were 13 persons buried along with horses and artifacts of German and Avar origin.

I didn't know myself! The Bulgarian people belong to the Persian (Indo-Iranian) ethnic group. First ancient Bulgarian state existed near Mount Gundukush in Central Asia several centuries before our era. In Indian sources, this state is called Balkhara, and in Greek - Bactria.

Here are the brothers Slavs! But now many consider the Bulgarians to be the Slavic people.

Little information has been preserved about how and why the Bulgarians moved west, but they obviously moved in a large mob, because they reached and reached far - to the Balkan peninsula. There is only information that the Mongols squeezed them out of the Gundukush region.

Conquest of the Balkans

Whether the Bulgarians went west for a long time or shortly, but there are records dated 165 AD, which already mention not just the people, but the state. Further, there is information that in the 7th century the Bulgarian state occupied the entire northern territory of the Black Sea coast, the lower reaches and the Danube Delta.

The Bulgarian Khan Asparuh with his brothers in the same century began to expand the territory of Old Great Bulgaria. In the Balkans, Asparukh united the ancient Bolgars with the descendants of the Thracians, as well as the neighboring Slavic tribes. The capital of this state was the city of Pliska, which had a huge area for that era.

• One brother of Khan Asparuh, as part of a large army with a wagon train, headed north and created Volga Bulgaria.
• On the territory of today's Macedonia, another Bulgaria was created ( Bulgarians Kubera)
• A fourth group of Bulgarians settled in Northern and Central Italy ( Bulgarians of Alcek)

That's the way it was supposed to be the beginning of the First Bulgarian Kingdom. memory of Hane Asparuhe still alive in Bulgaria. In every city there is certainly a street with his name.

Bulgarian Empire

And in the 9th century, on the map of Europe in the Middle Ages, there were three big empires - Danube Bulgaria, Frankish state Charlemagne, and Byzantium. To the northeast, Volga Bulgaria strengthened its foundations. In the era of the Middle Ages, the Bulgarians were among the first Christian peoples who established cultural contacts with the Arabs.

Related post: Navajo Indians

By the way, about the Volga Bulgaria. In the 10th century, the Bulgarians, who settled on the Volga, adopt Islam as their main religion (unlike their other tribesmen who converted to Christianity) and create one of the most brilliant Muslim states in the Middle Ages. This state was finally destroyed by Ivan the Terrible in the middle of the 16th century (he took Kazan).

Ivan Vasilievich himself knew perfectly well whom he was conquering. There is NO mention of Tatars in historical documents. Ivan the Terrible conquered the Bulgarian kingdom. (Grimberg F.L. “Rurikovichi or the seven hundredth anniversary of “eternal” questions”, M .: Moscow Lyceum, 1997.308 p.).

Here's where Kazan

Name of the modern part Russian Federation"Tatarstan" ("Tataria") is not historical, in fact Bulgaria (Volga Bulgaria, Bulgarian kingdom), and so!

Academician Grekov B.D. formulated the following thesis: modern Tatars by their origin have nothing to do with the Mongols, the Tatars are direct descendants of the Bulgars, the ethnonym Tatars in relation to them is a historical mistake. (According to the book: Karimullin A.G. "Tatars: ethnos and ethnonym", Kazan, 1989, pp. 9-12).

The Russian historian Karamzin N.M., whom many even call great, wrote: “None of the current Tatar peoples calls themselves Tatars, but each is called by the special name of his land.” (“History of the Russian State”, St. Petersburg, 1818, vol. 3, p. 172). In particular, this was the case with regard to the Volga Bulgarians. “The inhabitants of Kazan and its region up to October revolution did not stop calling themselves Bulgars". /History of Kazan, Book I.-Kazan, Tatar book publishing house.-1988. p.40/.

Were there Tatars?

Yes they were. These were indeed nomadic tribes, by no means peaceful. They attacked, they were attacked. There was already an article about the Tatars on our website. They annoyed the Chinese for a long time, who eventually defeated the Tatar army, it was at the end of the 3rd century BC. e.

In the period between 630 and 657, the Azov Huns, the Bulgarians, were liberated from the rule of the Turks. By 635, the leader Gunnogundur Kubrat expelled the Avars from the Northern Black Sea region and united the Azov and Black Sea Bulgarians under his rule, creating the so-called Great Bulgaria. After that, he sent an embassy to Byzantium and concluded an agreement with it, which was very important for a young state surrounded by enemies. Byzantium could only rejoice at the appearance of a new ally, especially valuable in the rear of the Avars - immediate neighbors and dangerous enemies of the empire. Heraclius sent gifts to Kubrat and honored him with the rank of patrician.

Volga Bulgaria occupied lands in the center of the Middle Volga region, in the Western Trans-Kama and Volga regions, and later, in the 12th century, its territory expanded: in the north - to the Kazanka basin, and the steppe, sparsely populated borders in the southeast sometimes reached the river. Yaik (Ural river).

It included the territories of modern Tatarstan, Chuvashia, Mari El, part of the land of Udmurtia, Mordovia and Bashkiria, as well as some areas of the Samara, Saratov, Volgograd, Astrakhan, Perm, Penza, Nizhny Novgorod and Ulyanovsk regions.

In fact, a significant part of the territory of the former Khazar Khaganate became part of Bulgaria. Ethnic composition of this country was motley not only during the formation of the state, but also later. The Turkic tribes of the Oghuz, Pechenegs and Kipchaks penetrated here from the southeast. But the main population of Bulgaria was called "Bulgars" - this is exactly how it is recorded in the written sources of that time. “Bulgar” was also the name of the capital of this state, located at the confluence of the Volga and Kama.

Protected by armor and shields with sharp spears in their hands, three Roman soldiers flee in a panic from two half-naked Bulgarian Huns. Situation characteristic of late Rome and Byzantium.

Politics of Bulgaria

Great Bulgaria pursued an active international policy in the Volga region. She had active ties with other states, including trade ones. Bulgaria enjoyed wide recognition from the Muslim states. In the 10th century in Bulgaria they minted their own coin, paying it off with foreign merchants. Trade in Bulgaria developed very rapidly. This was facilitated by the position of Bulgaria on the trade routes between Asia and Europe.

Volga Bulgaria already in the 9th century becomes a trading center of Eastern Europe. There was an active trade not only with the Russian principalities, but also with the Scandinavian countries, where they sold furs and metals. Bulgaria traded with Central Asia, with the Caucasus, with Iran, with the Baltic states. Trade caravans continuously traveled to Khorezm, Khorasan and back. Bulgaria had a good merchant fleet.

She traded not only furs, fish, nuts, timber, walrus teeth. Bulgar swords, chain mail, coda, processed in a special way (“Bulgari”) were in great demand. Jewelry, leather and fur products of the Bulgars were widely known. Merchants were convinced that "furs from these parts are warmer than furs from other countries."

The Bulgarian Khan Kubrat is the founder of Great Bulgaria in the steppes of the Black Sea region.

taxes

The taxes for the khan were not so high. So, they made up only one bull skin from each house. Khan's behavior was very democratic. He appeared on the streets of the capital and in the bazaars without any protection. People greeted him standing, taking off their headdress. At the festive table, the khan usually sat with his wife.

Thus, before the invasion of the Mongols, Bulgaria was a powerful kingdom with rich cities. Travelers argued that the inhabitants of this country are a single people who "hold the law of Mukhamettov more firmly than anyone else." As the state strengthened, the union of kindred tribes grew stronger. Thus, a single nation was formed. Therefore, in the 10th century, only two names of the people are spoken of: Bulgars and Suvars.

The main opponent of the Khazars was the Great Bulgaria of Khan Kubrat, but it collapsed from the first blow of the Khazars. Pursuing the Bulgars, the Khazars rushed to the west. The letter of the Khazar king Joseph (X century) says that the Khazars pursued the Bulgars to the Danube.

Population

And in the XI century they speak (in particular chronicles) only about one Bulgar people. The population of Bulgaria led a settled way of life. It ran a highly developed economy. Agriculture was well developed. In the 10th century, the Bulgars already used shares for plows. Their saban plow allowed plowing with the turnover of the layer. Hoes, shovels made of iron were also used. The Bulgars grew wheat, millet, barley, oats, peas, etc.

In total, more than 20 species of cultivated plants. The Bulgars were also engaged in horticulture and horticulture, beekeeping, as well as hunting and fishing. Travelers of the 12th century noted that the Bulgars consume "a lot of honey, and their fish are large, varied and very tasty." They noted that the Bulgars are the hardiest of people in relation to frost. This was explained by the fact that their food and drink were mostly from honey.

The Bulgarians fled from the Khazars to the Balkans. Here they found the “promised land” for themselves and their descendants, subjugated the local ethnic group, intermarried and merged with it and created a state that is prospering today.

production

The following crafts (productions) were developed among the Bulgars: jewelry, leather, bone carving, metallurgical. They worked copper. Bulgar pottery was widely known in all Russian principalities. Only in the capital of Bulgaria there were about 700 different workshops. Bone-cutting production was widely developed.

The Bulgars made not only iron tools, but also iron combat armor. They began to smelt iron long before Western Europeans. Cast iron was widely used in production, as were copper, silver, gold and their various alloys.

The son of Khan Kubrat Khan Asparuh - the founder of Balkan Bulgaria - the king of the First Bulgarian Kingdom in the late 9th - early 10th centuries.

They were built from stone, brick and wood. In construction, the Bulgars were recognized masters. They were often invited to the Russian principalities for the construction of temples, large buildings, etc. And now you can see Bulgar elements in the temples of Vladimir-Suzdal region: a fabulous bowl, herbs, animals, birds, etc. are used in the design.

Country of cities

Bulgaria was a country of cities, of which, together with fortified fortresses, there were about two hundred. The first capital of the country, the city of Bulgar, was located near the confluence of the Volga and Kama. The city itself consisted of two parts. In both parts of the city there were residential quarters and a large number of workshops of potters, metallurgists, bone cutters, tanners and others. The city of Bulgar was famous for its baths. They were built no later than the 8th century. In the 10th century, there were three such public baths in the city. One of them had a length of 30 m and a height of six meters (bath Ak pulat). There was also a public bath Kyzyl Pulat, as well as a bath for commoners. A swimming pool was built in the bath Ak pulat. As in Rome, the baths were a kind of clubs.

In order to unite the Bulgarians, Slavs and Greeks who lived in the Balkans, the Bulgarian Prince Boris I converted to Christianity. This allowed him to create the state of Bulgaria.

The city of Bulgar grew before our eyes. Paris, London, Damascus, etc. were significantly inferior to Bulgar both in terms of population and area. No wonder an Arab researcher of the 10th century wrote that in this city “all Muslims, 20 thousand horsemen come out of it. With every army of infidels, no matter how many, they fight and win.

Shopping center

Bulgar was a major trading center. There were many foreign merchants here. Seven kilometers from the city was the main point of foreign trade - Aga Bazaar. Camel caravans and merchant ships arrived here. Here foreign merchants met with each other - Indian, Chinese, Iranian, Arab and others. There was currency in circulation (including Bulgarian). Bulgarian merchants appeared not only in Scandinavia, the Baltic states and Russia, but also in Constantinople, Baghdad, North Africa.

Volga Bulgaria also had a second capital. It was the city of Bilyar, which was located at a distance of about a hundred kilometers from Bulgar (to the east). Bilyar became an even larger city than Bulgar. It was located on an area of ​​seven million square meters. In the XIII century, its population reached 70 thousand people. At the time, that was a lot. For comparison, let's say that even in the 15th century, cities with 30,000 inhabitants were considered large.

layout

The layout of the city was very original and attractive. It consisted of a citadel, an inner and an outer city. Posadas stretched around the outer city. The citadel itself was square in shape. It was oriented to the countries of the world. The citadel had wooden protective walls. The width of the walls reached ten meters. Guard towers were erected in the corners. A white-stone church with 24 columns was built inside the citadel. Its dimensions were 44 by 26 meters. The temple had two large halls. They were focused on the Muslim holy city of Mecca. Near the temple, a dizimam house was built. It was two stories, brick. In the citadel itself, granaries were built, as well as public wells.

The inner city was located directly around the citadel. Wealthy merchants and artisans lived there. The city was well planned. It was drawn by beautiful streets that came out of the squares. There were beautifully designed ponds on the squares. The streets were lined with brick and wooden houses.

outer city

Around the inner city was the outer city. It was inhabited by warriors and people of lesser means, such as middle-class merchants and artisans. Countless workshops and houses of artisans were located here. Foreigners also lived here. A large caravanserai was intended for foreign merchants.

The outer city was surrounded by a fortified rampart. Its length reached 10 kilometers. Around the outer city along the entire circumference were settlements. They were surrounded on the outer side by a fence.

Three Bulgaria: Great, Balkan and Volga. But it turns out that there were others, for example, Pannonian and Kiev.

The city was equipped with water and sewer systems. Excess water from the city was diverted by an elaborate drainage system. The city also had central underfloor heating. By the way, in other Bulgarian cities there was a system of calorific heating of residential buildings. They also had plumbing systems. Dwelling houses in cities were above ground. They were drowned in white.

The largest cities of Bulgaria were Suvar, Oshel, Burtas. The remains of the city of Burtas are currently located on the territory of modern Penza region. Many of the cities at a certain time were the capitals of principalities. Cities such as Zhuketau (Zhukatin), Kasham, Nukrat, Tukhchin and others were built. A well-fortified fortress with a white-stone mosque was located near the modern city of Yelabuga.

Reconstruction of the appearance of the Volga Bulgars on the basis of skulls from a burial place around the 10th century.

Upbringing

The Bulgars had a very progressive system of education, which developed high moral principles in the younger generation. Children and teenagers were brought up industriousness, as well as respect for elders. Great importance attached to the cult of ancestors. Everyone had to respect the place of eternal rest of their ancestors.

There was a special respect for fire. It was forbidden to spit on the fire, to throw cutting and piercing objects into it, and in general to show disrespect and disdain. Water was also perceived as one of the primary elements of space.

The Bulgars were aware that water has a protective, cleansing and fertile power. According to the Bulgars, it is water that personifies the supreme deity - Tengre (Tangre). Tengre was the only deity in which the Bulgars believed.

In the early period of their history, the Bulgars, like other peoples, went through the path of belief in many gods, gods and spirits. In the described time, the Bulgars were monotheists. Since the Bulgars believed in a single god, they easily accepted Islam, in which "there is no god but Allah." The universally recognized moral values ​​of the Bulgar people fully corresponded moral requirements Koran.

It should be said that at that time the Arab East was advanced in the sciences and arts, in many ways ahead of Byzantium and Rome in this, not to mention Western barbarian Europe. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the Volga Bulgaria found itself in the sphere of the Arab Muslim civilization.

Acceptance of Islam

Partially, Islam penetrated into the Bulgar environment during the Khazar Khaganate. The massive adoption of Islam by the Bulgars took place in 825, almost 1200 years ago. Since 922, Islam has become the state religion of the Volga Bulgaria. In 921, the supreme ruler of Bulgaria, Almas Shilki, sent ambassadors to the Caliph of Baghdad with a special mission to invite clerics who would procedurally correctly formalize the official adoption of Islam by Bulgaria. The embassy of such spiritual persons arrived in Bulgaria in 922. A special prayer service was solemnly held in the central mosque of the capital. Here the official adoption of Islam by Bulgaria was proclaimed, which became the state religion.

The common state religion was supposed to contribute to the rallying of the Bulgar people. This act was supposed to work to strengthen the security of the state, since Bulgaria from then on could count on the help and assistance of other Islamic states. Indeed, the adoption of Islam as the state religion played such a role.

After the adoption of Islam, Bulgaria began to switch from runic writing to Arabic writing. The number of mosques grew rapidly, and with them schools. Written sources also testify to this. Thus, a traveler of the tenth century notes that in the villages of Bulgaria there are mosques and elementary schools with muezzins and imams. Gradually, schools began to open and more high level- madrasah. Over time, students from other Muslim countries also began to study in these schools. The Bulgars themselves also studied in famous educational institutions Arabia and Central Asia. The settled Bulgar people had a long tradition of craving for knowledge, for universal literacy. Islam also obliges to study. In the hadiths of Muslims it is said: "If it is necessary to obtain knowledge, then go even to distant China, for the acquisition of knowledge is the first duty of every true believer."

Education and science

Education developed and science developed. Talented scientists appeared in Bulgaria in various fields of science: mathematics, astronomy, medicine, history, etc. Astronomical observations were organized. They were conducted not only on the territory of Bulgaria itself. The works of the scientist Hajiahmet al-Bulgari, the philosopher Hamid bin Idris al-Bulgari and others have received wide recognition. Books about medicines were published in Bulgaria, according to oratory, on literary criticism, which were written by Burkhanatlin bin Yusuf al-Bulgari. Tazhetlin Bulgari's books on medicine were also published. The works of Mahmut Bulgari, Khisamutdin Muslimi-Bulgari and others appeared. Bulgar thinkers and scientists gained world fame and recognition. This fact is indicative. Ahmet Bulgari became a teacher of the Sultan of the Ghaznavid state in the 11th century. This state included modern Afghanistan, part of India, Iran and Central Asia.

Successfully developed not only science, but also literature. The most famous poet is Daud Saksin-Suari, who worked at the beginning of the 12th century. He was a native of the city of Saksina and belonged to the Suar people. The poet's most widely known book is The Garden of Flowers that Heal Diseases. It consists of 67 sections. At the beginning of each section, the author gives a description of the life of a scientist or other famous person.

Creation

The outstanding poet of the 13th century Kol Gali is also widely known. His poem "Kyssen Yusuf" ("The Legend of Yusuf") received worldwide recognition. It was read in Bulgaria for hundreds of years. At present, the Kol Gali Prize has been established in Tatarstan.

A large place among the Bulgars was occupied by oral folk art. Many traditions and legends connected with the life and struggle of the Bulgars, Burtases, etc. have survived to this day. Fairy tales, etc. have been preserved.

Russian principalities

Bulgaria sought to build friendly relations with the Russian principalities. In 985 an agreement was concluded between Bulgaria and Kiev. The parties agreed on eternal peace: "Then there will be no peace between us when the stone begins to float, and the hops sink." In 1016, a trade agreement between Bulgaria and the Kiev principality was concluded. Bulgarian merchants received the right to trade in Russian lands. In 1024, a terrible famine broke out in the Suzdal principality. The Bulgars saved the inhabitants from starvation. They gave bread to the starving.

To be continued…

LESSON #2

Ancient Turks and early states

Great Bulgaria

During the advancement of the Huns to the west, the Bulgarians came to the Black Sea and Azov steppes along with other Turkic-speaking tribes. Here were the possessions of the Turkic Khaganate. The Bulgarians found themselves in its composition in the position of vassals. Under the leadership of the ruler Kubrat in 632 they achieved independence. An independent state arose - Great Bulgaria. (see map )

KUBRAT KHAN RING WITH A PRINT

KUBRAT KHANA

The capital of Great Bulgaria was Phanagoria - an ancient city on the Taman Peninsula.

Crafts and trade were concentrated here. The main occupation of the Bulgarians was nomadic cattle breeding.

The history of Great Bulgaria turned out to be short. The sons of Kubrat violated his covenant not to separate from each other and live in friendship and harmony. After the death of their father, they began a struggle for power and divided the land among themselves. The state collapsed.

Kubrat's son Asparuh was forced to take his subjects to the banks of the Danube. Here the Bulgarians, having conquered the Slavs, in 681 created a new state - Danube Bulgaria.

Most of the Bulgarians, together with Batbay, another son of Kubrat, remained on their indigenous lands. Soon they occupied the Crimean peninsula, the steppes and forest-steppes of the Dnieper region. It was in these steppes, near the village of Pereshchepino in the vicinity of the city of Poltava, that a treasure trove of gold and silver dishes, precious weapons and jewelry was discovered. "Treasures of Kubratkhan" - this is how this treasure is usually called, on which the name of the founder of Great Bulgaria is preserved.

BULGARIAN SILVER VASE GOLD RINGS ORGAN

WITH THE IMAGE OF KUBRAT KHAN AND KUBRAT KHAN.

Great Bulgaria - the first own state of the Bulgarians, who became one of the ancestors of modern Tatars. It existed for a short time, did not even have time to get stronger and therefore did not have a significant impact on the course of history.