The territory of Bulgaria has been inhabited since the earliest historical times: the Stone Age and the Chalcolithic Age. Archaeological discoveries from that time have been made near Karlovo, in the region of the towns of Nova Zagora, Veliko Turnovo, Vidin , Sofia , Teteven, Troyan and in the Rhodope Mountains . The oldest gold treasure in the world, discovered near Varna , is dated to that time.
During the Bronze Age the present-day Bulgarian lands were inhabited by the Thracians, mentioned for the irst time by Homer. They were engaged in agriculture and stockbreeding, and left evidence of a rich culture (the Vulchitrun gold treasure). The first Thracian state unions emerged in the 11th-6th centuries BC, which flourished in the 7th-6th centuries BC. In the 1st century BC their lands were conquered by Rome , and after the 5th century AD they were incorporated in the Byzantine Empire . The Thracians were later gradually assimilated by the Slavs who settled in the Balkan Peninsula in the 6th century AD.
In the second half of the 7th century, the Proto-Bulgarians - an ethnic community of Turkic origin - settled on the territory of the present-day Northeastern Bulgaria . In alliance with the Slavs they formed the Bulgarian State , which was recognised by the Byzantine Empire in 681 AD. Khan Asparouh stood at the head of that state and Pliska was made its capital.
Under the rule of Khan Tervel (700-718 AD), Bulgaria expanded its territory and turned into a major political force. Under Khan Kroum (803-814 AD) Bulgaria bordered with the empire of Carl the Great to the west, and to the east the Bulgarian troops reached the walls of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
In 864 AD, during the rule of Prince Boris I Michail (852-889 AD), the Bulgarians adopted Christianity as their official religion. This act abolished the ethnic differences between Proto-Bulgarians and Slavs, and started building a unified Bulgarian nation.
After adopting Christianity, the influence of the Byzantine Empire grew. This is evidenced by the ossuary in the Bachkovo Monastery (1083 AD). Bulgarian church music was created.
In the second half of the 9th century the brothers Cyril ( Constantine the Philosopher) and Methodius created and disseminated the Cyrillic alphabet.
Byzantine Bulgaria
The people of Bulgaria challenged Byzantine rule several times in the 11th and in the early part of the 12th Century, as did the Normans, the Pechenegs and the Hungarians, all of whom were repelled.
The Second Bulgarian Empire was established in 1185 and struggled to gain dominance of the region against the Byzantine Empire, the Crusaders and Hungarians reaching its' zenith in 1241, after which it declined into several feudal prinicipalities, which the Ottoman Empire eventually conquered.
Ottoman rule
This rule lasted five centuries, featuring great violence and oppression, decimating the Bulgarian population.
During this period many of the cultural relics built up in the 13th and 14th Centuries, were destroyed.
Large towns where the Ottoman power predominated remained severely depopulated until the 19th Century.
The Kingdom of Bulgaria
The Ottoman armies were finally defeated after the Russo - Turkish War of 1877, by a combination of Russian soldiers, Romanian expeditionary forces and Bulgarian troops, in 1878, and an autonomous Bulgarian principality set up by the Treaty of San Stefano. This Treaty was modified by the Treaty of Berlin in the same year, significantly reducing the size of the Principality, being proclaimed a fully independent kingdom in 1908, during the reign of Ferdinand 1 of Bulgaria.
The Balkan Wars
The first War, in 1912 was a success for Bulgaria alongside Greece, Serbia and Montenegro against the Ottoman Empire, but a conflict between the allies arose over the division of Macedonia, and in the second War in 1913, Bulgaria was defeated by Greece and Serbia joined by Romania and Turkey, resulting in the loss of considerable territory, including Southern Dobrudzha and parts of Macedonia.
World War 1
In this War, Bulgaria made an alliance with the Central Powers, being defeated in 1918, losing even more territories, to Greece, Serbia and Romania and having to take in more than 250,000 refugees from those areas, plus more from Serbia in the 1930's.
Interwar years.
Under the Treaty of Neuilly (referred to as the Second National Catastrophe) Bulgaria, ceded its' Aegean coastline to Greece, recognized the existence of Yugoslavia, ceded most of its' Macedonia territory and the whole of Drobuzha back to Romania, reduced the army to 20,000 men and paid reparations exceeding 400 million dollars.
The first peasant Government was formed in 1920, but a coup in 1923 resulted in the leader Stamboliyski being assassinated, a right wing Government taking over lead by Tsankov and then in 1926, a more moderate Government under Lyapchev took over until 1934 when another coup established a military regime under Georgiev . Tsar Boris removed this regime without re-establishing political parties, aligning himself with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.
World War 11
The Soviet armies entered Bulgaria in 1944, allowing the Bulgarian Communist Party to declare a communist State.
The Peoples' Republic of Bulgaria.
Bulgaria became one of the USSR's staunchest allies, eventually normalizing relations with Greece and Turkey, but by 1989 like many communist regimes in Eastern Europe when the Soviet Union collapsed, the regime was overcome and the communist leader Zhivkov removed.
The Republic of Bulgaria.
Since 1989, multi party elections have been held, with various parties taking control for short periods, culminating in the present coalition Government led by the Prime Minister, Sergei Stanishev, between the Socialist Party, BSP, the Rights to Freedom movement and the son of Tsar Boris111, Simeon11's party NMS11.
During this period, although the economy has been privatized, and economic conditions are improving, many qualified professionals have emigrated and the education system and Universities are trying now to close this gap.
The Republic is now more aligned to the West, as a full member of the European Union and is shortly to join the Eurozone by adoption of the Euro currency in 2011.
The President, Georgi Parvanov, won the last elections to give him another five year term in office which commenced in January 2007 until the next elections for the term commencing January 2012.
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