Early History of Bulgaria
,A people called Thracians established the first civilization in what is now Bulgaria about 3,000 years ago. The region became part of the Roman empire in the A.D. 40's. Slavs from what are now south-eastern Poland and northwest Ukraine settled in the territory during the 500's. In the 600's nomadic Bulgar tribes from central Asia migrated to the region. In time the Bulgars blended with the Slavic people.
The first Bulgarian kingdom
The first Bulgarian kingdom was established in 681. It gradually became the most powerful state in the Balkans. Under Simeon I, who came to throne in 893, Bulgaria entered a golden age. Simeon brought Albania, Macedonia, Serbia, and some other parts of the Byzantine Empire under Bulgarian influence. Trade, literature and art flourished. After Simeon died in 1927, Bulgaria's power began to decline. In 1018 country was conquered by the Byzantine emperor Basil II and became part of the Byzantine Empire.
The second Bulgarian kingdom
The second Bulgarian kingdom was founded in 1186, after Bulgaria regained its independence from Byzantine rule. During 1200's Bulgaria's economy and culture thrived again, and the country once again become a major Balkan power. How ever, Ottoman Turks began raiding Bulgaria in early 1300's. By 1396, they had conquered the country.
Turkish rule in Bulgaria
It lasted more than 500 years. The ottoman turks forced their culture on Bulgarian society. They seized Bulgarian land and other property and heavily taxed the people. The Turks killed many Bulgarians who opposed their rule.
The Bulgarians rebelled against the Turks in the 1590's, the 1680's and the 1730's. But the Turks crushed them each time. From late 1700's through the mid 1800's Bulgarian patriotism grew. The Turks made some social reforms, but Bulgarians still wanted freedom. They revolved again in 1876 and were brutally put down.
In 1878, during a war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, Russian troops invaded Bulgaria and defeated the Turkish army. In March 1878, the Turks were forced to sign the Treaty of San Stefano and give up Macedonia and Thrace to Bulgaria. But in July a meeting of European leaders called the Congress of Berlin replaced the treaty with the Treaty of Berlin. This treaty returned most of the territory to the Ottoman Empire and allowed limited Bulgarian self-rule.
In 1879, Bulgaria adopted a Constitution. Alexander of Battenberg, a German prince was installed as Bulgaria's ruler. The next ruler, King Ferdinand declared Bulgaria's full independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1908.
The Balkan wars.
In 1912, Bulgaria joined Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia in a war to drive Turks out of Europe. In fighting this war, called the First Balkan War, Bulgaria hoped to regain the territory it lost under the Treaty of Berlin. The Ottoman Empire was easily defeated. However, the victorious countries argued over the division of the lands they had won.
In 1913, Bulgaria began the Second Balkan War by attacking Serbia and Greece. It was quickly defeated, and it lost much of the land it had gained during the First Balkan War.
The world wars
Bulgaria entered World War I (1914-1918) on the side of Germany and other Central power in hope of regaining the territory it lost following the second Balkan War. The central powers were created, and Bulgaria was torn by political unrest and terrorism as various groups struggled for power.
Bulgaria's determination to regain its lost territory led it t enter World War II (1939-1945) as an ally of Germany and Italy. The Soviet Union invaded Bulgaria on 8th of September (The Soviet Union had been formed in 1922 under Russia's leadership, and it existed until 1991.) The day after the Soviet invasion, the Fatherland Front, a group of Bulgarian political organizations led by the Communist Party, overthrew the Bulgarian government.
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