A brief history of relations between ancient Bulgaria and Byzantium
Headline Creation Challenge Dating back to 681 AD, Asbaruh Khan established the First Bulgarian Empire, opening a chapter in the history of the Bulgarian state.
In the course of its long development, the First Bulgarian Empire emerged a number of powerful dynasties, such as the Dulu Dynasty, the Vakir Dynasty, the Ugayn Dynasty, the Krum Dynasty, the Komitopuri Dynasty, etc., which together shaped the glory of Bulgarian history.
The close ties between the First Bulgarian Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire facilitated its growth. This history is full of feuds between Bulgaria and Byzantium, and the two countries have jointly promoted the prosperity of their respective countries and cultures.
The Evolution of the Relationship between the First Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire Let's explore the early development of the First Bulgarian Empire's Continental Dynasty and delve into the evolution of its relationship with the Byzantine Empire.
Although the Dulu dynasty referred to in this article began with the Great Bulgarian Khanate, founded by Kufrat Khan in 632 AD, it is important to note that the period ruled by the Dulu family in Bulgarian history is not the only one in Bulgarian history that is called the Dulu dynasty, and the Huns also established the Dulu dynasty.
The term "Dulu family" originates from the period of the Slavic Bulgarian kingdom that began in 668 AD, and is also the historical period when the Dulu clan ruled the Bulgarian ancestors.
In the 4th century, the "Hun Empire" rose under the leadership of Attila, the "whip of God", and its territory covered the regions of present-day Germany, Central Europe, the Balkans and Ukraine, and had a profound impact on the great integration of European peoples.
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After the death of Attila, the whip of God, the vast Hun Empire gradually collapsed in a struggle for leadership and succession. However, even after the death of Dunjisik in 469 AD and the fall of the entire empire, the remaining Huns still cherished the ideal of statehood and never gave up.
At the end of the 5th century AD, a part of the Huns united with the ancient Bulgarians to create a new Hun state, led by a king surnamed Dulu (Duro). Thus, Attila's youngest son, Ernak Enek (Ernac), became the king of the ancient Bulgarians, and the Dulu clan also began to be passed down among the Bulgarians.
Around 500 AD, a part of the Bulgarians began to work as slaves of the Slavs, led by the Avars, migrating to the middle and lower reaches of the Danube, and together they attacked the Balkan territories of Byzantium.
The decay of the Ostrogoths created an opportunity for the Bulgarians, who officially became new members of the Balkans, integrating and developing together with the Slavs. With the collapse of the Hun state, the Bulgarians, under the leadership of Kraft Kufrat Khan, established the Great Bulgarian Khanate, the Great Bulgarian Kingdom, which was the origin of the Dulu dynasty in Bulgarian history, and Kraft Kufrat Khan became the head of the Dulu clan.
Kraft Kufrat Khan led the army, but later died, causing the Great Bulgarian Khanate, the elder of the Great Bulgarian Khanate, to collapse. His son Asbarukh Khan led his troops to Bulgaria and established the First Bulgarian Empire and the First Bulgarian Kingdom with the local Slavs.
From that moment on, the Dulu family began their reign.
Asbarukh Khan's tribe, according to Bulgarian legend, was not the earliest leader of the Dulu clan.
Legend has it that there were two Bulgarian monarchs from the Đūlu family: one was Avitu Khan (**itokhol), who lived for 300 years, and is believed to be the prototype of Attila or Attila's ancestor; The other is Irnik, who lived for 150 years, and is recorded in the manuscript Nominalia of the Bulgarian Khans, which is believed to be Attila's son Ernak Aynek
These two monarchs are legendary, about the origin of the Bulgarian Dulu family. Subsequently, the Dulu dynasty entered the period of the Great Bulgarian Khanate (632 635-670), led by Kraft Kufrat Khan and his son Batbayan.
The Bully family of the First Bulgarian Empire, ruled by Kraft Kufrat Khan and his sons. The head of the family passed down four main figures: Asbaruh Khan, Tervir Tervir Khan, Kormehi Khan, and Shevar Khan.
Since the beginning of the Člu dynasty, the First Bulgarian Empire entered the first period of national development, and carried out frequent exchanges and collisions with the Byzantine Empire in the south.
Although the Byzantine Empire, with its profound heritage of ancient Roman civilization and unique style of Byzantine civilization, was far ahead of the Bulgarian state in terms of civilization and historical development, the two sides still showed mutual influence and integration in the early exchanges.
Historically, the Byzantine Empire had intricate relations with the Bulgarians, including the Old Bolgars and the local Slavs, among others. Long before the founding of Bulgaria, Byzantium communicated with the ancient Bolgars through alliances or wars.
However, relations between the two countries have always oscillated between war and peace, especially in the struggle for hegemony in the Balkans. Bulgarian-Byzantine relations went through three main phases: The first stage: from the 5th century AD to the 7th century AD, ancient Bulgarian-Byzantine relations gradually strengthened.
This period includes the period of the Old Bulgarians and the South Slavs, as well as the formation of the ancient "Great Bulgarian" Union. The second stage: from the 9th century AD to the 10th century AD, the early days of the establishment of the Bulgarian kingdom, relations between the two countries experienced ups and downs.
During this period, there were several wars between Byzantium and Bulgaria, but there were also brief alliances. The third stage: after the fall of the First Bulgarian Empire (1018 AD) and before the fall of the Byzantine Empire (1453 AD), relations between the two countries became more complicated.
At this time, the creation of the Bulgarian state organization led to the fact that the emerging Bulgaria became hostile to the Byzantine Empire, but sometimes the two sides became allies for the sake of common interests.
This was due to the fact that the Bulgarian state needed more living space, and the Balkans were considered their own territory, in conflict with Byzantium, which controlled the region. However, when an external enemy invades, the two countries have to unite to defend themselves against external threats.
The history of the Byzantine Empire and the Great Bulgarian Khanate is full of complex wars, reconciliations, and alliances. This relationship is even more volatile than in the Balkans.
In the first two installments, we have already given examples through the stories of the reigns of Asbaruh Khan and Tervir Khan, and we will not repeat them here. Despite the fact that the "civilized" Byzantines looked down on the "nomadic" and "semi-nomadic" Bolgars and Slavic tribes, they were often unable to defeat the "barbarian" Bulgarians on the battlefield of life-and-death confrontation.
Therefore, in the relationship between the two sides, the Bulgarians usually have the initiative to control war and peace.
The Byzantine Empire's hostility towards the First Bulgarian Empire was long-standing for two main reasons: on the one hand, the Byzantine Empire sought to control the Slavs within its borders and prevent them from joining the Bulgarian state; The Byzantine Empire, on the other hand, was bent on destroying the nascent Bulgarian state.
Thus, military conflict and temporary peace have become the main state of relations between the two countries. Relations between the Bulgarian Continental Dynasty and the Byzantine Empire were not always strained.
When Kraft Kufrat Khan founded the Great Bulgarian Khanate, the Byzantines gave their backing. However, as the Great Bulgarian Khanate grew, wars between the two countries ensued.
By the time the Great Bulgarian Khanate declined, the Byzantine Empire had to find new allies in the Balkans. Later, Asbarukh established the First Bulgarian Empire, and war broke out again between the two sides.
However, Asbarukh made the nascent First Bulgarian Empire recognized by the Byzantine Empire by defeating the Byzantine Empire. Even, the Byzantine Empire paid an annual tribute to the Bulgarian Empire in order to maintain peaceful relations.
In the late Asbaruh period, Asbarukh's body became weaker and weaker, and the Byzantines rekindled the flames of war, successfully thwarting the offensive of the Bulgarian army, and at the same time capturing a large number of Slavs, which escalated the conflict between the two sides.
Against this backdrop, Tervir Khan succeeded to the throne and, taking advantage of the chaos in Byzantium, re-recruited the exiled Justinian II into his camp and helped him regain the throne of Constantinople.
After a brief reinstatement of Justinian II, a brief state of peace was again reached with Tervir Khan. However, the reign of Justinian II was overthrown again, leading Tervir Khan to launch an attack on Junbao for revenge, which sparked a war between the two countries.
Although the two sides experienced many wars and peace during this period, in general, the relationship between the two countries did not break down. A few years later, Theodosius III succeeded to the throne, and in 716 he signed a new peace treaty with the Khan of Tervir in an attempt to settle the relationship between the two countries once and for all.
In the summer of the following year after the Treaty of Theodosius III, the Byzantine Empire was in crisis when Arab armies from southeastern Byzantium besieged Constantinople by land and water.
To this end, the new Byzantine emperor Leo III immediately turned to Bulgaria for assistance, and the two sides urgently formed an alliance. As an ally, Tervir Khan sent troops to relieve the siege and successfully forced the Arab expeditionary force to retreat.
After the siege of Constantinople was lifted, Bulgaria's prestige in Europe grew, which made the Byzantines feel threatened. They did not want to see their neighbors strong and were determined to look for opportunities to restore their position and authority in the Balkans.
Thus, during the reign of the last two monarchs of the Bulgarian Continent dynasty, Kormehi Khan and Shevar Khan, the two sides maintained a fragile and unreliable alliance on the surface, but in reality there were various intrigues behind the scenes.
Because Bulgaria wanted to grow and develop, and Byzantium aspired to dominate the Balkans again.
Kormehi Khan and Shevar Khan continued to grow in power during the First Bulgarian Empire, but the end of Shevar Khan's reign brought the end of the Dulu dynasty. After that, the Voukir dynasty rose to prominence and took over the empire.
Although the Krum dynasty was the second ruling of the Dulu family, it was still different compared to the Dulu dynasty. With the fall of the Bully dynasty, Bulgaria's relations with Byzantium also came to an end.
During the reign of Constantine V, the contradictions between the two sides became public, 9 wars were fought, Bulgaria suffered heavy losses, and finally went into decline.
During the reign of Krum the Bulgarian Khan, Constantine V's power increased again and the military expansion continued, and tensions between the two increased. However, in the mid-9th century, Bulgaria embraced the ** religion and introduced culture from Byzantium, which marked a détente in relations between the two countries.
In the 9th and 10th centuries that followed, the two countries entered a period of peace that lasted for decades. However, when Simeon the greatest of Bulgaria, sought hegemony in the Balkans, the two countries went to war again.
Eventually, the Byzantine Empire destroyed the First Bulgarian Kingdom, bringing its territory into its own territory.
The glory of the First Bulgarian Kingdom reached its peak here, and it marked the end of the history of the First Bulgarian Empire, the details of which need not be repeated.
During the last period of the reign of the Kormeshi Khan and Shevar Khan, the dynasty came to an end. Subsequently, the nascent Vakir dynasty stepped onto the stage of Bulgarian history and began a new era, the reign of the Vakir dynasty.
What was the situation of the Vakir dynasty in Bulgarian history? Will there be a smooth transition between the old and new dynasties this time? What were some of the most famous rulers of Bulgaria during the Vakir dynasty?
Stay tuned for more in this series! References include: History of Bulgaria, Ancient History of the Balkans, Study of the Relationship between Ancient Bulgaria and Byzantium (5th-10th Centuries), Dictionary of Foreign Affairs Figures, A Brief History of Bulgaria, and Dictionary of European History.