History of BulgariaHistory of Bulgaria
An artistic portrait of Alexander of Battenberg; an isolated figure, not a photograph of the events in 1885.
Drawing
Portrait of Alexander I

Bulgarian unification 1885 · Revival

One night in Plovdiv

Why did war follow Unification?

9 scenes · 5 min · Sources · 20

StartListen

A carriage, two documents and an allegory trace Unification from Plovdiv to Slivnitsa and the diplomatic settlement.

Plovdiv in Zhivopisnoye Obozreniye, 1885. Period press illustration, not an event photograph.

Part 1 · Revival

The governor’s carriage

Plovdiv, the night of 5–6 September 1885. Soldiers and armed detachments surround Governor-General Gavril Krastevich’s residence. Major Danail Nikolaev leads the troops; Chardafon’s men from Golyamo Konare are among the insurgents. Krastevich is removed. Historian Iliya Todev describes him being driven through the city in a carriage before being taken to Golyamo Konare.

The governor’s removal takes place without a battle, but “bloodless” needs qualification: the surrounding events claim lives, including Raycho Nikolov’s in Plovdiv. Unification has been proclaimed. Why, then, does war follow only two months later?

Listen to scene · 1

Synthetic voice · 0:40
Sources · 3
  1. Илия Тодев Човекът е историческо животно. Рефлексии и саморефлексии PDF София: Захарий Стоянов; PDF hosted by Институт за исторически изследвания, БАН · 2015 · 159
  2. Елена Стателова; Андрей Пантев Съединението на Княжество България и Източна Румелия 1885 година. Второ издание. Глава 2: Подготовка и провъзгласяване на Съединението София: Просвета, 2nd edition; digitised transcription · 1995 · 57–85
  3. Йоно Митев Съединението на България през 1885 г Исторически преглед; electronic reprint, Електронна библиотека по архивистика и документалистика (2018) · 1980 · not supplied · 49–61
Geographic context, without historical bordersGeographic context, without historical borders123
Geographic context, without historical borders

Part 2 · Revival

One boundary, two systems

To understand that night in Plovdiv, return to the Treaty of Berlin of 1878. It establishes Bulgaria as an autonomous principality under the Sultan’s suzerainty. Eastern Rumelia remains under his direct political and military authority, with administrative autonomy. A Christian governor-general administers the province.

Plovdiv is the centre of the September action; Sofia is the Principality’s capital. Slivnitsa lies west of Sofia, along the Serbian army’s eventual approach. Unification removes the division between the two administrations in practice. It does not make Bulgaria a fully independent state overnight.

Listen to scene · 2

Synthetic voice · 0:41
Sources · 5
  1. Treaty plenipotentiaries; Horace Maynard (transmitting diplomat); U.S. Department of State (digital edition) The Treaty of Berlin Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, document 518 · 1878
  2. Национален военноисторически музей София – столица на обединена България: Важни локации, свързани със Сръбско-българската война НВИМ, digital exhibition
  3. Wikimedia contributors Plovdiv: geographical record Wikimedia geographical database
  4. Wikimedia contributors Sofia: geographical record Wikimedia geographical database
  5. Wikimedia contributors Slivnitsa: geographical record Wikimedia geographical database
Archival portrait photograph of Zahari Stoyanov, before 1889.
Archive
1925 anniversary sheet reproducing an earlier group photographic portrait of Unification participants.

Part 3 · Revival

Before the night

Months of work lie behind the brief action. In February 1885 a secret committee is founded in Plovdiv, known as the Bulgarian Secret Central Revolutionary Committee, or BSCRC. Zahari Stoyanov chairs it. His newspaper Borba campaigns for union. The committee recruits officers and prepares coordinated action by troops and armed detachments.

Zahari Stoyanov’s portrait is an archival photograph. The group portrait is reproduced on a commemorative sheet from 1925, forty years after Unification. After Krastevich’s removal, Dr Georgi Stranski heads the Provisional Government.

Listen to scene · 3

Synthetic voice · 0:37
Sources · 4
  1. Национален военноисторически музей Военен календар: Февруари
  2. Елена Стателова; Андрей Пантев Съединението на Княжество България и Източна Румелия 1885 година. Второ издание. Глава 2: Подготовка и провъзгласяване на Съединението София: Просвета, 2nd edition; digitised transcription · 1995 · 57–85
  3. Dimitar Karastoyanov Zahari Stoyanov, photograph before 1889 Wikimedia Commons
  4. Dimitar Kavra (underlying photograph, according to archival metadata); sheet designer unknown Commemorative sheet for the fortieth anniversary of Unification Wikimedia Commons / Bulgarian Archives State Agency · 1925
Alexander I’s manifesto, 8 September 1885. Archival image.
Provisional Government proclamation, 6 September 1885. Archival image.
Portrait of Alexander I by Konrad Dielitz, 1881, oil on canvas.
Drawing

Part 4 · Revival

The prince accepts

Here is Prince Alexander I’s manifesto, issued in Veliko Tarnovo on 8 September 1885. Its large heading names him Prince of Northern and Southern Bulgaria. He recognises Unification and accepts government of the province. The document promises protection for peaceful inhabitants regardless of faith and nationality; the promise alone does not establish how it was carried out.

Compare it with the Plovdiv proclamation of 6 September. That announces the Provisional Government, while the manifesto records the next step: the prince’s support. On 9 September he arrives in Plovdiv. Acceptance inside the country still does not amount to an international settlement.

Listen to scene · 4

Synthetic voice · 0:42
Sources · 4
  1. Unknown author Alexander I’s manifesto, 8 September Wikimedia Commons / Bulgarian Archives State Agency · 1885
  2. Provisional Government of Eastern Rumelia Provisional Government proclamation, 6 September Wikimedia Commons · 1885
  3. Национална библиотека „Св. св. Кирил и Методий“ Съединението на Княжество България с Източна Румелия (1885) Национална библиотека, digital exhibition · 2023
  4. Елена Стателова; Андрей Пантев Съединението на Княжество България и Източна Румелия 1885 година. Второ издание. Глава 2: Подготовка и провъзгласяване на Съединението София: Просвета, 2nd edition; digitised transcription · 1995 · 57–85

Part 5 · Revival

Activity: two different steps

What does the manifesto of 8 September show after the Plovdiv proclamation?

  1. The prince recognises Unification and accepts government.
  2. Serbia has already recognised Unification.
  3. Bulgaria is now fully independent.
  4. Krastevich retains government.
Why is that?

The proclamation announces the Provisional Government; the manifesto documents the prince’s acceptance two days later.

Correct · The prince recognises Unification and accepts government.

  1. Unknown author Alexander I’s manifesto, 8 September Wikimedia Commons / Bulgarian Archives State Agency · 1885
  2. Provisional Government of Eastern Rumelia Provisional Government proclamation, 6 September Wikimedia Commons · 1885

Listen to scene · 5

Synthetic voice · 0:05
Sources · 2
  1. Unknown author Alexander I’s manifesto, 8 September Wikimedia Commons / Bulgarian Archives State Agency · 1885
  2. Provisional Government of Eastern Rumelia Provisional Government proclamation, 6 September Wikimedia Commons · 1885
Serbo-Bulgarian War illustrations, 1885. Period press illustration, not an event photograph.

Part 6 · Revival

The attack comes from the west

After Unification, Bulgarian troops concentrate in the south: an Ottoman attack is expected. Instead, Serbia declares war on 2 November 1885. Among the reasons the Serbian government gives for the war is what it considers a disruption of the Balkan balance after Unification.

Troops must move quickly from south to west, much of the way on foot. At Slivnitsa, before Sofia, they stop the main Serbian forces in the fighting of 5–7 November. A Bulgarian counter-offensive follows. These are Old Style dates: in the new calendar the battle falls on 17–19 November. The contemporary press image is a drawing about the war, not a battlefield photograph.

Listen to scene · 6

Synthetic voice · 0:45
Sources · 3
  1. Национален военноисторически музей София – столица на обединена България: Важни локации, свързани със Сръбско-българската война НВИМ, digital exhibition
  2. Национален военноисторически музей Военен календар: Ноември
  3. Елена Стателова; Андрей Пантев Съединението … Глава 4: Изпитанията на войната София: Просвета, 2nd edition; digitised transcription · 1995 · 129–158

Part 7 · Revival

Activity: put events in order

Arrange the events from earliest to latest.

  1. The Treaty of Berlin
  2. Unification proclaimed in Plovdiv
  3. Prince Alexander’s manifesto
  4. The fighting at Slivnitsa
Why is that?

The treaty creates the two systems in 1878. In 1885 the Plovdiv action precedes the manifesto; the fighting comes in November. All 1885 dates here are Old Style.

Correct order

  1. The Treaty of Berlin
  2. Unification proclaimed in Plovdiv
  3. Prince Alexander’s manifesto
  4. The fighting at Slivnitsa
  1. Treaty plenipotentiaries; Horace Maynard (transmitting diplomat); U.S. Department of State (digital edition) The Treaty of Berlin Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, document 518 · 1878
  2. Provisional Government of Eastern Rumelia Provisional Government proclamation, 6 September Wikimedia Commons · 1885
  3. Unknown author Alexander I’s manifesto, 8 September Wikimedia Commons / Bulgarian Archives State Agency · 1885
  4. Национален военноисторически музей Военен календар: Ноември

Listen to scene · 7

Synthetic voice · 0:03
Sources · 4
  1. Treaty plenipotentiaries; Horace Maynard (transmitting diplomat); U.S. Department of State (digital edition) The Treaty of Berlin Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, document 518 · 1878
  2. Provisional Government of Eastern Rumelia Provisional Government proclamation, 6 September Wikimedia Commons · 1885
  3. Unknown author Alexander I’s manifesto, 8 September Wikimedia Commons / Bulgarian Archives State Agency · 1885
  4. Национален военноисторически музей Военен календар: Ноември
Lithograph with two female allegorical figures and ribbons referring to Unification and Pirot.
Drawing

Part 8 · Revival

Two women, one political change

Unification is proclaimed in Plovdiv, defended in war and settled diplomatically later. The Tophane Act of 1886 entrusts Eastern Rumelia’s government to the Bulgarian prince. This is a compromise retaining Ottoman rights, rather than a declaration of full independence.

In Nikolai Pavlovich’s lithograph the Principality and Eastern Rumelia appear as women. A ribbon above marks Unification; another mentions Pirot and the November fighting. This is allegory, not a scene witnessed on the coup night. Our interpretation is that the artist brings political union and its military defence into one image. The agreement, however, separates specified Muslim villages in the Kardzhali district and the Rhodopes from the province and places them under direct Ottoman administration.

Listen to scene · 8

Synthetic voice · 0:49
Sources · 3
  1. Николай Павлович (художник) (1835-1894) United Bulgaria, an allegory by Nikolai Pavlovich Wikimedia Commons
  2. Plenipotentiaries of the Great Powers and Ottoman Empire; Edward Hertslet (editor) Act modifying Articles XV and XVII of the Treaty of Berlin The Map of Europe by Treaty, London: HMSO, 1891 · 1886 · IV · 3152–3157
  3. Елена Стателова; Андрей Пантев Съединението … Глава 5: Извоюван мир София: Просвета, 2nd edition; digitised transcription · 1995 · 159–177

Part 9 · Revival

Activity: match people and roles

Match each person with their role in the story.

  1. Zahari Stoyanov · Chairman of the secret committee
  2. Gavril Krastevich · Deposed governor of Eastern Rumelia
  3. Alexander I · The prince who accepts Unification
Why is that?

Stoyanov chairs the committee; Krastevich is removed in Plovdiv; Alexander accepts government and issues the manifesto.

  1. Национален военноисторически музей Военен календар: Февруари
  2. Елена Стателова; Андрей Пантев Съединението на Княжество България и Източна Румелия 1885 година. Второ издание. Глава 2: Подготовка и провъзгласяване на Съединението София: Просвета, 2nd edition; digitised transcription · 1995 · 57–85
  3. Unknown author Alexander I’s manifesto, 8 September Wikimedia Commons / Bulgarian Archives State Agency · 1885

Listen to scene · 9

Synthetic voice · 0:03
Sources · 3
  1. Национален военноисторически музей Военен календар: Февруари
  2. Елена Стателова; Андрей Пантев Съединението на Княжество България и Източна Румелия 1885 година. Второ издание. Глава 2: Подготовка и провъзгласяване на Съединението София: Просвета, 2nd edition; digitised transcription · 1995 · 57–85
  3. Unknown author Alexander I’s manifesto, 8 September Wikimedia Commons / Bulgarian Archives State Agency · 1885

A new find for your collection

Unification is proclaimed in Plovdiv, defended in war and settled diplomatically later. The Tophane Act of 1886 entrusts Eastern Rumelia’s government to the Bulgarian prince. This is a compromise retaining Ottoman rights, rather than a declaration of full independence.

Bulgarian independence 1908 · TarnovoHow Ferdinand became TsarExplore another struggle over power and freedom.Georgi Ivanov · BaikonurInto orbit, without dockingMadara Rider · MadaraThe rider above the path

People in this story

Zahari StoyanovAlexander I of BattenbergDanail NikolaevGavril KrastevichChardafonRaycho NikolovGeorgi StranskiNikolai PavlovichAlexander I of Battenberg · Rulers

Sources

  1. Treaty plenipotentiaries; Horace Maynard (transmitting diplomat); U.S. Department of State (digital edition) The Treaty of Berlin Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, document 518 · 1878
  2. Национален военноисторически музей Военен календар: Февруари
  3. Wikimedia contributors Plovdiv: geographical record Wikimedia geographical database
  4. Wikimedia contributors Slivnitsa: geographical record Wikimedia geographical database
  5. Wikimedia contributors Sofia: geographical record Wikimedia geographical database
  6. Dimitar Kavra (underlying photograph, according to archival metadata); sheet designer unknown Commemorative sheet for the fortieth anniversary of Unification Wikimedia Commons / Bulgarian Archives State Agency · 1925
  7. Николай Павлович (художник) (1835-1894) United Bulgaria, an allegory by Nikolai Pavlovich Wikimedia Commons
  8. Unknown author Alexander I’s manifesto, 8 September Wikimedia Commons / Bulgarian Archives State Agency · 1885
  9. Provisional Government of Eastern Rumelia Provisional Government proclamation, 6 September Wikimedia Commons · 1885
  10. Dimitar Karastoyanov Zahari Stoyanov, photograph before 1889 Wikimedia Commons
  11. Национална библиотека „Св. св. Кирил и Методий“ Съединението на Княжество България с Източна Румелия (1885) Национална библиотека, digital exhibition · 2023
  12. Йоно Митев Съединението на България през 1885 г Исторически преглед; electronic reprint, Електронна библиотека по архивистика и документалистика (2018) · 1980 · not supplied · 49–61
  13. Елена Стателова; Андрей Пантев Съединението на Княжество България и Източна Румелия 1885 година. Второ издание. Глава 2: Подготовка и провъзгласяване на Съединението София: Просвета, 2nd edition; digitised transcription · 1995 · 57–85
  14. Елена Стателова; Андрей Пантев Съединението … Глава 5: Извоюван мир София: Просвета, 2nd edition; digitised transcription · 1995 · 159–177
  15. Илия Тодев Човекът е историческо животно. Рефлексии и саморефлексии PDF София: Захарий Стоянов; PDF hosted by Институт за исторически изследвания, БАН · 2015 · 159
  16. Plenipotentiaries of the Great Powers and Ottoman Empire; Edward Hertslet (editor) Act modifying Articles XV and XVII of the Treaty of Berlin The Map of Europe by Treaty, London: HMSO, 1891 · 1886 · IV · 3152–3157
  17. Национален военноисторически музей Военен календар: Ноември
  18. Елена Стателова; Андрей Пантев Съединението … Глава 4: Изпитанията на войната София: Просвета, 2nd edition; digitised transcription · 1995 · 129–158
  19. Национален военноисторически музей София – столица на обединена България: Важни локации, свързани със Сръбско-българската война НВИМ, digital exhibition
  20. Регионален исторически музей – Пловдив Експозиция „Съединение на България от 1885 г.“ РИМ – Пловдив, official website

Images

Drawing

Konrad Dielitz · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Portrait of Alexander I, Konrad Dielitz, 1881. Painted portrait, oil on canvas. Konrad Dielitz / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Cut-out detail; background removed. Painted portrait — oil on canvas

Individual illustrator not established · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Plovdiv in Zhivopisnoye Obozreniye, 1885. Period press illustration, not an event photograph. Individual illustrator not established; Живописное обозрение стран света; digitisation: Russian National Library / kmv20120 / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Processed image.

Archive

Dimitar Karastoyanov · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Zahari Stoyanov, photograph before 1889. Archival photograph. Dimitar Karastoyanov / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Processed image.

Dimitar Kavra · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons / Bulgarian Archives State Agency

Open source

Full attribution

Commemorative sheet for the fortieth anniversary of Unification, 1925, with an earlier group portrait. Underlying photograph: Dimitar Kavra according to the archival metadata; the sheet’s designer is not established. Bulgarian Archives State Agency, fonds 1599K, inventory 1, archival unit 1995, sheet 1 / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Processed image.

Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons / Bulgarian Archives State Agency

Open source

Full attribution

Alexander I’s manifesto, 8 September 1885. Bulgarian Archives State Agency, fonds 1599K, inventory 1, archival unit 811, sheet 4 / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Processed image.

Provisional Government of Eastern Rumelia · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Provisional Government proclamation, 6 September 1885. Archival image. Provisional Government of Eastern Rumelia / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Processed image.

Drawing

Konrad Dielitz · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Portrait of Alexander I, Konrad Dielitz, 1881. Painted portrait, oil on canvas. Konrad Dielitz / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Processed image. Painted portrait — oil on canvas

Individual illustrator not established · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Serbo-Bulgarian War illustrations, 1885. Period press illustration, not an event photograph. Individual illustrator not established; Живописное обозрение стран света; digitisation: Russian National Library / kmv20120 / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Processed image.

Drawing

Николай Павлович · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

United Bulgaria, an allegory by Nikolai Pavlovich. Lithograph, an artistic allegory. Николай Павлович (painter) (1835-1894) / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Processed image. Lithograph — artistic allegory

Geographic context, without historical borders

Tom Patterson · Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso · Public domain · Natural Earth

Open source

Full attribution

Tom Patterson · Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso