Sir Steven Runciman tells the story of the First Bulgarian Empire as only he can. Few other historians before or since have been able to tell such a riveting and vibrant tale while maintaining such a high standard of academic rigor. Sir Steven is the rare writer who can engage a popular audience and satisfy the demands of the professional historian at the same time.

A History of the First Bulgarian Empire

Bulgaria became a member of the European Union in 2007, yet its history is amongst the least well known in the rest of the continent. R. J. Crampton provides here a general introduction to this country at the cross-roads of Christendom and Islam. The text and illustrations trace the rich and dramatic story from pre-history, through the days when Bulgaria was the centre of a powerful medieval empire and the five centuries of Ottoman rule, to the cultural renaissance of the nineteenth century and the political upheavals of the twentieth, upheavals which led Bulgaria into three wars. This updated edition includes the years from 1995 to 2004, a vital period in which Bulgaria endured financial meltdown, set itself seriously on the road to reform, elected its former King as prime minister, and finally secured membership of NATO and admission to the European Union.

A Concise History of Bulgaria

The reign of Basil II (976-1025), the longest of any Byzantine emperor, has long been considered as a 'golden age', in which his greatest achievement was the annexation of Bulgaria. This, we have been told, was achieved through a long and bloody war of attrition which won Basil the grisly epithet Voulgartoktonos, 'the Bulgar-slayer'. In this new study Paul Stephenson argues that neither of these beliefs is true. Instead, Basil fought far more sporadically in the Balkans and his reputation as 'Bulgar-slayer' was created only a century and a half later. Thereafter the 'Bulgar-slayer' was periodically to play a galvanizing role for the Byzantines, returning to centre-stage as Greeks struggled to establish a modern nation state. As Byzantium was embraced as the Greek past by scholars and politicians, the 'Bulgar-slayer' became an icon in the struggle for Macedonia (1904-8) and the Balkan Wars (1912-13).

The Legend of Basil the Bulgar-Slayer

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Byzantine Military Organization on the Danube, 10th-12th Centuries

This book provides an interpretive narrative of the wars fought by Bulgaria against the Byzantine Empire for dominant control of the Balkan Peninsula during the early medieval era. Over a span of two centuries, from the early ninth through the early eleventh, and under the leadership of the Bulgarian rulers Krum, Simeon I, and Samuil, those conflicts evolved from simple confrontations for territorial possession into a life-or-death struggle for imperial precedence within the Orthodox world then emerging in Eastern Europe—a struggle that the Bulgarians ultimately lost. The primary focus is on Bulgaria, rather than Byzantium, and an effort is made to provide a historically reliable chronology of the assorted campaigns. The various belligerents’ military organizations, defensive technologies, armaments, and tactics are surveyed in an introduction to the main narrative. A prelude chapter sets the stage for the hegemonic conflict, which was divided into three distinct phases by interludes of relative peace between the contending parties, during which Bulgaria’s domestic, foreign, and cultural developments shaped the nature and conduct of the fighting in each successive phase.

The Bulgarian-Byzantine Wars for Early Medieval Balkan Hegemony

Byzantium's Balkan Frontier is the first narrative history in English of the northern Balkans in the tenth to twelfth centuries. Where previous histories have been concerned principally with the medieval history of distinct and autonomous Balkan nations, this study regards Byzantine political authority as a unifying factor in the various lands which formed the empire's frontier in the north and west. It takes as its central concern Byzantine relations with all Slavic and non-Slavic peoples - including the Serbs, Croats, Bulgarians and Hungarians - in and beyond the Balkan Peninsula, and explores in detail imperial responses, first to the migrations of nomadic peoples, and subsequently to the expansion of Latin Christendom. It also examines the changing conception of the frontier in Byzantine thought and literature through the middle Byzantine period.

Byzantium's Balkan Frontier

<p>The <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/Second-Bulgarian-Empire">Second Bulgarian Empire</a>, a medieval state in Southeastern Europe, emerged in the 12th century and reached its zenith under Tsar Ivan Asen II in the 13th century. This historically significant realm played a pivotal role in shaping the Balkans' political and cultural landscape. Its capital, Tarnovo, was a center of intellectual and artistic achievements. The empire's strategic location facilitated trade and diplomacy with neighboring powers. However, it eventually succumbed to <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-the-Ottoman-Empire">Ottoman conquest</a> in the late 14th century. Today, the Second Bulgarian Empire remains a vital chapter in the history of <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a> and the wider region, showcasing a dynamic blend of political prowess, cultural richness, and geopolitical significance.</p>

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Second Bulgarian Empire

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