{"version":2,"locale":"en","id":"story.madara-rider","hasFind":true,"slug":"madara-rider","url":"/en/stories/madara-rider/","topic":"Madara Rider","title":"The rider above the path","summary":"A close look at the Madara Rider: visible figures, damaged Greek texts and the boundary between readings, hypotheses and legend.","cover":{"title":"The rider above the path","subtitle":"The Madara Rider and its Greek inscriptions","hook":"Why carve a rider on this cliff?","summary":"A close look at the Madara Rider: visible figures, damaged Greek texts and the boundary between readings, hypotheses and legend.","takeaway":"Image and inscriptions are evidence; the rider’s identity remains a matter of interpretation."},"sortYear":730,"firstActivity":5,"epoch":{"id":"epoch.tsardom1","styleId":"tsardom1","sortOrder":5,"title":"First Bulgarian Tsardom","dateLabel":"681–1018","eraShort":"First Tsardom","slug":"tsardom1","fill":"#A68A68","ink":"#221616","raised":"#B39C7F","dark":"#786546"},"epochId":"epoch.tsardom1","placeShort":"Madara","date":"8th century","image":{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-480.569987f2.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-960.569987f2.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-1600.569987f2.avif","w":1600},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-2400.569987f2.avif","w":2400}],"dominant":"#89847e","h":1600,"w":2400,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-960.569987f2.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-960.569987f2.webp","id":"asset.madara.relief.main","alt":"Rider, dog behind the horse and lion beneath the forelegs; inscription lines appear above.","objectCaption":"Madara Rider","caption":"Rider, dog behind the horse and lion beneath the forelegs; inscription lines appear above.","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Photo: Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caballero_de_Madara,_reserva_hist%C3%B3rico-arqueol%C3%B3gica_Nacional_de_Madara,_Bulgaria,_2016-05-27,_DD_38.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0"},"scenes":[{"id":"madara-rider.s1-above-the-path","number":1,"kind":"narrative","title":"Look up","body":"The photograph shows the relief carved into the cliffs at Madara. About 23 metres above the ground, a rider stands over a fallen lion, with a dog running behind the horse. Why choose such a high place for this scene? The stone itself does not explain the decision.\n\nUNESCO dates the relief to the beginning of the eighth century. The NAIM catalogue offers the narrower range 705–707. Its height above the ground should not be confused with the composition’s own dimensions: 2.60 metres high and 3.10 metres wide. From below, the figures catch our eye first. Only then do we notice the traces of writing around them.","images":[{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-panorama-480.f272e95f.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-panorama-960.f272e95f.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-panorama-1600.f272e95f.avif","w":1600}],"dominant":"#6d714f","h":926,"w":1600,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-panorama-960.f272e95f.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-panorama-960.f272e95f.webp","id":"asset.madara.cliff.panorama","alt":"Wide view: the relief is small beside the cliff face.","objectCaption":"Wide view: the relief is small beside the cliff face.","caption":"Wide view: the relief is small beside the cliff face.","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"cover","credit":"Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Photo: Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caballero_de_Madara,_reserva_hist%C3%B3rico-arqueol%C3%B3gica_Nacional_de_Madara,_Bulgaria,_2016-05-27,_DD_36.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0"},{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cave-480.92d1dad7.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cave-960.92d1dad7.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cave-1600.92d1dad7.avif","w":1600}],"dominant":"#675c3b","h":992,"w":1600,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cave-960.92d1dad7.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-madara-cave-960.92d1dad7.webp","id":"asset.madara.cave","alt":"Rock shelter and vegetation in the reserve; a modern view, not an eighth-century scene.","objectCaption":"Rock shelter and vegetation in the reserve; a modern view, not an eighth-century scene.","caption":"Rock shelter and vegetation in the reserve; a modern view, not an eighth-century scene.","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"cover","credit":"Vislupus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Photo: Vislupus, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Vislupus, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Madara_015.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0"}],"hotspots":[],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":null,"audio":{"durationSeconds":43.958708333333334,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.madara-rider.madara-rider.s1-above-the-path","duration":44.075,"src":"/audio/en/madara-rider/s1-above-the-path.4265a472.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.madara.beshevliev1981"},{"id":"src.madara.unesco"},{"id":"src.madara.naim2017"}]},{"id":"madara-rider.s2-read-the-stone","number":2,"kind":"artifact","title":"Start with the figures","body":"Enlarge the photograph. The horse moves to the right. The dog follows behind, while the lion lies beneath the forelegs. Beshevliev describes the lion as pierced by a short spear. The rider’s right foot is in a stirrup; the left hand holds the reins.\n\nThese are details of the image. The next step is interpretation: Beshevliev sees a victorious ruler whose triumph is expressed through mastery over the lion. This does not give us a certain personal name. The stone has weathered, and facial details have been lost. Look at the letters above and to the right: the picture is not the cliff’s only surviving evidence.","images":[{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-480.569987f2.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-960.569987f2.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-1600.569987f2.avif","w":1600},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-2400.569987f2.avif","w":2400}],"dominant":"#89847e","h":1600,"w":2400,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-960.569987f2.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-960.569987f2.webp","id":"asset.madara.relief.main","alt":"Rider, dog behind the horse and lion beneath the forelegs; inscription lines appear above.","objectCaption":"Madara Rider","caption":"Rider, dog behind the horse and lion beneath the forelegs; inscription lines appear above.","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Photo: Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caballero_de_Madara,_reserva_hist%C3%B3rico-arqueol%C3%B3gica_Nacional_de_Madara,_Bulgaria,_2016-05-27,_DD_38.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0"},{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-detail-480.3fcc1979.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-detail-960.3fcc1979.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-detail-1600.3fcc1979.avif","w":1600},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-detail-2400.3fcc1979.avif","w":2400}],"dominant":"#8b847d","h":1498,"w":2400,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-detail-960.3fcc1979.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-detail-960.3fcc1979.webp","id":"asset.madara.relief.detail","alt":"Second close view of the weathered relief; not a reconstruction.","objectCaption":"Second close view of the weathered relief; not a reconstruction.","caption":"Second close view of the weathered relief; not a reconstruction.","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Photo: Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caballero_de_Madara,_reserva_hist%C3%B3rico-arqueol%C3%B3gica_Nacional_de_Madara,_Bulgaria,_2016-05-27,_DD_39.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0"}],"hotspots":[{"id":"h-madara-rider","x":0.49,"y":0.43,"title":"The rider","body":"A rider on horseback. Tervel’s name in an inscription does not by itself establish the figure’s identity.","sourceIds":["src.madara.beshevliev1981","src.madara.donchev1981"],"certainty":"source_reported"},{"id":"h-madara-lion","x":0.665,"y":0.76,"title":"The lion","body":"The speared lion lies beneath the forelegs. Beshevliev interprets the scene as royal triumph.","sourceIds":["src.madara.beshevliev1981"],"certainty":"source_reported"},{"id":"h-madara-dog","x":0.235,"y":0.72,"title":"The dog","body":"The dog follows the horse on the left of the image.","sourceIds":["src.madara.naim2017"],"certainty":"source_reported"},{"id":"h-madara-inscription","x":0.765,"y":0.18,"title":"The inscriptions","body":"Upper lines of Greek text occupy this area. Other fields lie lower; this close view does not show all of them. Reading requires an epigraphic edition, not guessing from the photograph.","sourceIds":["src.madara.beshevliev1981"],"certainty":"source_reported"}],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":null,"audio":{"durationSeconds":38.095666666666666,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.madara-rider.madara-rider.s2-read-the-stone","duration":38.187,"src":"/audio/en/madara-rider/s2-read-the-stone.810a1a88.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.madara.naim2017"},{"id":"src.madara.beshevliev1981"},{"id":"src.madara.donchev1981"}]},{"id":"madara-rider.s3-greek-fragments","number":3,"kind":"narrative","title":"When the stone speaks Greek","body":"The inscriptions are in Greek. The inscriptions are damaged; individual words and fragments survive. Tervel’s name is read in the upper text. Beshevliev connects it with his support for Justinian the Second, who regained the imperial throne in 705. Tervel received the title caesar.\n\nThe second text preserves fragments about gold payments, treaties and war. Beshevliev reads Kroumesis and connects the name with Kormesios and Kormisosh; UNESCO uses Kormisos. That identification is disputed. Omurtag’s name is read in the third text, but Beshevliev cautions that the remaining words do not securely identify the event. Gaps in the stone should not be filled with guesses.","images":[{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-480.569987f2.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-960.569987f2.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-1600.569987f2.avif","w":1600},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-2400.569987f2.avif","w":2400}],"dominant":"#89847e","h":1600,"w":2400,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-960.569987f2.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-madara-relief-main-960.569987f2.webp","id":"asset.madara.relief.main","alt":"Rider, dog behind the horse and lion beneath the forelegs; inscription lines appear above.","objectCaption":"Madara Rider","caption":"Rider, dog behind the horse and lion beneath the forelegs; inscription lines appear above.","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Photo: Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caballero_de_Madara,_reserva_hist%C3%B3rico-arqueol%C3%B3gica_Nacional_de_Madara,_Bulgaria,_2016-05-27,_DD_38.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0"}],"hotspots":[],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":null,"audio":{"durationSeconds":41.95016666666667,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.madara-rider.madara-rider.s3-greek-fragments","duration":42.069,"src":"/audio/en/madara-rider/s3-greek-fragments.b6ac6561.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.madara.beshevliev1981"},{"id":"src.madara.unesco"}]},{"id":"madara-rider.s4-pliska-nearby","number":4,"kind":"map","title":"Pliska is nearby","body":"Find Pliska north of Madara on the map. According to the Shumen museum, it was the capital from 681 to 893. Tervel, Krum and Omurtag are among the rulers associated with it. Omurtag ruled in 814–831. Beshevliev assigns the inscriptions to different rulers’ reigns.\n\nThe Pliska marker points to the Great Basilica within the archaeological complex, not the modern town or a palace. The Great Basilica is a Christian church from the second half of the ninth century, later than Tervel’s time. Photographs of the partially reconstructed basilica and gate show the site today. They do not recreate Tervel’s view. The map connects places without drawing hypothetical state borders.","images":[{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-pliska-gate-480.52de75ee.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-pliska-gate-960.52de75ee.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-pliska-gate-1600.52de75ee.avif","w":1600}],"dominant":"#95999b","h":1200,"w":1600,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-pliska-gate-960.52de75ee.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-madara-pliska-gate-960.52de75ee.webp","id":"asset.madara.pliska.gate","alt":"Gate with restored masonry at Pliska; the photograph does not show an intact building from Tervel’s time.","objectCaption":"Gate with restored masonry at Pliska; the photograph does not show an intact building from Tervel’s time.","caption":"Gate with restored masonry at Pliska; the photograph does not show an intact building from Tervel’s time.","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"cover","credit":"Svilen Enev · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 3.0","attribution":"Photo: Svilen Enev, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Svilen Enev, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. 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Processed image. Partial architectural reconstruction","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Klearchos Kapoutsis from Paleo Faliro, Athens, Greece, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Processed image. Partial architectural reconstruction","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Great_Basilica_Klearchos_1.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0"},{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-fortress-480.02fb9bb2.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-fortress-960.02fb9bb2.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-fortress-1600.02fb9bb2.avif","w":1600}],"dominant":"#5e6060","h":1200,"w":1600,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-fortress-960.02fb9bb2.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-madara-fortress-960.02fb9bb2.webp","id":"asset.madara.fortress","alt":"Surviving and restored masonry on the plateau; modern view, not a model of an early medieval fortress.","objectCaption":"Surviving and restored masonry on the plateau; modern view, not a model of an early medieval fortress.","caption":"Surviving and restored masonry on the plateau; modern view, not a model of an early medieval fortress.","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"cover","credit":"Vislupus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Photo: Vislupus, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Vislupus, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Madara_005.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0"}],"hotspots":[],"places":[{"note":"The Madara Rider is a rock relief accompanied by Greek inscriptions, a monument to the early Bulgarian state.","precision":"approximate","id":"place.madara-rider","name":"Madara Rider","latitude":43.27755555555555,"longitude":27.11872222222222,"accuracy":"approximate","radiusMeters":30,"sourceIds":["src.madara.unesco.map"],"short":"Madara Rider","guideUrl":null,"slug":"madara-rider","url":"/en/map/#madara-rider"},{"note":"The Great Basilica at Pliska belongs to Bulgaria’s Christian history, later than the Madara relief.","precision":"approximate","id":"place.madara.pliska-basilica","name":"Pliska — Great 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Madara Rider is a rock relief accompanied by Greek inscriptions, a monument to the early Bulgarian state.","precision":"approximate","id":"place.madara-rider","name":"Madara Rider","latitude":43.27755555555555,"longitude":27.11872222222222,"accuracy":"approximate","radiusMeters":30,"sourceIds":["src.madara.unesco.map"],"short":"Madara Rider","guideUrl":null,"slug":"madara-rider","url":"/en/map/#madara-rider","number":1,"x":70.23403,"y":35.50269,"inside":true,"viewX":63.128604903225806,"viewY":45.51215808387098},{"note":"The Great Basilica at Pliska belongs to Bulgaria’s Christian history, later than the Madara relief.","precision":"approximate","id":"place.madara.pliska-basilica","name":"Pliska — Great 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language","body":"","images":[],"hotspots":[],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":{"id":"q.madara.inscriptions","kind":"single_choice","prompt":"What language are the inscriptions around the Rider in?","sourceIds":["src.madara.donchev1981","src.madara.beshevliev1981"],"items":[{"id":"opt-greek","label":"Greek"},{"id":"opt-latin","label":"Latin","whyWrong":"The texts described here are Greek, not Latin."},{"id":"opt-bulgarian","label":"Modern Bulgarian","whyWrong":"These are medieval Greek inscriptions, not modern Bulgarian explanations."}],"explanation":"The inscriptions are in Greek. Names in them do not make every figure an identifiable portrait.","correctItemId":"opt-greek","sources":[{"id":"src.madara.donchev1981"},{"id":"src.madara.beshevliev1981"}]},"audio":{"durationSeconds":3.4863333333333335,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.madara-rider.madara-rider.a1-inscriptions","duration":3.584,"src":"/audio/en/madara-rider/a1-inscriptions.c4e70e1f.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.madara.donchev1981"},{"id":"src.madara.beshevliev1981"}]},{"id":"madara-rider.s5-a-name-is-not-a-portrait","number":6,"kind":"narrative","title":"A name is not a portrait","body":"Are we looking at Tervel? Beshevliev links the relief to his success in 705. In a 1981 article, Slavi Donchev proposes a ninth-century date and a connection with Krum. This differs from the early eighth-century dating used by UNESCO. He also proposes a combination of different rider traditions, while Beshevliev rejects a direct identification with ancient Thracian riders.\n\nThe photograph here shows a separate ancient rider tablet in the Burgas museum. It is a comparison, not part of Madara. Resemblance does not establish identity. There is also a tale recorded by Beshevliev: a Roman ruler from Pliska fell from the cliffs while hunting. It explains the monument through a story, but remains a legend. We should distinguish it from both the surviving letters and scholarly hypotheses.","images":[{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-thracian-tablet-480.417b4702.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-thracian-tablet-960.417b4702.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-thracian-tablet-1200.417b4702.avif","w":1200}],"dominant":"#898278","h":1600,"w":1200,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-thracian-tablet-960.417b4702.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-madara-thracian-tablet-960.417b4702.webp","id":"asset.madara.thracian.tablet","alt":"Separate ancient stone rider tablet in Burgas Archaeological Museum; a comparative object, not the Madara Rider.","objectCaption":"Separate ancient stone rider tablet in Burgas Archaeological Museum; a comparative object, not the Madara Rider.","caption":"Separate ancient stone rider tablet in Burgas Archaeological Museum; a comparative object, not the Madara Rider.","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"User:Vmenkov · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 3.0","attribution":"Photo: User:Vmenkov, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"User:Vmenkov, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burgas_Archaeological_Museum_-_Thracian_rider_-_P1020149.JPG","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0"}],"hotspots":[],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":null,"audio":{"durationSeconds":49.56633333333333,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.madara-rider.madara-rider.s5-a-name-is-not-a-portrait","duration":49.664,"src":"/audio/en/madara-rider/s5-a-name-is-not-a-portrait.9efbe804.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.madara.beshevliev1981"},{"id":"src.madara.donchev1981"},{"id":"src.madara.dimitrova2002"},{"id":"src.madara.commons"}]},{"id":"madara-rider.a2-chronology","number":7,"kind":"activity","title":"Activity: three points in time","body":"","images":[],"hotspots":[],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":{"id":"q.madara.sequence","kind":"sequence","prompt":"Put these events in order, earliest first.","sourceIds":["src.madara.beshevliev1981","src.madara.rim.pliska"],"items":[{"id":"seq-705","label":"Tervel helps Justinian"},{"id":"seq-omurtag","label":"Omurtag’s reign"},{"id":"seq-893","label":"Pliska ceases to be the capital"}],"explanation":"705 precedes the whole range 814–831, which ends before 893. We are not ordering uncertain dates for carving the inscriptions.","correctOrderIds":["seq-705","seq-omurtag","seq-893"],"sources":[{"id":"src.madara.beshevliev1981"},{"id":"src.madara.rim.pliska"}]},"audio":{"durationSeconds":3.509541666666667,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.madara-rider.madara-rider.a2-chronology","duration":3.627,"src":"/audio/en/madara-rider/a2-chronology.f1e9eef9.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.madara.beshevliev1981"},{"id":"src.madara.rim.pliska"}]},{"id":"madara-rider.s6-what-survives","number":8,"kind":"narrative","title":"What remains visible","body":"We cannot recover every lost letter today. Erosion and cracks affect both the figures and the text. In 1979 the Madara Rider was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Recognition does not remove the difficulty of conserving an exposed cliff.\n\nLook again at the three figures. The dog follows, the lion lies defeated, and the rider moves to the right. The inscriptions add names and relations between rulers, but leave gaps. We can now distinguish what we see, what researchers read and where interpretation begins. That distinction gives us something to look for when we turn back to the cliff a second time.","images":[{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-detail-480.a539472a.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-detail-960.a539472a.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-detail-1067.a539472a.avif","w":1067}],"dominant":"#989084","h":1600,"w":1067,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-detail-960.a539472a.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-detail-960.a539472a.webp","id":"asset.madara.cliff.detail","alt":"The relief at the bottom of a vertical view of the cliff.","objectCaption":"The relief at the bottom of a vertical view of the cliff.","caption":"The relief at the bottom of a vertical view of the cliff.","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"cover","credit":"Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Photo: Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caballero_de_Madara,_reserva_hist%C3%B3rico-arqueol%C3%B3gica_Nacional_de_Madara,_Bulgaria,_2016-05-27,_DD_40.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0"},{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-wide-480.32167ded.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-wide-960.32167ded.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-wide-1600.32167ded.avif","w":1600}],"dominant":"#878e7a","h":1146,"w":1600,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-wide-960.32167ded.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-wide-960.32167ded.webp","id":"asset.madara.cliff.wide","alt":"Wide view of the rock face with vegetation and a platform.","objectCaption":"Wide view of the rock face with vegetation and a platform.","caption":"Wide view of the rock face with vegetation and a platform.","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"cover","credit":"Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Photo: Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caballero_de_Madara,_reserva_hist%C3%B3rico-arqueol%C3%B3gica_Nacional_de_Madara,_Bulgaria,_2016-05-27,_DD_41.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0"},{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-vertical-480.eeb3d186.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-vertical-960.eeb3d186.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-vertical-1067.eeb3d186.avif","w":1067}],"dominant":"#60604d","h":1600,"w":1067,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-vertical-960.eeb3d186.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-madara-cliff-vertical-960.eeb3d186.webp","id":"asset.madara.cliff.vertical","alt":"Vertical view of the cliff and platform below the relief.","objectCaption":"Vertical view of the cliff and platform below the relief.","caption":"Vertical view of the cliff and platform below the relief.","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"cover","credit":"Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Photo: Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caballero_de_Madara,_reserva_hist%C3%B3rico-arqueol%C3%B3gica_Nacional_de_Madara,_Bulgaria,_2016-05-27,_DD_35.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0"},{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-approach-480.060c6e96.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-approach-960.060c6e96.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-madara-approach-1067.060c6e96.avif","w":1067}],"dominant":"#64694c","h":1600,"w":1067,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-madara-approach-960.060c6e96.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-madara-approach-960.060c6e96.webp","id":"asset.madara.approach","alt":"Trees in front of the cliff and viewing platform.","objectCaption":"Trees in front of the cliff and viewing platform.","caption":"Trees in front of the cliff and viewing platform.","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"cover","credit":"Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Photo: Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Diego Delso, [delso.photo](https://delso.photo), Wikimedia Commons, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caballero_de_Madara,_reserva_hist%C3%B3rico-arqueol%C3%B3gica_Nacional_de_Madara,_Bulgaria,_2016-05-27,_DD_37.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0"}],"hotspots":[],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":null,"audio":{"durationSeconds":38.30466666666667,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.madara-rider.madara-rider.s6-what-survives","duration":38.4,"src":"/audio/en/madara-rider/s6-what-survives.35c6b7b4.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.madara.unesco"},{"id":"src.madara.donchev1981"}]},{"id":"madara-rider.a3-matching","number":9,"kind":"activity","title":"Activity: what belongs where","body":"","images":[],"hotspots":[],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":{"id":"q.madara.matching","kind":"matching","prompt":"Match each element to its position or role in the story.","sourceIds":["src.madara.naim2017","src.madara.beshevliev1981"],"items":[{"id":"match-dog","label":"Dog","pairedLabel":"Follows the horse"},{"id":"match-lion","label":"Lion","pairedLabel":"Lies beneath the forelegs"},{"id":"match-text","label":"Greek inscriptions","pairedLabel":"Preserve names and fragments about rulers"}],"explanation":"The dog follows the horse; the lion is beneath the forelegs; the texts add names. Swapping any pair contradicts the image or the text.","sources":[{"id":"src.madara.naim2017"},{"id":"src.madara.beshevliev1981"}],"columns":["Item","Description"]},"audio":{"durationSeconds":4.310625,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.madara-rider.madara-rider.a3-matching","duration":4.437,"src":"/audio/en/madara-rider/a3-matching.5465683c.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.madara.naim2017"},{"id":"src.madara.beshevliev1981"}]}],"minutes":5,"sources":[{"year":1981,"url":"https://macedonia.kroraina.com/vb/vb_7.html","institutionOrAuthor":"Веселин Бешевлиев","id":"src.madara.beshevliev1981","title":"Прабългарски епиграфски паметници","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Material description, legends, damaged Greek inscriptions, Tervel and the 705 context; reading Kroumesis and proposed equivalence with Kormesios/Kormisosh; Omurtag fragments. Interpretations are attributed, not adopted as facts."},"container":"София: Издателство на Отечествения фронт","pages":"50–66","authors":["Веселин Бешевлиев"],"accessed":"2026-10-28","fieldLanguages":{"institutionOrAuthor":"bg","title":"bg","container":"bg"}},{"year":null,"url":"","institutionOrAuthor":"Wikimedia Commons contributors; individual photographers in asset metadata","id":"src.madara.commons","title":"Madara Rider: photographs","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Photograph provenance and reuse licences; modern appearance; Burgas relief identification and museum caption; Pliska basilica explicitly partial reconstruction. Not sole support for medieval history."},"authors":["Wikimedia Commons contributors"],"accessed":"2026-10-28","container":""},{"year":2002,"url":"https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/publications/hesperia/article/71/2/209-229","institutionOrAuthor":"Nora Dimitrova","id":"src.madara.dimitrova2002","title":"Inscriptions and Iconography in the Monuments of the Thracian Rider","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Thracian rider imagery does not by itself identify a deity or cult; inscriptions matter for identifying a monument."},"container":"Hesperia","volume":"71","issue":"2","pages":"209–229","doi":"10.2307/3182007","authors":["Nora Dimitrova"],"accessed":"2026-10-28"},{"year":1981,"url":"https://www.icomos.org/public/monumentum/vol23-24/vol23-24_6.pdf","institutionOrAuthor":"Slavi Donchev","id":"src.madara.donchev1981","title":"The Madara Horseman","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Independent scholarly counter-position: ninth-century dating, Krum association, synthesis of Thracian and Central Asian motifs; historical conservation observations. These are author hypotheses."},"container":"Monumentum","volume":"23–24","pages":"41–46","authors":["Slavi Donchev"],"accessed":"2026-10-28","isPdf":true},{"year":null,"url":"https://carare.naim.bg/articles/Pliska_W97_rez_kor%20variant.pdf","institutionOrAuthor":"Павел Георгиев","id":"src.madara.georgiev.pliska","title":"Плиска — Българският Метрополис от края на „тъмните векове“","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Great Basilica as a Christian cathedral in the second half of the ninth century; separate from the earlier cross-shaped building below it; modern partial restoration."},"container":"НАИМ–БАН, CARARE digital repository","pages":"12–13 (PDF)","authors":["Павел Георгиев"],"accessed":"2026-10-28","isPdf":true,"fieldLanguages":{"institutionOrAuthor":"bg","title":"bg","container":"bg"}},{"year":2017,"url":"https://catalogues.naim.bg/index.php/catalogues/issue/download/Catalogue-5-2017/Catalogue-5-2017","institutionOrAuthor":"Национален археологически институт с музей – БАН; редактори: Методи Даскалов, Снежана Горянова, Милена Райчева, Галина Грозданова","id":"src.madara.naim2017","title":"Езическа България. Власт и общество / Pagan Bulgaria. Power and Society","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Relief dated 705–707; height 260 cm, width 310 cm; rider advancing right, dog behind, lion below forelegs; inscriptions occupy about 40 square metres."},"container":"Национален археологически музей. Каталози. София: НАИМ–БАН","volume":"V","pages":"166–167","authors":["НАИМ–БАН","Красимира Карадимитрова (entry 74, КК)"],"accessed":"2026-10-28","isPdf":true,"fieldLanguages":{"institutionOrAuthor":"bg","title":"bg","container":"bg"}},{"year":null,"url":"https://museum-shumen.eu/ova_por/ниар-плиска/","institutionOrAuthor":"Регионален исторически музей – Шумен","id":"src.madara.rim.pliska","title":"Национален историко-археологически резерват „Плиска“","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Pliska capital 681–893; rulers including Tervel, Krum and Omurtag; Omurtag reign 814–831. Modern gate photograph is not evidence that extant masonry is eighth-century."},"authors":["РИМ–Шумен"],"accessed":"2026-10-28","container":""},{"year":null,"url":"https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/43/","institutionOrAuthor":"UNESCO World Heritage Centre","id":"src.madara.unesco","title":"Madara Rider. World Heritage List no. 43","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Official current framing: early eighth century, Greek inscriptions and named rulers, weathering, World Heritage inscription 1979. 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