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History of Bulgaria

Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeastern Europe.. 6 eras, 681 CE to today.

First Bulgarian Empire, 681 CE–1018 Draft, not yet reviewed

The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval state that existed in Southeastern and southeastern Central Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 680-681 after a group of Bulgars, led by Asparuh, moved south to the northeastern Balkans. Boris I converted to Christianity in 864, assuming the title Knyaz (Prince). During the late 9th and early 10th centuries, Simeon I achieved a string of victories over the Byzantines.

Seat of power: Pliska

Rulers

Second Bulgarian Empire, 1185–1396 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1396. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before gradually being conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th century. In 1205, Emperor Kaloyan defeated the newly established Latin Empire in the Battle of Adrianople. His nephew Ivan Asen II defeated the Despotate of Epiros and made Bulgaria a regional power again.

Seat of power: Veliko Tarnovo

Rulers

Principality of Bulgaria, 1878–1908 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Principality of Bulgaria was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. It had its own Constitution, flag and anthem, and conducted its own foreign policy. In 1885, a bloodless revolution resulted in Eastern Rumelia being de facto annexed by Bulgaria, which the Ottoman Empire accepted with the Tophane Agreement.

Seat of power: Sofia

Kingdom of Bulgaria, 1908–1946 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Kingdom of Bulgaria was a constitutional monarchy in Southeastern Europe, and in 1908 the Bulgarian state was raised from a principality to a tsardom. In the 1910s it engaged in three wars: the First and Second Balkan Wars, and the First World War. Less than two decades later Bulgaria entered World War II on the side of the Axis powers and once again found itself on the losing side until it switched sides to the Allies in September 1944. In 1946, the monarchy was abolished, its final tsar was sent into exile, and the tsardom was replaced by the People's Republic of Bulgaria.

Seat of power: Sofia

Rulers

People's Republic of Bulgaria, 1946–1990 Draft, not yet reviewed

The People's Republic of Bulgaria was the Bulgarian state that existed from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party together with its coalition partner, the Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union. Bulgaria was a close ally and one of the most loyal satellite states of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The BCP modeled its policies after those of the Soviet Union, transforming the country over the course of a decade from an agrarian peasant society into an industrialized socialist society. In 1989, after a few years of liberal influence, political reforms were initiated and Zhivkov, who had served as head of the party since 1954, was removed from office in a BCP congress.

Seat of power: Sofia

Rulers

Republic of Bulgaria, 1990 to today Draft, not yet reviewed

The Communist Party was forced to give up its political monopoly on 10 November 1989 under the influence of the Revolutions of 1989. Zhivkov resigned and Bulgaria embarked on a transition to a parliamentary democracy. The first free elections in June 1990 were won by the Communist Party, now rebranded as the Bulgarian Socialist Party. Since adopting a democratic constitution in 1991, Bulgaria has been a parliamentary republic composed of 28 provinces, with a high degree of political, administrative, and economic centralisation.

Seat of power: Sofia

Rulers

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.