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Bulgaria
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Historical Dateline Summary
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2nd
millennium BC
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Thracians settle eastern Balkan
Peninsula.
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1st
century BC
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Romans invade and make Serdika
(Sofia) a Roman Empire stronghold.
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410 AD
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West Roman Empire (Rome) falls after
Goth, Vandal, and Hun invasions. Bulgaria land remains part of East
Roman Empire (Byzantium/Constantinople).
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Late 5th
century
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Slavs settle in the region.
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Mid 7th
century
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Bulgars arrive from Central Asia.
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681
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1st Bulgarian Kingdom
established by Bulgars and Slavs, led by Khan (King) Asparuh. It is
centred at Pliska and recognized by Byzantine.
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865
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Tsar Boris I leads conversion to
Christianity to unify people and elevate Bulgaria to European level.
Cyril and Methodius create Cyrillic alphabet.
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893
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Tsar Simeon succeeds Boris I, moves capital to Preslav, expands
Bulgaria's territory almost 2X, and ushers in a cultural Golden age.
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967
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Preslav overrun by Byzantines. Tsar Samuil moves capital to Ochrid (now
Macedonia), then Western Bulgaria's spiritual and political centre.
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1014
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Bulgaria falls to Byzantines and
becomes vassal state for 170 years.
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1185
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2nd Bulgaria Kingdom
established, centred at Veliko Tarnovo.
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1218
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Tsar Ivan Assen II comes to power. 2nd
Golden age - boundaries expand; culture and art flourish.
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1362
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Ottoman Turks invade Balkans, and
conquer Bulgaria within 30 years. Bulgaria remains under Ottoman
occupation for almost 500 years.
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1453
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Constantinople falls to Ottomans,
marking the end of Byzantine Empire.
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Mid 1700s
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National Revival Period (Bulgarian
Renaissance) and Ottoman decline. Patriotic resistance fighters incite
uprisings.
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1870
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Bulgarian Church gains independence.
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1873
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National hero Vassil Levski captured
by Ottomans and hanged.
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1876
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Failed April uprising leads to
massacres by Ottomans.
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1878
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Russian army helps liberate Bulgaria;
San Stefano Treaty gives it independence. Berlin Congress soon excludes
Macedonia/ Thracia and returns them to Turkey.
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1908
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Declaration of independent Bulgarian
Kingdom.
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1912
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1st Balkan War. Bulgaria
tries to recover land lost in Berlin; Serbia and Greece are allies.
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1913
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2nd Balkan War. Greece,
Serbia, Romania and Turkey claim territories Bulgaria regained in the 1st
war.
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1915
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Bulgaria joins Central Powers and
enters WWI, hoping to recover lost territories. Bulgaria looses Aegean
Sea access.
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1941
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Boris III forced to join WWII Axis,
allowing Germans land access, but refusing to send troops to Eastern
front or Bulgarian Jews to Nazi concentration camps.
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1945
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End of Bulgarian monarchy. Yalta
treaty makes Bulgaria a USSR satellite state.
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1990
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Communist party resigns. Bulgaria
becomes a multi-party democracy.
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1999
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Bulgaria invited to begin accession
proceedings for EU membership.
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UP
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