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== General History == | == General History == | ||
=== Early History === | === Early History === | ||
As part of ancient Thrace and Moesia, Bulgaria was settled by Slavic tribes in the 500s A.D. The Bulgars, a Turkic-speaking people, crossed the Danube, conquered the Slavs, and founded the first Bulgarian Empire in 681. Although the name Bulgaria is not of Slavic origin, the Slavic peoples who had earlier entered the Balkan Peninsula largely absorbed the invaders and were the precursors of the present-day Bulgarians. Under the leadership of Krum who died in 814, the Bulgars expanded and consolidated their empire. Under Boris I the Bulgars adopted Christianity (865). Bulgarian kingdoms continued to exist in the Balkan Peninsula during the Middle Ages though the region was dominated by the Byzantine Empire between 1018-1186. | |||
=== Ottoman Rule (1396-1878) === | |||
Because of its proximity to Asia Minor, Bulgaria was the first of the European states to succumb to the Ottoman Turks and one of the last to be liberated from them. During five centuries of Ottoman rule (1396-1878), the country stagnated, untouched by any of the cultural, social, or political movements of Europe. Bulgarian culture was preserved in the monasteries of the Orthodox Church during Ottoman rule. The Orthodox Church became autonomous from the Greek Orthodox Church in 1860. It was finally recognized by the Turkish sultan in 1870. | Because of its proximity to Asia Minor, Bulgaria was the first of the European states to succumb to the Ottoman Turks and one of the last to be liberated from them. During five centuries of Ottoman rule (1396-1878), the country stagnated, untouched by any of the cultural, social, or political movements of Europe. Bulgarian culture was preserved in the monasteries of the Orthodox Church during Ottoman rule. The Orthodox Church became autonomous from the Greek Orthodox Church in 1860. It was finally recognized by the Turkish sultan in 1870. | ||
=== 1878 to 1990 === | |||
=== | |||
In 1876 a Bulgarian liberation movement was savagely suppressed by the Ottomans. Russia intervened and defeated the Turks in 1878. Bulgaria became an autonomous principality under Ottoman control. Eastern Rumelia, the southeastern portion of Bulgaria, was added to the country in 1885. Taking advantage of the Young Turk revolution in the Ottoman Empire, Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria proclaimed the full independence of Bulgaria in 1908 and assumed the title of czar. | In 1876 a Bulgarian liberation movement was savagely suppressed by the Ottomans. Russia intervened and defeated the Turks in 1878. Bulgaria became an autonomous principality under Ottoman control. Eastern Rumelia, the southeastern portion of Bulgaria, was added to the country in 1885. Taking advantage of the Young Turk revolution in the Ottoman Empire, Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria proclaimed the full independence of Bulgaria in 1908 and assumed the title of czar. | ||