During their westward migration across theEurasian Steppe, the Bulgar tribes absorbed other tribal groups and cultural influences in a process of ethnogenesis, includingIranic,Uralic, andHunnic tribes.[5][6][7][8][9][10] The Bulgars spoke aTurkic language, theBulgar language of theOghuric branch.[11] They preserved the military titles, organization, and customs of Eurasian steppes[12] as well as pagan shamanism and belief in the sky deityTangra.[13]
The Bulgars became semi-sedentary during the 7th century in the Pontic-Caspian steppe, establishing the polity ofOld Great Bulgaria c. 630–635, which was defeated by theKhazar Khaganate in 668 AD. In 681, KhanAsparukh conqueredScythia Minor, opening access toMoesia, and established the Danubian Bulgaria – theFirst Bulgarian Empire, where the Bulgars became a political and military elite. They merged subsequently with establishedByzantine populations,[14][15] as well as with previously settledSlavic tribes, and were eventuallySlavicized, thus becoming one of the ancestors of modernBulgarians.[16]
The etymology of the ethnonymBulgar is not completely understood and difficult to trace back earlier than the 4th century AD.[19][20] Since the work ofTomaschek (1873),[21] it is generally said to be derived fromProto-Turkic root *bulga-[22] ("to stir", "to mix"; "to become mixed"), which with the consonant suffix-r implies a noun meaning "mixed".[23][24] Other scholars have added thatbulğa might also imply "stir", "disturb", "confuse"[25][26][27] andTalat Tekin interpretedBulgar as the verb form "mixing" (i.e. rather than the adjective "mixed").[21] BothGyula Németh andPeter Benjamin Golden initially advocated the "mixed race" theory, but later, likePaul Pelliot,[28] considered that "to incite", "rebel", or "to produce a state of disorder", i.e. the "disturbers",[29][30][3][26] was a more likely etymology for migrating nomads.[3][26]
According toOsman Karatay, if the "mixed" etymology relied on the westward migration of theOğurs, meeting and merging with the Huns, north of the Black Sea, it was a faulty theory, since the Oghurs were documented in Europe as early as 463, while the Bulgars were not mentioned until 482 – an overly short time period for any suchethnogenesis to occur.[31]
However, the "mixing" in question may have occurred before the Bulgars migrated from further east, and scholars such asSanping Chen have noted analogous groups inInner Asia, with phonologically similar names, who were frequently described in similar terms: during the 4th century, theBuluoji (Middle Chineseb'uo-lak-kiei), a component of the "Five Barbarian" groups in Ancient China, were portrayed as both a "mixed race" and "troublemakers".[32]Peter A. Boodberg noted that theBuluoji in the Chinese sources were recorded as remnants of theXiongnu confederation,[33] and had strong Caucasian elements.[34]
Another theory linking the Bulgars to a Turkic people of Inner Asia has been put forward byBoris Simeonov, who identified them with thePugu (僕骨;buk/buok kwət;Buqut), aTiele and/orToquz Oguz tribe.[35][36] The Pugu were mentioned in Chinese sources from 103 BC up to the 8th century AD,[36] and later were situated among the eastern Tiele tribes, as one of the highest-ranking tribes after theUyghurs.[35]
According to theChronicle byMichael the Syrian, which comprises several historical events of different age into one story, three mythicalScythian brothers set out on a journey from the mountain Imaon (Tian Shan) in Asia and reached the river Tanais (Don), the country of theAlans calledBarsalia, which would be later inhabited by the Bulgars and the Pugurs (Puguraje).[37]
The namesOnoğur and Bulgar were linked by later Byzantine sources for reasons that are unclear.[38][25][26]Tekin derived-gur from the Altaic suffix-gir.[39] Generally, modern scholars consider the termsoğuz oroğur, as generic terms forTurkic tribal confederations, to be derived from Turkic*og/uq, meaning "kinship or being akin to".[40] The terms initially were not the same, asoq/ogsiz meant "arrow",[41] whileoğul meant "offspring, child, son",oğuš/uğuš was "tribe, clan", and the verboğša-/oqša meant "to be like, resemble".[40]
There also appears to be an etymological association between the Bulgars and the precedingKutrigur (Kuturgur >Quturğur >*Toqur(o)ğur <toqur; "nine" in Proto-Bulgar;toquz in Common Turkic) andUtigur (Uturgur >Uturğur <utur/otur; "thirty" in Proto-Bulgar;otuz in Common Turkic) – as'Oğur (Oghur) tribes, with the ethnonym Bulgar as a "spreading" adjective[vague][further explanation needed].[21] Golden considered the origin of the Kutrigurs and Utigurs to be obscure and their relationship to the Onogurs and Bulgars – who lived in similar areas at the same time – as unclear.[42][43]
He noted, however, an implication that the Kutrigurs and Utigurs were related to theŠarağurs (šara oğur,shara oghur; "white oğhurs"),[44] and that according toProcopius these were Hunnish tribal unions, of partlyCimmerian descent.[42][36] Karatay considered the Kutrigurs and Utigurs to be two related, ancestral people, and prominent tribes in the later Bulgar union, but different from the Bulgars.[45]
Among many other theories regarding the etymology of Bulgar, the following have also had limited support.
anEastern Germanic root meaning "combative" (i.e. cognate with the Latinpugnax), according to D. Detschev;[28]
the Latinburgaroi – a Roman term mercenaries stationed inburgi ("forts") on thelimes (G. A. Keramopulos);[28]
a reconstructed but unattested early Turkic term meaning "five oğhur", such as*bel-gur or*bil-gur (Zeki Velidi Togan).[46]
A 1926 painting depicting Kubrat (in center), ruler ofGreat Bulgaria.
The original homeland of the early Bulgars is still unclear. Their homeland is believed to be situated inKazakhstan and theNorth Caucasian steppes. Interaction with the Hunnic tribes, causing the migration, may have occurred there, but thePontic–Caspian steppe seems a more likely location.[38] Some scholars propose that the Bulgars may have been a branch or offshoot of the Huns or at least Huns seem to have been absorbed by the Onogur-Bulgars afterDengizich's death.[47]Hyun Jin Kim however, argues that theHuns continued under Ernak, becoming theKutrigur andUtigurHunno-Bulgars.[48] These conclusions remain a topic of ongoing debate and controversy among scholars.
The first clear mention and evidence of the Bulgars was in 480, when they served as the allies of the Byzantine EmperorZeno (474–491) against theOstrogoths.[3] Anachronistic references about them can also be found in the 7th-century geography workAshkharatsuyts byAnania Shirakatsi, where theKup'i Bulgar,Duch'i Bulkar,Olkhontor Błkar and immigrantCh'dar Bulkar tribes are mentioned as being in the North Caucasian-Kuban steppes.[38] An obscure reference toZiezi ex quo Vulgares, withZiezi being an offspring of BiblicalShem, is in theChronography of 354.[38][25]
The Armenian history ofMovses Khorenatsi (5th century or later) speaks about two migrations of the Bulgars from theCaucasus toArmenia. The first migration is mentioned in association with the campaign of Armenian rulerValarshak to the lands "namedBasen by the ancients... and which were afterwards populated by immigrants of the Vlendur Bulgar Vund, after whose name they (the lands) were namedVanand".[36] In fact, the name Vanand is attested prior to the appearance of the Bulgars.[49] Grigor Khalatians andJosef Markwart connected the nameVlendur with theOlkhontor mentioned in theAshkharatsuyts, while Stepan Malkhasiants considered it a form of the Mongolian wordbaghatur 'hero'.[50]
The second migration took place during the time of the ruler Arshak, when "great disturbances occurred in the range of the great Caucasus mountain, in the land of the Bulgars, many of whom migrated and came to our lands and settled south of Kokh". While Khorenatsi discusses these migrations in the context of the 2nd century BC, it has been suggested that Khorenatsi confused events from the second half of the 4th century AD with earlier occurrences; thus, the migration may have occurred during the reign of KingArshak III of Armenia.[51] The "disturbances" which caused them are believed to be the expansion of the Huns in the East European steppes. Dimitrov recorded that the toponyms of the Bolha andVorotan rivers, tributaries of theAras river, are known asBolgaru-chaj andVanand-chaj, and could confirm the Bulgar settlement of Armenia.[36]
Around 463 AD, theAkatziroi and other tribes that had been part of the Hunnic union were attacked by the Šarağurs, one of the first Oğuric Turkic tribes that entered thePonto-Caspian steppes as the result of migrations set off in Inner Asia.[52] According toPriscus, in 463 the representatives of Šarağur, Oğur and Onoğur came to the Emperor inConstantinople,[53] and explained they had been driven out of their homeland by theSabirs, who had been attacked by theAvars.[54] This tangle of events indicates that the Oğuric tribes are related to theTing-ling andTiele people.[55] It seems that Kutrigurs and Unigurs arrived with the initial waves of Oğuric peoples entering the Pontic steppes.[42] The Bulgars were not mentioned in 463.[25]
The account byPaul the Deacon in hisHistory of the Lombards (8th century) says that at the beginning of the 5th century in the North-Western slopes of theCarpathians theVulgares killed theLombard king Agelmund.[36] Scholars attribute this account to the Huns,[56][57] Avars[57] or some Bulgar groups who were probably carried away by the Huns to the Central Europe.[36][57] The Lombards, led by their new king Laimicho, rose up and defeated the Bulgars with great slaughter,[58] gaining great booty and confidence as they "became bolder in undertaking the toils of war."[59]
The defeated Bulgars then became subjects of the Lombards and later migrated in Italy with their kingAlboin.[60] When the army of Ostrogoth chieftainTheodoric Strabo grew to 30,000-men strong, it was felt as a menace to ByzantineEmperor Zeno, who somehow managed to convince the Bulgars to attack the Thracian Goths.[61] The Bulgars were eventually defeated by Strabo in 480/481.[61] In 486 and 488 they fought against the Goths again, first as allies of Byzantium, according toMagnus Felix Ennodius,[36] and later as allies of theGepids, according to Paul the Deacon.[36] However, whenTheoderic the Great with his Ostrogoths departed for Italy in 489, theIllyricum andThrace were open for Bulgar raids.[62]
In 493, according toMarcellinus Comes, they defeated and killedmagister militum Julian.[62] In 499, they crossed the Danube and reached Thrace where on the banks of the river Tzurta (considered a tributary ofMaritsa[63]) defeated a 15,000-strong Roman army led by magister militum Aristus.[64][65] In 502, Bulgars again devastated Thrace as reportedly there were no Roman soldiers to oppose them.[62][65] In 528–529 they again invaded the region and defeated Roman generalsJustin andBaduarius.[66] However, the Gothic generalMundus offered allegiance to EmperorJustinian I (527–565) in 530, and managed to kill 5,000 Bulgars plundering Thrace.[62]John Malalas recorded that in the battle a Bulgar warlord was captured.[65] In 535, magister militumSittas defeated the Bulgar army at the riverYantra.[65]
Ennodius,Jordanes andProcopius identified the Bulgars with the Huns in a 6th-centuryliterary topos, in which Ennodius referred to a captured Bulgar horse as "equum Huniscum".[67] In 505, the alleged 10,000 Hun horsemen in theSabinian army, which was defeated by the Ostrogoths, are believed to be the Bulgars.[68] In 515, Bulgar mercenaries were listed along with others from the Goths, Scythians and Hunnic tribes as part of theVitalian army.[69] In 539, two Hunnic "kinglets" defeated two Roman generals during the raid intoScythia Minor andMoesia.[70]
A Roman army led by magister militumAscum andConstantiolus intercepted and defeated them in Thrace; however, another raiding party ambushed and captured the two Roman generals.[71] In 539 and 540, Procopius reported a powerful Hunnic army crossed the Danube, devastated Illyricum and reached up to theAnastasian Wall.[71] Such large distances covered in a short time indicate they were horsemen.[71]
Jordanes described, in his workGetica (551), the Pontic steppe beyond the Akatziri, above the Pontic Sea, as the habitat of theBulgari, "whom the evils of our sins have made famous". In this region, theHunni divided into two tribes: theAltziagiri (who trade and live next toCherson) andSaviri, while theHunuguri (believed to be the Onoğurs) were notable for themarten skin trade.[36][72][73] In the Middle Ages, marten skin was used as a substitute for minted money.[74]
The Syriac translation ofPseudo-Zacharias Rhetor'sEcclesiastical History (c. 555) in Western Eurasia records:
The land Bazgun... extends up to theCaspian Gates and to the sea, which are in the Hunnish lands. Beyond the gates live the Burgars (Bulgars), who have their language, and are people pagan and barbarian. They have towns. And the Alans – they have five towns... Avnagur (Aunagur, considered Onoğurs) are people, who live in tents
Then he records 13 tribes, thewngwr (Onogur),wgr (Oğur),sbr (Sabir),bwrgr (Burğa, i.e. Bulgar),kwrtrgr (Kutriğurs),br (probablyVars, also known as the Avars),ksr (Kasr; possiblyAkatziri),srwrgwr (Saragurs),dyrmr (unknown),b'grsyq (Bagrasir, i.e.Barsil),kwls (unknown),bdl (probablyAbdali), andftlyt (Hephthalite) ... They are described in typical phrases reserved for nomads in the ethnographic literature of the period, as people who "live in tents, earn their living on the meat of livestock and fish, of wild animals and by their weapons (plunder)".[36][75]
...all of them are called in general Scythians and Huns in particular according to their nation. Thus, some are Koutrigours or Outigours and yet others are Oultizurs and Bourougounds... the Oultizurs and Bourougounds were known up to the time of the EmperorLeo (457–474) and the Romans of that time and appeared to have been strong. We, however, in this day, neither know them, nor, I think, will we. Perhaps, they have perished or perhaps they have moved off to very far place.[73]
According to D. Dimitrov, scholars partially managed to identify and locate the Bulgar groups mentioned in the ArmenianAshkharatsuyts. TheOlxontor Błkar is one of the variations used for the Onoğurs Bulgars, while others could be related to the ancient river names,[76] such as theKup'i Bulgar and theKuban (Kuphis). TheDuč'i could readKuchi Bulkar and as such could be related to theDnieper (Kocho). However, theČ'dar Bulkar location is unclear. Dimitrov theorized that the differences in theBulgar ethnonym could be due to the dialect differentiations in their language.[36]
By the middle of the 6th century, the Bulgars momentarily fade from the sources and the Kutrigurs and Utigurs come to the front.[3] Between 548 and 576, mostly due to Justinian I (527–565), through diplomatic persuasion and bribery the Kutrigurs and Utigurs were drawn into mutual warfare, decimating one another. In the end, the Kutrigurs were overwhelmed by the Avars, while the Utigurs came under the rule of the Western Turks.[77]
The Oğurs and Onoğurs, in the 6th- and 7th-century sources, were mentioned mostly in connection with the Avar and Turk conquest of Western Eurasia.[78] From the 8th century, the Byzantine sources often mention the Onoğurs in close connection with the Bulgars. Agathon (early 8th century) wrote about the nation of Onoğurs Bulğars.Nikephoros I (early 9th century) noted thatKubrat was the lord of theOnoğundurs; his contemporaryTheophanes referred to them asOnoğundur–Bulğars.
Constantine VII (mid-10th century) remarked that the Bulğars formerly called themselvesOnoğundurs. This association was previously mirrored in Armenian sources, such as theAshkharatsuyts, which refers to theOlxontor Błkar, and the 5th centuryHistory by Movses Khorenatsi, which includes an additional comment from a 9th-century writer about the colony of the Vłĕndur Bułkar. Marquart and Golden connected these forms with theIġndr (*Uluġundur) ofIbn al-Kalbi (c. 820), theVnndur (*Wunundur) ofHudud al-'Alam (982), theWlndr (*Wulundur) ofAl-Masudi (10th century) and Hungarian name for BelgradNándor Fejérvár, thenndr (*Nandur) ofGardīzī (11th century) and*Wununtur in theletter by the Khazar KingJoseph. All the forms show the phonetic changes typical of later Oğuric (prothetic v-).[79]
Scholars consider it unclear how this union came about, viewing it as a long process in which a number of different groups were merged.[80][26] During that time, the Bulgars may have represented a large confederation including the remnants of Onoğurs, Utigurs and Kutrigurs among others.[81]
The migration of the Bulgars after the fall of Old Great Bulgaria in the 7th century.
The Turk rule weakened sometime after 600, allowing the Avars to reestablish the control over the region.[25][76] As theWestern Turkic Khaganate declined, finally collapsing in the middle of the 7th century, it was against Avar rule that the Bulgars, recorded asOnoğundur–Bulğars, reappeared.[25][80][82] They revolted under their leaderKubrat (c. 635), who seems to have been prepared byHeraclius (610–641) against the Sasanian–Avar alliance. With his uncleOrgana in 619, Kubrat had been baptized in Constantinople.[83][25][76][84] He founded theOld Great Bulgaria (Magna Bulgaria[85]), also known asOnoğundur–Bulğars state, orPatria Onoguria in theRavenna Cosmography.[86][76][36]
Little is known about Kubrat's activities. It is considered that Onogur Bulgars remained the only steppe tribes in good relations with the Byzantines.[85] His date of death is placed between 650 and 663 AD.[87] According to Nikephoros I, Kubrat instructed his five sons to "never separate their place of dwelling from one another, so that by being in concordance with one another, their power might thrive".[86][82]
Subsequent events proved Old Great Bulgaria to be only a loose tribal union, as there emerged a rivalry between theKhazars and the Bulgars over Turk patrimony and dominance in the Pontic–Caspian steppe.[88][82] Some historians consider the war an extension of the Western Turks struggle, between theNushibi tribes andAshina clan, who led the Khazars, and theDuolu/Tu-lu tribes, which some scholars associated with theDulo clan, from which Kubrat and many Bulgar rulers originated.[89][76] The Khazars were ultimately victorious and parts of the Bulgar union broke up.[25]
Map of the Bulgar necropolises on the Lower Danube (8–9 century AD.)
It is unclear whether the brothers' parting ways was caused by the internal conflicts or strong Khazar pressure.[86][82] The latter is considered more likely.[82] The Bulgars led by the first two brothersBatbayan andKotrag remained in the Pontic steppe zone, where they were known asBlack Bulgars by Byzantine and Rus sources, and became Khazar vassals.[90][25][91] The Bulgars led by Kotrag migrated to the middleVolga region during the 7th and 9th centuries, where they foundedVolga Bulgaria, withBolghar as its capital.[25][91]
According toAhmad ibn Rustah (10th century), the Volga Bulgars were divided into three branches: "the first branch was called Bersula (Barsils), the secondEsegel, and the third Bulgar".[37] In 922 they acceptedIslam as the official religion.[92][25] They preserved their national identity well into the 13th century by repelling the firstMongol attacks in 1223. They were eventually subdued by the Mongols in 1237.[93] They gradually lost their identity after 1431 when their towns and region were captured by the Russians.[94]
The third and most famous son,Asparukh, according to Nikephoros I:
crossed the river Danapros and Danastros, lived in the locale around the Ister, having occupied a place suitable for settlement, called in their language ογγλον (ogglon; Slav.o(n)gl, "angle", "corner"; Turk.agyl, "yard"[95])... The people having been divided and scattered, the tribe of the Khazars, from within Berulia (Bessarabia), which neighbors with Sarmatia, attacked them with impunity. They overran all the lands lying behind the Pontos Euxeinos and penetrated to the sea. After this, having made Bayan a subject, they forced him to pay tribute.[96]
Asparukh, according to thePseudo–Zacharias Rhetor, "fled from the Khazars out of the Bulgarian mountains". In the Khazar ruler Joseph's letter is recorded "in the country in which I live, there formerly lived the Vununtur (< Vunundur < Onoğundur). Our ancestors, the Khazars warred with them. The Vununtur were more numerous, as numerous as the sand by the sea, but they could not withstand the Khazars. They left their country and fled... until they reached the river called Duna (Danube)".[96]
This migration and the foundation of the Danube Bulgaria (theFirst Bulgarian Empire) is usually dated c. 681.[96][82] The composition of the horde is unknown, and sources only mention tribal names Čakarar, Kubiar, Küriger, and clan namesDulo,Ukil/Vokil, Ermiyar, Ugain and Duar.[97] TheOnglos where Bulgars settled is considered northernDobruja, secured to the West and North by Danube and itsDelta, and bounded to the East by theBlack Sea.[85] They re-settled in North-Eastern Bulgaria, betweenShumen andVarna, includingLudogorie plateau and southern Dobruja.[98] The distribution of pre-Christian burial assemblages in Bulgaria and Romania is considered as the indication of the confines of the Bulgar settlement.[99]
The Bulgar migrations and settlements after the decline of Old Great Bulgaria in the 7th century.
In the Balkans they merged with the Slavs and other autochthonous Romance and Greek speaking population, like theThracians andVlachs,[14] becoming a political and military elite.[15] However, the influence of the pre-Slavic population had relatively little influence on the Slavs and Bulgars, indicating their population was reduced in previous centuries.[100] The hinterlands of the Byzantine territory were for years occupied by many groups of Slavs.[98] According to Theophanes, the Bulgars subjugated the so-calledSeven Slavic tribes, of which theSeverians were re-settled from the pass of Beregaba or Veregava, most likely theRish Pass of theBalkan Mountains, to the East, while the other six tribes to the Southern and Western regions as far the boundary with the Pannonian Avars.[98] Scholars consider that the absence of any source recording the Slavic resistance to the invasion was because it was in their interest to be liberated from the Byzantine taxation.[101]
Khan Krum feasts with the skull cup of Nicephorus after the victory at the Varbitsa Pass,Manasses Chronicle
It is considered that the Slavic tribal organization was left intact, and paid tribute to the ruling Bulgars.[102][98][13] According to Nikephoros I and Theophanes, an unnamed fourth brother, believed to beKuber, "having crossed the river Ister, resides in Pannonia, which is now under the sway of the Avars, having made an alliance with the local peoples". Kuber later led a revolt against the Avars and with his people moved as far as the region ofThessaloniki in GreekMacedonia.[86] The fifth brother, reported by Nikephoros I and Theophanes, "settling in the fiveRavennate cities became a subject of the Romans". This brother is believed to beAlcek, who after a stay in Avar territory left and settled in Italy, inSepino,Bojano andIsernia. These Bulgars preserved their speech and identity until the late 8th century.[86]
Trade routes of the Black Sea region, 8th–11th centuries
The First Bulgarian Empire (681–1018) had a significant political influence in the Balkans. In the time ofTervel (700–721) the Bulgars helped Byzantines two times, in 705 the EmperorJustinian II to regain his throne, and 717–718 defeating the Arabs during the siege of Constantinople.[103]Sevar (738–753) was the last ruler from the Dulo clan, and the period until c. 768–772 was characterized by the Byzantino-Bulgar conflict and internal crisis.[104] In the short period followed seven rulers from the Uokil and Ugain clan.[104]Telerig (768–777) managed to establish a pacific policy with Byzantium, and restore imperial power.[104]
Europe in 814
During the reign ofKrum (803–814), the Empire doubled its size, including new lands in Macedonia andSerbia.[14] He also successfully repelled the invading force of the Byzantines, as well defeated the Pannonian Avars where additionally extended the Empire size.[14][104] In 865, during the reign of KhanBoris I (852–889), the Bulgars accepted Christianity as the official religion, and Eastern Orthodoxy in 879.[14] The greatest expansion of the Empire and prosperity during the time ofSimeon I (893–927) is considered as the BulgarianGolden Age.[105][14] However, from the time ofPeter I (927–969) their power declined. The Hungarians,Kievan Rus' Slavs, as wellPechenegs andCumans held many raids into their territory,[14] and so weakened were eventually conquered in 1018 by the Byzantine Empire.[14]
Society
TheMadara Rider, an example of Bulgar art in Bulgaria, dated to the beginning of the 8th century
Bulgars had the typical culture of the nomadic equestrians of Central Asia, who migrated seasonally in pursuit of good pastures, as well attraction to economic and cultural interaction with sedentary societies.[106] Being in contact with sedentary cultures, they began mastering the crafts ofblacksmithing,pottery, andcarpentry.[84] The politically dominant tribe or clan usually gave its name to the tribal confederation.[107] Such confederations were often encouraged by the Imperial powers, for whom it was easier to deal with one ruler than several tribal chieftains.[108]
In nomadic society the tribes were political organizations based on kinship, with diffused power.[109] Tribes developed according to the relation with sedentary states, and only managed to conquer them when had social cohesion.[109] If the raiding by the nomads had negative effect on the economic development of the region it could significantly slow down their own social and cultural development.[109] In a nomadic state the nomad and sedentary integration was limited, and usually had vassal tribute system.[109]
When the Bulgars arrived in the Balkans their first generations probably still lived a nomadic life inyurts, but they quickly adopted thesunken-featured building of rectangular plan and sedentary or seasonal lifestyle of the Slavs and autochthonous population.[110] The Bulgar and Slavic settlements cannot be distinguished other than by the type of biritual cemeteries.[111]
The Bulgars, at least the Danubian Bulgars, had a well-developed clan and military administrative system of "inner" and "outer" tribes,[112] governed by the ruling clan.[113] They had many titles, and according toSteven Runciman the distinction between titles which represented offices and mere ornamental dignities was somewhat vague.[114]Maenchen-Helfen theorized that the titles of the steppe peoples did not reflect the ethnicity of their bearers.[115] According to Magnus Felix Ennodius, the Bulgars did not have nobility, yet their leaders and common men became noblemen on the battle field, indicating social mobility.[116][36]
Tribute-paying sedentary vassals, such as the Slavs and Greek-speaking population, formed a substantial and important part of thekhanate's maintenance.[117]
Although it was not recorded on inscriptions, the titlesampses is considered to be related to the royal court.[118] The titletabare oriltabare, which derives from the old Turkishältäbär, likesampses is not mentioned on inscriptions, but is related to the legates and ambassadors.[119]
TheAnastasius Bibliothecarius listed Bulgarian legates at theCouncil at Constantinople in 869–870. They were mentioned as Stasis, Cerbula, Sundica (vagantur=bagatur), Vestranna (iltabare), Praestizisunas (campsis), and Alexius Hunno (sampsi).[120] The ruler title in Bulgar inscriptions waskhan[121] orkanasubigi.[122] A counterpart of the Greek phraseὁ ἐκ Θεοῦ ἄρχων (ho ek Theou archon) was also common in Bulgar inscriptions.[114] Thekavhan was the second most important title in the realm,[119][123] seemingly chief official.[124] Some Bulgar inscriptions, written in Greek and later inSlavonic, refer to the Bulgarian rulers respectively with the Greek titlearchon, or the Slavic titlesknyaz andtsar.[114]
Reconstruction of the medieval landscape ofPreslav
There are several possible interpretations for the ruler title,kana sybigi, mentioned in six inscriptions by the KhanOmurtag and two byMalamir.[125][126] Among the proposed translations forsybigi orsubigi are "lord of the army",[127] from the reconstructed Turkic phrasesyu-beg (army master) paralleling the attestedOrkhon Turkicsyubashi.[128] Runciman andJ. B. Bury consideredubige oruvege to be related to theCuman-Turkicöweghü (high, glorious);[114][123] "bright, luminous, heavenly";[127][129] and more recently "(ruler) from God",[127] from the Indo-European*su- andbaga-, i.e.*su-baga.[130]Florin Curta noted the resemblance in the use of thekana sybigi with the Byzantine name and titlebasileus.[131]
Members of the upper social class bore the titleboila (laterboyar).[132] The nobility was divided ontosmall andgreat boilas.[133][134] In the 10th century, there were three classes of boyars: the sixgreat boilas, theouter boilas, and theinner boilas,[114][123][135][134] while in the mid-9th century there were twelvegreat boyars.[114][123] Thegreat boilas occupied military and administrative offices in the state,[136] as well the council where they gathered for decisions on important matters of state.[133][137][123]
Bagaïns were the lesser class of the nobility,[136][132] probably a military class which also participated in the council.[138][134][123] The titlebagatur, once asbogotor,[139] is found in several instances within the inscriptions.[140] It derives from Turkishbagadur (hero)[138][141] and was a high military rank.[138][141] The Bulgarian military commander who was defeated by the Croats in theBattle of the Bosnian Highlands (926) was calledAlogobotur,[138] which is actually a title comprised byalo (considered Turkicalp, alyp; chief) andbagatur.[138]
There are several title associations with uncertain meaning, such asboila kavkhan,ičirgu boila,kana boila qolovur,bagatur bagain,biri bagain,setit bagain andik bagain.[134]Kolober (orqolovur), a rank title, is cited in two inscriptions,[142] and it derives from the Turkish term for a guide,golaghuz.[138][123] The titležupan, also once askopan[143] in the inscriptions, was often mentioned together with the bearer's name.[144][138] They were traditionally seen as Slavic chiefs.[143] It seems to have meant "head of a clan-district", as among the South Slavs (Croats, Serbs) where it was more widely used, it meant "head of a tribe" with a high district and court function.[145][138][123]
The titletarkhan probably represented a high military rank, similar to the Byzantinestrategos, of the military governor of a province.[118][123] The variationskalutarkan andbuliastarkan are considered to be officers at the head of thetarkans.[119] Curta interpreted the titlezhupan tarqan as "tarqan of (all the) zhupans".[145]
Religion
Very little is known about the religion of the Bulgars,[146][147] but it is believed to have beenmonotheistic.
In Danube Bulgaria, Bulgar monarchs described themselves as a "ruler from God",[123][148][149] indicating authority from a singular divine origin,[150] and making appeals to the deity'somniscience.[151]Presian's inscription fromPhilippi (837) states:[152]
When someone seeks the truth, God sees. And when someone lies, God sees that too. The Bulgars did many favors to the Christians (Byzantines), but the Christians forgot them. But God sees.
It is traditionally assumed that the God in question was the Turkic supreme sky deity,Tengri.[153][148] In the Chinese transcription aszhenli, and Turkic asTangara andTengeri, it represents the oldest known Turco-Mongolian word.[154] Tengri may have originated in the Xiongnu confederacy, which settled on the frontiers of China in the 2nd century BC. The confederacy probably had both pre-Turkic and pre-Mongolian ethnic elements.[154] In modern Turkish, the word for god,Tanrı, derives from the same root.[155]
Tengrism apparently engaged various shamanic practices.[146] According toMercia MacDermott, Tangra was the male deity connected with sky, light and the Sun.[155] The cult incorporated Tangra's female equivalent and principle goddess,Umay, the deity of fertility.[156] Theirtamgha, which can be frequently found in early medieval Bulgaria is associated with deity Tangra. However, its exact meaning and use remains unknown.[147] The most sacred creatures to Tangra were horses and eagles, particularly white horses.[155] Bronze amulets with representations of the Sun, horses and other animals were found at Bulgar archeological sites.[155][157][158] This could explain the variety of Bulgars taboos, including those about animals.[146]
Ravil Bukharaev believed that such an autocratic and monotheistic religion—henotheism,[159] as seen in the report byAhmad ibn Fadlan (10th century) about theOghuz Turks, kindred to the Bulgars,[160] made the acceptance of Islam more natural and easier in Volga Bulgaria:[160][161]
If someone trouble befalls any of them or there happens any unlucky incident, they look out into the sky and summon: "Ber Tengre!". In the Turkish language, that means, "by the One and Only God!".
Another mention of Tengri is on the severely damaged Greek inscription found on a presumedaltar stone near Madara,[153] tentatively deciphered as "Khansybigi Omurtag, ruler from god...was...and made sacrifice to god Tangra...itchurgu boila...gold".[162] An Ottoman manuscript recorded that the name of God, in Bulgarian, was "Tängri".[153]
A piece of ethnographic evidence which has been invoked to support the belief that the Bulgars worshipped Tengri/Tangra is the relative similarity of the name "Tengri" to "Tură", the name of the supreme deity of the traditional religion of theChuvash people, who are traditionally regarded as descendants of the Volga Bulgars.[163] Nevertheless, the Chuvash religion today is markedly different from Tengrism and can be described as a local form ofpolytheism, due to pagan beliefs of theVolga Finns, forest dwellers ofFinno-Ugric origin who lived in their vicinity, with some elements borrowed from Islam.[160]
Paganism was closely connected with the old clan system,[164] and the remains oftotemism andshamanism were preserved even after the crossing of Danube.[155][165] TheShumen plate in the archaeological literature is often associated with shamanism.[158] In the 9th century, it was recorded that before a battle the Bulgars "used to practice enchantments and jests and charms and certain auguries".[166][167]Liutprand of Cremona reported that Baian, son ofSimeon I (893–927), could throughmagicam transform into a wolf.[157]Clement of Ohrid reported the worship of fire and water by the Bulgars,[168] while in the 11th centuryTheophylact of Ohrid remembered that before the Christianization the Bulgars respected the Sun, Moon and the stars, and sacrificed dogs to them.[169]
Allegedly, the Dulo clan had the dog as its sacred animal. To this today Bulgarians still use the expression "he kills the dog" to mean "he gives the orders", a relic of the time when the Dulo Khan sacrificed a dog to the deity Tangra.[155] Remains of dog and deer have been found in Bulgars graves, and it seems thewolf also had a special mythological significance.[155][4] The Bulgars were bi-ritual,[170] either cremating or burying their dead,[171][172] and often interred them with personal objects (pottery, rarely weapons or dress[172]), food, and sacred animals.[155][171][172]
Because of the cult of the Sun, the Bulgars had a preference for the south. Their main buildings and shrines faced south, as well theiryurts, which were usually entered from the south, although less often from the east. Excavations showed that Bulgars buried their dead on a north–south axis,[172] with their heads to the north so that the deceased "faced" south.[155] The Slavs practiced only cremation, the remains were placed in urns, and like the Bulgars, with the conversion to Christianityinhumed the dead on west–east axis.[173] The only example of a mixed Bulgar-Slavic cemetery is inIstria near ancientHistria, on the coast of the Black Sea.[174]
D. Dimitrov has argued that the Kuban Bulgars also adopted elements of Iranian religious beliefs. He noticed Iranian influences on the cult of the former Caucasian Huns capital Varachan (Balanjar), making a religious syncretism between the principal Turkic deity Tengri and the Iranian sun godHvare.[175] Dimitrov cited the work by V.A. Kuznetsov, who considered the resemblance between the layout of theZoroastrian temples of fire and the Kuban Bulgar centre, Humarin citadel, situated 11 km to the north of the townKarachayevsk, where the pottery belonged to theSaltovo-Mayaki culture.[175]
Kuznecov also found a connection in the plan of the Danube Bulgars sanctuaries atPliska,Veliki Preslav, andMadara.[175] The architectural similarities include two squares ofashlars inserted one into another, oriented towards the summer sunrise.[175] One of these sites was transformed into a Christian church, which is taken as evidence that they served a religious function.[175]
The view of theParthian andSasanian influence, whichFranz Altheim also argued, is considered debatable, showing the cultural impact of the Iranian world on communities in the Pontic–Caspian steppe.[4] Many scholars believe that the square shape, with the north–south and east–west axis of the Bulgar sacral monuments is very similar to those of Turkic khagans in Mongolia.[176] However, that the Bulgar residence in Pliska andPalace of Omurtag were inspired by the Byzantine architecture is considered indisputable.[177]
Christianity had already begun to penetrate, probably via their Slavic subjects,[146] when it was adopted in the First Bulgarian Empire byKnyazBoris I in 865 as a state religion.[178] There was interest inIslam as well, seen in the bookAnswers to the Questions of the King of the Burgar addressed to him about Islam and Unity by theAbbasid caliphAl-Ma'mun (813–833) for the Pontic/Bosporan Bulgars,[146] while it was officially adopted in Volga Bulgaria as a state religion in 922.[160][179]
The reconstructed copy ofChatalar Inscription by KhanOmurtag (815–831). It is written in Greek, and top two lines read: "Kanasubigi Omortag, in the land where he was born is archon by God. In the field of Pliska...".
Although there is no direct evidence, a group of linguists believe that Chuvash may be descendant from a dialect of Volga Bulgar[185][186][187] while others support the idea that Chuvash is another distinctOghur Turkic language.[188] Some scholars suggestHunnish had strong ties with Bulgar and to modern Chuvash[189] and refer to this extended grouping as separate Hunno-Bulgar languages.[190][191] However, such speculations are not based on proper linguistic evidence, since the language of the Huns is almost unknown except for a few attested words and personal names. Scholars generally consider Hunnish as unclassifiable.[192][193][194][195]
According to P. Golden this association is apparent from the fragments of texts and isolated words and phrases preserved in inscriptions.[146][170] In addition to language, their culture and state structure retain many Central Asian features.[146] Military and hierarchical terms such askhan/qan,kanasubigi,qapağan,tarkan,bagatur andboila appear to be of Turkic origin.[146][101] TheBulgar calendar within theNominalia of the Bulgarian khans had a twelve-year animal cycle, similar to the one adopted by Turkic and Mongolic peoples from theChinese, with animal names and numbers deciphered as Turkic.[146]Tengri (in BulgarTangra/Tengre) was their supreme god.[146]
Danubian Bulgar inscriptions were written mostly inGreek orCyrillic characters, most commonly in Greek or Graeco-Bulgar,[86] others in theKuban alphabet which is a variant ofOrkhon script.[196] they apparently have a sacral meaning.[196] Inscriptions sometimes included Slavic terms,[197] thus allowing scholars to identify some of the Bulgarglosses.[86] Altheim argued that the runes were brought into Europe from Central Asia by the Huns, and were an adapted version of the oldSogdian alphabet in theHunnic/Oghur Turkic language.[4] The custom of stone engravings are considered to have Iranic, Turkic and Roman parallels.[196][197] TheMadara Rider resembles work of theSasanian rockrelief tradition, but its actual masonry tradition and cultural source is unknown.[198]
According to linguist and academicianAlbina G. Khayrullina-Valieva Bulgar language was the first fully proved Turkic language that came into direct contact with South Slavs.[199] The Danubian Bulgars were unable to alter the predominantly Slavic character of Bulgaria,[200] seen in the toponymy and names of the capitals Pliska and Preslav.[181] They preserved their own native language and customs for about 200 years, but a bilingual period was recorded since the 9th century.[201][200][135] Golden argued that Bulgar Turkic almost disappeared with the transition to Christianity andSlavicisation in the middle of the 9th century.[202] When the ruling class abandoned its native language and adopted Slavic, according to Jean W. Sedlar, it was so complete that no trace of Turkic speech patterns remained in Old Slavic texts.[200] The Bulgarian Christian Church used the Slavic dialect from Macedonia.[14]
Among Bulgarian academics, notably Petar Dobrev,[170] a hypothesis linking the Bulgar language to theIranic languages (especiallyPamir[203]) has been popular since the 1990s.[204][205][206][207] Most proponents still assume an intermediate stance, proposing certain signs of Iranic influence on a Turkic substrate.[181][208][209] The namesAsparukh and Bezmer from theNominalia list, for example, were established as being of Iranic origin.[210] Other Bulgarian scholars actively oppose the "Iranic hypothesis".[211][212] According toRaymond Detrez, the Iranian theory is rooted in the periods ofanti-Turkish sentiment in Bulgaria and is ideologically motivated.[213] Since 1989, anti-Turkish rhetoric is now reflected in the theories that challenge the thesis of the proto-Bulgars' Turkic origin. Alongside the Iranian or Aryan theory, there appeared arguments favoring an autochthonous origin.[214]
Due to the lack of definitive evidence, modern scholarship uses anethnogenesis approach in explaining the Bulgars origin. More recent theories view the nomadic confederacies, such as the Bulgars, as the formation of several different cultural, political and linguistic entities that could dissolve as quickly as they formed, entailing a process of ethnogenesis.
According to Walter Pohl, the existential fate of the tribes and their confederations depended on their ability to adapt to an environment going through rapid changes, and to give this adaptation a credible meaning rooted in tradition and ritual. Slavs and Bulgars succeeded because their form of organization proved as stable and as flexible as necessary, while thePannonian Avars failed in the end because their model could not respond to new conditions. Pohl wrote that members of society's lower strata did not feel themselves to be part of any large-scale ethnic group; the only distinct classes were within the armies and the ruling elite.[215]
Recent studies consider ethnonyms closely related with warrior elites who ruled over a variety of heterogeneous groups.[216] The groups adopted new ideology and name as political designation, while the elites claimed right to rule and royal descent through origin myths.[216]
When the Turkic tribes began to enter into the Pontic–Caspian steppe in the Post-Hunnic era, or as early as the 2nd century AD,[217] their confederations incorporated an array of ethnic groups of newly joined Turkic, Caucasian, Iranian, and Finno-Ugric peoples.[218] During their Western Eurasian migrations to the Balkans, they also came into contact with Armenian, Semitic, Slavic, Thracian and Anatolian Greek among other populations.[219]
From the 6th to 8th centuries, distinctive Bulgar monuments of the Sivashovka type were built upon ruins of the lateSarmatian culture of the 2nd to 4th centuries AD,[220] and the 6th centuryPenkovka culture of theAntes and Slavs. Early medievalSaltovo-Mayaki (anAlanic-based culture) settlements in theCrimea since the 8th century were destroyed by the Pechengs during the 10th century.[181][221][84][91][222]
Although the older Iranian tribes were enveloped by the widespread Turkic migration into the Pontic–Caspian steppe, the following centuries saw a complete disappearance of both the Iranic and Turkic languages, indicating dominance of the Slavic language among the common people.[181]
According to a paleo-DNA study from 2019 which examined Medieval burials in the Carpathian Basin a closest connection was found between the Y-DNA of these nomadic people and the modernVolga Tatars.[223] According to Hungarian archeogenetist Neparáczki Endre: "From all recent and archaic populations tested theVolga Tatars show the smallest genetic distance to the entire Conqueror population" and "a direct genetic relation of the Conquerors to Onogur-Bulgar ancestors of these groups is very feasible."[224]
The paleoanthropological material from all sites in Volga region, Ukraine and Moldova attributed to the Bulgars testify complex ethno-cultural processes.[225] The material shows the assimilation between the local population and the migrating newcomers.[220] In all sites can be traced the anthropological type found in the Zlivka necropolis near the village of Ilichevki, the district ofDonetsk, of brachiocranicCaucasoid with smallEast Asian admixtures but with Bulgar males being more Mongoloid than females.[226][220][225]
Modern genetic research on Central Asian Turkic peoples and ethnic groups related to the Bulgars points to an affiliation with Western Eurasian populations.[10][227] Despite the morphological proximity, there is a visible impact of the local population, in the Volga region ofVolga Finns andCuman-Kipchaks, in Ukraine ofOnogur-Khazars andSarmatian-Alans, and inMoldova andThrace ofSeven Slavic tribes.[225][228] The comparative analysis showed large morphological proximity between the medieval and modern population of the Volga region.[225] The examined graves in Northern Bulgaria and Southern Romania showed different somatic types, including Caucasoid-Mediterranean and less often East Asian.[170]
The pre-Christian burial customs in Bulgaria indicate diverse social, i.e. nomadic and sedentary, and cultural influences.[229] In some necropolises specific to the Danube Bulgars, artificial deformation was found in 80% of the skulls.[220] The Bulgars had a special type of shamanic "medicine-men" who performedtrepanations of the skull, usually near thesagittal suture. This practice had a medical application, as well as a symbolic purpose; in two cases the patient had brain problems.[230] According toMaenchen-Helfen and Rashev, the artificial deformation of skulls, and other types of burial artifacts in Bulgars graves, are similar to those of theSarmatians, and Sarmatized Turks or Turkicized Sarmatians of the post-Hunnic graves in the Ukrainian steppe.[231][181]
The President of the Bulgar National Congress, Gusman Khalilov appealed to theEuropean Court of Human Rights on the issue of renaming the Tatars into Bulgars, but in 2010 he lost in court.[233]
^Golden 1992, p. 253, 256: "[Pontic Bulgars] With their Avar and Türk political heritage, they assumed political leadership over an array of Turkic groups, Iranians and Finno-Ugric peoples, under the overlordship of the Khazars, whose vassals they remained." ... "The Bulgars, whose Oguric ancestors ..."
^McKitterick, Rosamond (1995).The New Cambridge Medieval History. Cambridge University Press. p. 229.ISBN978-0-521-36292-4.The exact ethnic origins of the Danubian Bulgars is controversial. It is in any case most probable that they had enveloped groupings of diverse origins during their migration westwards across the Eurasian steppes, and they undoubtedly spoke a form of Turkic as their main language. The Bulgars long retained many of the customs, military tactics, titles and emblems of a nomadic people of the steppes.
^Sophoulis 2011, pp. 65–66, 68–69: "The warriors who founded the Bulgar state in the Lower Danube region were culturally related to the nomads of Eurasia. Indeed, their language was Turkic, and more specifically Oğuric, as is apparent from the isolated words and phrases preserved in a number of inventory inscriptions." ... "It is generally believed that during their migration to the Balkans, the Bulgars brought with them or swept along several other groups of Eurasian nomads whose exact ethnic and linguistic affinities are impossible to determine... Sarmato-Alanian origin... Slav or Slavicized sedentary populations."
^Brook 2006, p. 13: "Thus, the Bulgars were actually a tribal confederation of multiple Hunnic, Turkic, and Iranian groups mixed together."
^ab"Bulgar".Encyclopædia Britannica Online.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved3 June 2015.Although many scholars, including linguists, had posited that the Bulgars were derived from a Turkic tribe of Central Asia (perhaps with Iranian elements), modern genetic research points to an affiliation with western Eurasian populations.
^Fiedler 2008, p. 151: "...ethnic symbiosis between Slavic commoners and Bulgar elites of Turkic origin, who ultimately gave their name to the Slavic-speaking Bulgarians."
^Dimitrov, Dimitar (1987).Prabŭlgarite po Severnoto i Zapadnoto ChernomorieПрабългарите по Северното и Западното Черноморие [Proto-Bulgarians north and west of the Black Sea] (in Bulgarian). Varna: Georgi Bakalov. p. 31.OCLC17878149.
^Peters, Edward (2003).History of the Lombards: Translated by William Dudley Foulke. University of Pennsylvania Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Florin Curta, Roman Kovalev, "The" Other Europe in the Middle Ages: Avars, Bulgars, Khazars and Cumans; [papers ... Presented in the Three Special Sessions at the 40th and 42nd Editions of the International Congress on Medieval Studies Held at Kalamazzo in 2005 and 2007], BRILL, 2008, p. 363,ISBN9789004163898
^Stepanov, Tsvetelin (March 2001), "The Bulgar title ΚΑΝΑΣΥΒΙΓΙ: reconstructing the notions of divine kingship in Bulgaria, AD 822–836",Early Medieval Europe,10 (1):1–19,doi:10.1111/1468-0254.00077,S2CID154863640
^Agyagási, K. (2020)."A Volga Bulgarian Classifier: A Historical and Areal Linguistic Study".University of Debrecen.3: 9.Modern Chuvash is the only descendant language of the Ogur branch.The ancestors of its speakers left the Khazar Empire in the 8th century and migrated to the region at the confluence of the Volga and Kama rivers, where they founded the Volga Bulgarian Empire in the 10th century. In the central Volga region three Volga Bulgarian dialects developed, and Chuvash is the descendant of the 3rd dialect of Volga Bulgarian (Agyagási 2019: 160–183). Sources refer to it as a separate language beginning with 1508
^Johanson, Lars; Csató, Éva Á, eds. (2021).The Turkic Languages. Routledge.doi:10.4324/9781003243809.ISBN978-1-003-24380-9.Another Turkic people in the Volga area are the Chuvash, who, like the Tatars, regard themselves as descendants of the Volga Bulghars in the historical and cultural sense. It is clear that Chuvash belongs to the Oghur branch of Turkic, as the language of the Volga Bulghars did, but no direct evidence for diachronic development between the two has been established. As there were several distinct Oghur languages in the Middle Ages, Volga Bulghar could represent one of these and Chuvash another.
^Archived, Article (1982).""The Hunnic Language of the Attila Clan" (pages 428, ..., 476), author: Omeljan Pritsak".Ukrainian Studies.VI (4). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University: 430. Archived fromthe original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved23 April 2023.I was able to establish a Danube- Bulgarian nominative- suffix /A/ from the consonant stems. Recalling that Danube- Bulgarian was a Hunnic language.
^Ramer, Alexis Manaster."Proto-Bulgarian/Danube Bulgar/Hunno-Bulgar Bekven": 1 p. Archived fromthe original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved23 April 2023.Granberg's suggestion that we should revive the term Hunno-Bulgar may well became that replacement — once it is clear that Hunnic and Bulgar were closely related and perhaps even the same language.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)
^Димитров, Божидар, 2005. 12 мита в българската история
^Милчева, Христина. Българите са с древно-ирански произход. Научна конференция "Средновековна Рус, Волжка България и северното Черноморие в контекста на руските източни връзки", Казан, Русия, 15.10.2007
^Бешевлиев, Веселин. Ирански елементи у първобългарите. Античное Общество, Труды Конференции по изучению проблем античности, стр. 237–247, Издательство "Наука", Москва 1967, АН СССР, Отделение Истории.
^Schmitt, Rüdiger (1985). "Iranica Protobulgarica: Asparuch und Konsorten im Lichte der Iranischen Onomastik".Linguistique Balkanique.XXVIII (l).Saarbrücken: Academie Bulgare des Sciences:13–38.
^Йорданов, Стефан. Славяни, тюрки и индо-иранци в ранното средновековие: езикови проблеми на българския етногенезис. В: Българистични проучвания. 8. Актуални проблеми на българистиката и славистиката. Седма международна научна сесия. Велико Търново, 22–23 август 2001 г. Велико Търново, 2002, 275–295.
^Надпис No. 21 от българското златно съкровище "Наги Сент-Миклош", студия от проф. д-р Иван Калчев Добрев от Сборник с материали от Научна конференция на ВА "Г. С. Раковски". София, 2005 г.
^Suslova; et al. (October 2012). "HLA gene and haplotype frequencies in Russians, Bashkirs and Tatars, living in the Chelyabinsk Region (Russian South Urals)".International Journal of Immunogenetics.39 (5). Blackwell Publishing Ltd:375–392.doi:10.1111/j.1744-313X.2012.01117.x.PMID22520580.S2CID20804610.
^Mikheyev, Alexander (2019). "Diverse genetic origins of medieval steppe nomad conquerors".bioRxiv10.1101/2019.12.15.876912.Given the common Turkic genetic background of the Bulgars and Khazars, these ethnicities may be difficult to tell apart either archaeologically or genetically.
1 Central Asian (i.e.Turkmeni,Afghani andIranian)Turkmens, distinct from Levantine (i.e.Iraqi andSyrian) Turkmen/Turkoman minorities, who mostly adhere to an Ottoman-Turkish heritage and identity.2 In traditional areas of Turkish settlement (i.e. formerOttoman territories).
