Bulgars
Proto-Bulgarians (sometimes great- Bulgarians or hunno - Bulgarians ) is a scientific term for various, mainly Turkic-speaking tribes of the Eurasian steppe zone, which appear in the written sources under the ethnonym "Bulgarians" since the 5th century. Their language is called Bolgarische language. Larger kingdom ups get the Proto-Bulgarians east and west of the Azov Sea ( Megale Boulgaria, see United Bulgarian Empire), the Balkans (First Bulgarian Empire ) and on the middle Volga ( Volga - Kama Bulgaria). The immigrated to the Balkans, Proto-Bulgarians were slavicized the early Middle Ages (7th - 10th century). They took in the 9th century to Christianity and be counted among the ancestors of today ( Slavic ) Bulgarians. The Volga Bulgars, however, participated in the 10th century on Islam.
Ethnonym
About the importance of the national name " Bulgarians " (Greek Βούλγαροι ) there are numerous theories. One often led him from the river name of the Volga ( Wolgaren ). The most common is the theory that the name " Bulghar " from the Proto-Bulgarian " bulganmış " derives what " mixed " group, and points to a Federation ethnically heterogeneous associations.
Some Bulgarian researchers such as Nikolaj Owtscharow and Georgi Balakov include the proto-Bulgarians to the descendants of the ancient Bactrians, who settled in the region around Balkh, of which the name was derived ( Balkhar - Bolgar ); however, this is a minority opinion dar. Others see the Proto-Bulgarians as tribes of the Hun Empire ( the so-called hunno - Bulgarians ), who retired after the battle of Nedao eastwards and settled on the lower Volga. In general, many points in the research still controversial.
History
In the Proto-Bulgarians it could well be Turkic nomadic tribes from Central Asia. Their exact origin is not understood. According to some researchers, they are located in the 4/5 Century have joined forces with the Huns. After the death of the Hun leader Attila (453 ), and the collapse of the Hun Empire, the Bulgarians in the Pontic steppe ( southern Russian steppe ) settled north of the Black Sea and Central Asia. There were also Finno- Ugric or Ural- Altaic stems. They were joined by the Turkic peoples of Saguren and Oguren who had been displaced by 463 of the language- related Sabirs from their homes in what is now western Siberia and Kazakhstan to the west. The new " league " of the Hungarians ( Onogur - "Ten Tribes" ) belonged and Alans elements, under the leadership of Attila the Son Irnik (according to the book of names of the Bulgarian khans ).
In more recent research, many points are controversial regarding the origin and development of the Proto-Bulgarians. So many of the older models of explanation are considered critical and pointed out the thin and sometimes contradictory source material.
Another problem is the role of Kutrigurs and Utiguren in the process of ethnogenesis of the Proto-Bulgarians among others. Legend detention embellished reports in the sources, the Kutrigurs and Utiguren to be descended from the remnants of the Huns, but this is uncertain. Order 560, there was fighting between them, driven by East Roman side; they were eventually defeated by the Avars. Parts of these groups may have later joined the Proto-Bulgarians or already have been identical with them, but this is unclear. In the late ancient sources (main source for this Prokopios of Caesarea is ), these groups are not referred to as Bulgarians.
To 567 the Bulgarians were defeated by the Avars. Some joined the Avars and covered with such further west. Large parts of the Proto-Bulgarians, " Huns " (the name referred to in the sources often simply " barbarous nations" from the region north of the Black Sea ) and the other nomadic horsemen but remained in the southern Russian steppes. 635 rose the Proto-Bulgarians under Khan Kubrat - Onogurs (including Cobras, of qobrat - " gather the people" ) with success against the rule of the Avars. Kubrat united the peoples of the United Bulgarian Empire (Greek Η παλαια μεγαλη Βουλγαρια; megale Boulgaria - " Greater Bulgaria "). With Byzantium he was allied. On this occasion, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius Kubrat got the honorary title of Patricius.
The Great Bulgarian Empire on the north coast of the Black Sea ranged from Maeotis until after Kuban. Capital was Phanagoria on Azov sea near the Taman today. At the top of the empire state of the Khan, and at its side a council of nobles (Grand Boilen ) was built. Second man in the kingdom was the Kawkhan ( held several positions, including Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Diplomat ), the third Itschirgu -Boil ( administrator of the capital and commander of the metropolitan garrison ). As chief administrative officer, and military commanders, they exert a dual function, which continued in the subsequent stages of the administrative hierarchy. Some theories see in the medieval noble title Boljaren slawisierte a derivative of urbulgarischen title Boil. The Great Bulgarian Empire was destroyed, however, already in the second half of the 7th century by the Turkic Khazars also.
Kubrat eldest son Batbajan to the Khazars had conquered, and remained in the ancient capital Phanagoria. But his four brothers split off with significant tribal parts. The northward pulling Proto-Bulgarians under the leadership of Kotrag, the second son of Kubrat, founded the kingdom of the Volga Bulgars, with its capital Bolgar. The Realm of the Volga Bulgars existed until the beginning of the 13th century, when it was defeated by the Golden Horde of Mongols. The people of the Chuvash sees itself as a successor of a part of the Volga Bulgars. Another part merged with the Kazan Tatars, who still until the late 19th century as " Bolgarları " ( Bolgaren = Bulgarians ) and not as " Tatarlar " ( Tartars ) designated.
The pulling to the southwest parts under Kubrat son Asparuch crossed the Danube and joined forces ( according to other opinions submitted ) with the local Slavic population of the Seweren and the seven tribes and established 678 the Danube Bulgarian Empire with its capital Pliska. Therefore Asparuch regarded as the founder of today's Bulgaria in the Balkans. This Bulgarian Empire was the first empire, which a Byzantine Emperor had to pay tribute to what was perceived as a great disgrace in Constantinople Opel. Although recognized by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IV contract, the Proto-Bulgarians besieged several times Konstantin Opel (705 and 813 ) and extended under Krum ( 802-814 ) their kingdom west to the Tisza from. In the year 718, during the second attack on Constantinople Opel the Arabs, however, Khan Tervel his army sent to the Byzantine Emperor Leo III. to help, which contributed to the abolition of the Arab siege. Until the collapse of Hungary 895 the Bulgarians empire included virtually the entire ( non- Byzantine ) Balkan and handed in the north after the victory over the Avars to Budapest.
The two youngest sons of Kubrat, enveloping ( Kuber ) and Alzek moved with their smaller tribal groups also heading west and joined in Pannonia ( Hungary) the Avars. After a failed revolt against the tribal leaders went their separate ways again. 680 drew enveloping the south together with parts of Sermesianoi, descendants of the Roman provincial population in Pannonia by the Avars and the 626 displaced and settled in Pannonia Roman prisoners. He settled in the uninhabited area around Bitola in Macedonia, which belonged to the Byzantine theme of Thessaloniki, where enveloping built a Khaganate. Under Malamir Khan and Khan I. Presian the Kuverbulgaren united with the Bulgarian Kingdom of Asparuch. In the year 1000 its capital under Tsar Samuil and his successors also capital should be quite Bulgaria.
Alzek moved further west, crossed the Alps, and 667 moved peacefully to Northern Italy in the area around Ravenna. So Paul the Deacon reported on the arrival of Vulgarum dux Alzeco nomine, which was, however, come from unknown reasons in peace with his army to Italy. The hospitality of the Romans had been but only a disguise. In the same year the Bulgarians had to fight for their survival in several ambushes. Therefore, they moved ever southward, until they finally reached the Duchy of Benevento. The historian Paul the Deacon further reports that there Alzek Khan was received by the Lombard king Grimoald. Alzek was the Molise region awarded on the condition that he renounces his title dux and claim to power because Grimoald itself was dux of Benevento. Even today wear throughout Italy Bulgarian names or the name "Bulgarians" mountains, regions, villages, rivers and Families ( Bulg Bulgari ). Examples of this are the Italian makers of luxury goods Bulgari, Bartolomeo Bulgarini, Cardinal Pietro Bulgaro, the name del Bulgaro or municipality Bulgarograsso.
The culture of the Proto-Bulgarians remained in a number of architectural monuments preserved, so in around 100 carved monuments font with proto Bulgarian notch script of the Danube Bulgarian Empire or in pictorial representations. Some, like the Madara Horseman have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In Bulgaria and Macedonia the Bulgarians merged mainly with the musicians, some of which already settled in the Balkans, were partly only come with the Bulgars from Southern Russia, and other Slavic tribes, as well as the remains of Roman provincial population to the present people of the Bulgarians. The relatively thin layer proto Bulgarian rulers took the majority of the four subject Slavic tribes on quickly, but no distinction is made only after the Christianization of the Bulgarians between Bulgarians and Bulgarians. The Proto-Bulgarians ruled the Danube Bulgarian Empire until it fell under Byzantine rule in 1018.
Theories on the origin of the Proto-Bulgarians
To date, research on the origin of the Bulgarians is not unanimous. The prevailing hypothesis today is based on a Turkic origin.
The study of the Proto-Bulgarians began in 1832 with the fact that Christian Martin Frähn filed the name of the Persian Asparuch as in the interpretation of Arab news of the Volga Bulgars. With the work of Vasil Slatarski History of the Bulgarians I: From the founding of the Bulgarian Empire to the Turkish period (679-1396) from 1918, the author sat for a possible Hunnish descent one. This thesis took place in Bulgaria until the takeover by the Communists in 1945 widespread and was written in the textbooks. During the communist era, this opinion has been replaced by the consideration of a possible origin of the Turkic peoples. The senior thesis builds on their findings primarily on the archaeological research and exclude a possible influence of the Turkic peoples, such as the titulary and grave goods. Veselin Beschewliew rolled in 1967 with two articles on the origin of the Bulgarians, the discussion on. This he accepted, although the Turkic origin of the Proto-Bulgarians, but made the same attention to Iranian influences.
Since the end of the 1980 increase primarily in Bulgaria, the research in support of the Indo- Iranian theory. To apply today, the earlier inter alia by Rüdiger Schmitt and Steven Runciman discussed at least one cultural influence of Iranian peoples to the Proto-Bulgarians as backed up. The Encyclopaedia Iranica points to the cultural influence, especially on the Middle Iranian names Asparuch ( " the translucent with the horse " ) and Berzmer (of pers Burzmehr, "High Gelobter Mithras " ), and the figure of the " Madara Horseman " which is set in the vicinity of the ruins of Pliska in stone and supposedly very reminiscent of the " Naqše Rustam " rock reliefs of the Persian Sassanids. Also know the name of the Bulgarian khans book Iranian trains. New archaeological discoveries white also for possible Zoroastrian fire temples among the principal churches in the capitals Pliska and Preslav. According to some Bulgarian researchers, as the historian Georgi Bakalov the Proto-Bulgarians were not only under Iranian influence, but had ancient Indo- Iranian roots. According Bakalov the Bulgarians were later influenced by the Turkic tribes of Göktürks and took them titulary and the social structure .. This thesis is found but in Western European experts received little attention.
Recent work Petar Dobrews, with which he places the Proto-Bulgarians again with Indo-European tribes of Central Asia in conjunction, are in Bulgaria very popular, but are criticized abroad as speculative as Dobrew exclusively taken into account elements such as some names, and other insights into the Proto-Bulgarians disregarded leaves. The Bulgars were thus brought to the ancient Pamir peoples and their languages with the Avestan and Sanskrit in conjunction, especially with the ancient Bactria. In this case, these theories relate to a much earlier time than the time of the Proto-Bulgarian migration to Europe. However, in expert circles these theories find little support.
The Proto-Bulgarians had their own runic script, its own calendar and its own religion, whose chief deity of the sky god Tangra was. In addition to the above theory others, especially in Bulgaria widespread theories exist, reject the Turkabstammung the Proto-Bulgarians and a possible connection of the Proto-Bulgarian God Tangra with Revered by ancient Turkic peoples God Tengri. Petar Dobrew goes from the origin of an alleged Sumerian God DINGIR (Sumerian: 𒀭, later)
Religion
The Proto-Bulgarians had originally animistic religion, which was characterized by shamanism and ancestor worship. Supreme God was the God of Heaven Tangra. It could either be a name variation of the Old Turkic sky god Tengri. Tangra is mentioned in almost all Proto-Bulgarian runic inscriptions. As an offering to the god of the sky white horses were preferred. With the entrails of the sacrificed animals was aware says.
Due to the traditional worship of mountains ( eg, Khan Tengri ) received the highest mountain in the Balkans the name of the god Tangra. It was renamed by the Ottomans in Musala until the 15th century. It also smaller mountains were worshiped, such as Perperikon, which also have been before the Bulgarians a sacred place for the Thracians and other resident peoples. On the slopes of this mountain are still well-preserved religious buildings that were dedicated to the ancient Greek god of wine Dionysus ( Zagreus at Thracians ). On the highest rock of Perpenikon one finds proto Bulgarian runic inscriptions with a relief of the fertility goddess Umay tengristischen.
In addition, the Proto-Bulgarians worshiped the sun, the moon and the five planets known at that time Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Mars and Saturn.
In the multi-ethnic empires of the Bulgarians there was freedom of religion. In the Proto-Bulgarians, there were already at the time when they lived on the north shore of the Black Sea, Christian, Jewish and Buddhist minorities. Archaeological excavations and written records confirm this.
In 2001, Bulgarian researchers a mountain range in Antarctica named Tangra.