Eras of Bulgarian history · History of Bulgaria

Travel through 8000 years of Bulgarian history by era.

8000 years · 59 stories

1901–2000

20th century

Stories: 8
People: 73
Rulers: 3
Places: 20

A spacecraft descent capsule in a museum, isolated from the photograph. — Scroch · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Georgi Ivanov

Into orbit, without docking

5 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. A black Adler typewriter with round keys in a museum display. — Biser Todorov · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Bulgaria and the deportations of 1943

Peshev’s letter and the deportations

4 min · 10 scenes

An isolated hilt and guard of a museum sabre attributed to Hadzhi Dimitar; a fragment, not the whole weapon. — Spiritia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Buzludzha

Why build a “flying saucer”?

3 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Cross with a ribbon and a standing lion in the centre. — Vassia Atanassova - Spiritia · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Bulgarian independence 1908

How Ferdinand became Tsar

4 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Stella Maris is a chapel: a small church in the residence. The photograph dates from 2009. According to the Romanian catalogue, Marie’s heart was kept here in 1938–1940. — Izvora · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Balchik

Why did Marie’s house change countries?

4 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Brass microscope with two eyepieces, a stage and a mirror. A museum example, not an established instrument of Grigorov’s. — Daderot · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Stamen Grigorov

Stamen Grigorov and the sample from home

3 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Reconstructed add-subtract module from the Atanasoff–Berry Computer. — ArnoldReinhold · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

John Vincent Atanasoff

Atanasoff and the computer dispute

4 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. A metal bell on a decorated base behind glass. — Biser Todorov · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

10 November 1989

10 November: who changes the rules?

4 min · 9 scenes

18th–19th centuries

Revival and Liberation

Stories: 13
People: 85
Rulers: 2
Places: 41

The dolphin woodcut from the Fish Primer, isolated from a reproduction of the page. — Photonik · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Gabrovo school of 1835

How a school changed a town

5 min · 9 scenes

The modern Shipka monument isolated from the photograph; not an image of the battle in 1877. — Ivano Giambattista · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Shipka

The road through Shipka

5 min · 9 scenes

An artistic portrait of Alexander of Battenberg; an isolated figure, not a photograph of the events in 1885. — DrawingKonrad Dielitz · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Bulgarian unification 1885

One night in Plovdiv

5 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Museum display: copy of the notebook and a dagger presented as belonging to Levski — Eola · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Vasil Levski

Letters for a republic

4 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Reconstruction of a cherry-wood cannon in Troyan; not a surviving battle gun — Dakovski · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

April Uprising 1876

The reports that reached Europe

4 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Maker’s plate dated 1911. Plate on a museum carriage: maker’s name, Breslau and 1911. — Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Ruse–Varna

From the Danube to the sea

4 min · 9 scenes

A rectangular scan of Botev’s resignation; all writing and archive stamps retained. — Hristo Botev (1848-1876) · Public domain · National Library of Bulgaria / Wikimedia Commons

Hristo Botev

The poet and the steamer

3 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Carved keystone: the stone in the middle that closes the arch. Modern photograph; the stone’s date and the meaning of its decoration are not established. — Vassia Atanassova - Spiritia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Belogradchik Fortress

Peasants near Belogradchik, 1850

3 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. The Zograf draft: opening page — I. Stankov · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Paisius of Hilendar

Paisius: how one book reaches other people

3 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Round seal with reversed letters and year on a transparent museum support. Its impression would read normally. — Vassia Atanassova - Spiritia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Bulgarian Exarchate

Why does Ilarion leave out a name?

4 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Museum detail of a sword and scabbard. The inscription names Edhem Pasha and the two capture dates. It is not established as Osman Pasha’s sword. — Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Pleven

Why did Osman Pasha delay the advance?

4 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Binding of the Tarnovo Constitution — Bulgarian Constituent Assembly · Public domain · Bulgarian Archives State Agency / Wikimedia Commons

Tarnovo Constitution

Who writes the rules in 1879?

4 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Ivan Vazov. Archival portrait, date unknown. — ArchiveUnknown author · Public domain · Bulgarian Archives State Agency / Wikimedia Commons

Ivan Vazov

Why did Vazov write Under the Yoke far from home?

3 min · 9 scenes

1396–1878

Ottoman period

Stories: 3
People: 5
Places: 9

Hrelio's tower today with its later front addition; an isolated photographic detail. — Explorer1940 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Rila Monastery

The tower and the life around it

5 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Upper part of the minaret: tower, pale balcony and pointed roof. The lower part extends beyond the frame. — © Plamen Agov • studiolemontree.com · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Banya Bashi

Warm water beside the mosque

3 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. A small ornate bottle painted with a rose in front of larger vessels. — Lyudmil Buyukliev · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Rose Valley

From rose blossom to oil

4 min · 9 scenes

1185–1396

Second Bulgarian Tsardom

Stories: 11
People: 69
Rulers: 31
Places: 27

Brick facades, two domed parts and the stone base of Boyana Church among trees. — Aleksander Dragnes · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Boyana Church

The faces of Boyana

5 min · 9 scenes

The manuscript's red binding; an isolated photographic detail, not the lost gilded cover. — Unspecified · CC0 · British Library via Wikimedia Commons

The Gospels of Ivan Alexander

The tsar between the pages

5 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Isaac II coin, 12th century, in electrum, an alloy of gold and silver. No link to the wedding tax is established. — The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 1.0 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Peter, Asen and the revolt of 1185

The church and the beginning of a tsardom

3 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Museum display of a stone slab with a Greek inscription about restoring a tower. Hermogenes is named in the text; his office and the precise date are disputed. Photograph taken in Sofia, not at the cape. — Bin im Garten · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Kaliakra

The cliff and the fleets

3 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Long metal barrel on two stone supports — WangHao · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Baba Vida fortress

The castle beside the Danube

3 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Surviving Bolyar House façade: stonework below, brick ornament and window openings. — Klearchos Kapoutsis from Paleo Faliro, Greece. · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Melnik

Melnik: walls, sand and wine

3 min · 9 scenes

Extracted mural fragment with a royal donor; not a portable icon. Losses are preserved. — A. Nikolov · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Ivanovo rock-hewn churches

Why is the tsar painted inside a cliff?

3 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out photograph of the church reconstructed in 1981; not a surviving medieval building. — Klearchos Kapoutsis from Santorini, Greece · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Tsarevets, Tarnovo

How did the capital fall in 1393?

3 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Pointed steel helmet with a face opening and small holes across its surface. — Unknown Italian craftsman; photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Nikopol

Why did the crusade stop at Nicopolis?

3 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Papal seal in the National Museum of Ireland. The photograph’s title attributes it to Innocent III and says it was found in Dublin. Paul and Peter are visible. — Sailko · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Kaloyan

Kaloyan and the captured emperor

4 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. A stone column with incised letters in Tarnovo’s Holy Forty Martyrs Church. Not every letter can be read in this photograph. — Svik · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Ivan Asen II

Ivan Asen II: a victory on a column

4 min · 9 scenes

1018–1185

Byzantine rule

Stories: 1
People: 3
Rulers: 3
Places: 1

Extracted photographic fragment of the ossuary apse; not the whole building. — Todor Bozhinov · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Bachkovo Monastery

Gregory writes a rulebook

3 min · 9 scenes

681–1018

First Bulgarian Tsardom

Stories: 9
People: 73
Rulers: 29
Places: 21

Rider, dog behind the horse and lion beneath the forelegs; inscription lines appear above. — Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Madara Rider

The rider above the path

5 min · 9 scenes

Preslav ceramic icon

The saint made of tiles

6 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Gold coin. Constans II is on the left, the smaller Constantine IV on the right. It predates the campaign; no link to the treaty payment is established. — Cleveland Museum of Art · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Asparuh and 681

Asparuh: why 681?

5 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Gold coin of Nikephoros I in the Numismatic Museum, Athens, photographed by Francesco Bini. Crown, face and cross are visible. We do not know where this coin was found. — Francesco Bini · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Krum and the battle of 811

Krum, Nikephoros and a cup

3 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. A stone slab with three crosses and a damaged inscription at the lower right. — Fyodor Uspensky · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Preslav and Ohrid

The disciples bring the books

4 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Open book with a writing figure on the left and a red heading below two birds on the right. A later copy according to the Commons description. — Shakko · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Simeon and the Golden Age

Simeon: books and power

4 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Museum case at Pliska: a broken handled vessel on the left and a ceramic fragment on the right. Exact dates and find contexts of individual objects have not been established. — Vislupus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Pliska

Pliska: the rampart, palace and inscription

4 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Both sides of a gold coin of Michael III with Theodora, struck around 843–856. This is not a coin of Boris. — Classical Numismatic Group (CNG) · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Boris I and Christianisation

Boris I: the cost of a new faith

4 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Historical printed reproduction of the German slab with three crosses and a short inscription. — Fyodor Uspensky · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Samuil

Samuil: holding out for almost forty years

4 min · 10 scenes

1st millennium BC – 6th century AD

Antiquity: Thracians, Greeks, Romans

Stories: 10
People: 41
Places: 24

A jug in a museum display, isolated from the photograph. Its association with the tomb is unconfirmed. — SashaCoachman · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Kazanlak Tomb

Hands beneath the dome

5 min · 9 scenes

A ram-headed rhyton isolated from a museum photograph. Original versus display copy is unconfirmed. — Apostoloff · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Panagyurishte Treasure

Gold from the clay pit

5 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Stone disc with two holes at the archaeological site of Perperikon. — Kritzolina · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Perperikon

A town carved into a hill

4 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. The original burial chamber in its present setting: stone female figures, beds and a faint painting above them. Lighting is modern. — Interact-Bulgaria · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Sveshtari

Ten women beneath the stone ceiling

3 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. The goddess Athena wearing a helmet, seen from the side on a gold coin. — Photographer uncredited; ancient object: Mesambria mint, Alexander type · Public domain · National Library of France / Wikimedia Commons

Nessebar

The town on the narrow isthmus

4 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Bronze head presented as Constantine, MC1072, Capitoline Museums, Rome. It is not known as a find from Serdica. The neck is a later addition. — Jastrow (photograph, 2006); ancient sculptor unknown · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Serdica

A street by the metro

3 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Tall, narrow painted vessel with a human figure, photographed in Sozopol museum. — Zde · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Sozopol

The god who left town

4 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. One round bronze coin with a figure and Greek lettering on a white background. — National Library of France (image provider) · Public domain · National Library of France / Wikimedia Commons

Philippopolis

A stadium below the shop windows

4 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. Stone fragment with a smooth panel and projecting circles carved to resemble nail heads, lying on the ground away from its original position. — kery_one · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Starosel

Who was the hall beneath the mound for?

3 min · 9 scenes

Cut-out detail; background removed. The jug has a narrow neck and side handle. On its body a lion bites a hind. — Adam Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Rogozen Treasure

Who hid 165 silver vessels?

3 min · 9 scenes

4th–2nd millennia BC · approximate

Bronze Age

Stories: 2
People: 0
Places: 5

Cut-out detail; background removed. The large bowl with two handles. Photograph of objects, not the discovery. — Николай Генов / Nikolay Genov · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Valchitran Treasure

Gold from the vineyard

3 min · 9 scenes

An isolated silhouette from a Magura wall painting; not a portable object. — Octopus at Slovenian Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Magura Cave

Bat paint, signs for time

3 min · 9 scenes

5th millennium BC · approximate

Copper Age

Stories: 1
People: 0
Places: 3

The larger bull-shaped gold applique, isolated from the photograph. — CryolophosaurusEllioti · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Varna Necropolis

Gold by the lake

4 min · 9 scenes

7th–6th millennia BC · approximate

Neolithic

Stories: 1
People: 0
Places: 2

A pottery vessel in a museum, isolated from the photograph with a visible part of its display support. — Rossitza Ohridska-Olson · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Neolithic dwellings in Stara Zagora

The home after the fire

5 min · 9 scenes