TheBulgarian calendar was a solar calendar system used by theBulgarians, who from the 4th century onwards dwelt in theEurasiansteppes north of theCaucasus and around the banks of riverVolga. In 681, part of the Bulgarians settled in theBalkan peninsula and establishedFirst Bulgarian Empire. The main source of information used for reconstruction of the Bulgarian calendar is a short 15th century transcript inChurch Slavonic calledNominalia of the Bulgarian Khans,[1] which contains 10 pairs of calendar terms. Additionally, the same dating system is used in a marginal note in a manuscript by 10th century monk Tudor Doksov and in theChatalar Inscription by the 9th-century Bulgaria rulerOmurtag (r. 814–831), who also provides theByzantine imperial dating equivalent (theindiction). According to the reconstructed calendar, the Bulgars used a 12-year cyclic calendar similar to the one adopted byTurkic peoples from theChinese calendar, withnames andnumbers that are deciphered as inBulgar language.[2] The reading, along with the "cyclic calendar" interpretation itself, was originally proposed byFinnishSlavistJooseppi Julius Mikkola in 1913. Later, there have been various modifications and elaborations during the 20th century by scholars such as Géza Fehér,Omeljan Pritsak, Mosko Moskov and other scientists.[3]
Reconstructions vary slightly because some of the names are unattested, and the exact form of a few is debatable. The following list is based on Mosko Moskov's and description of the average mainstream interpretation, as well as his own reconstruction, and takes into account the existing disagreements:[4]
Years:
| Number | Animal | In Bulgar |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mouse | Somor |
| 2 | Ox | Shegor |
| 3 | Uncertain, probably Tiger / Wolf | Ver? |
| 4 | Rabbit | Dvan[sh] |
| 5 | Uncertain, probably Dragon | Ver[eni]? |
| 6 | Snake | Dilom |
| 7 | Horse | Imen[shegor]? |
| 8 | Ram | Teku[chitem]? |
| 9 | Unattested, probably Monkey | — |
| 10 | Hen or Rooster | Toh |
| 11 | Dog | Eth |
| 12 | Boar | Dohs |
The following comparison table was made based onOmeljan Pritsak's analysis.[5]
| Year | Bulgar | Old Turkic (7 – 8 century) | Uighur (13 – 17 century) | Turkmen | Bashkir | Kazakh | Khakaski | Teleut |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mouse | Somor, (čomor)[6] | küskü | сычқан | сысҡан | тышқан | кÿске | қойон „Rabbit“ | |
| Ox | Shegor, σιγορ[7] | ud | сығыр | һыйыр „крава“ | сиыр | інек | улу „Dragon“ | |
| Uncertain, probably Tiger / Wolf | Ver/Vereni, Vereni[8] | bars (Turkic) | bars (Turkic) | барс, пәләң (Turkic) | барыс | барыс | тÿлгÿ „Fox“ | йылан „Snake“ |
| Rabbit | Dvan (davlan)[9] | tabïšɣan | tavïšɣan | таушқан | ҡуян | қоян | хозан | ат „Horse“ |
| Dragon | lüi/lü (Chinese) | luu (Chinese) | лу балық | луу | лув | килескі „Lizard“ | қой „Ram“ | |
| Snake | Dilom (čilom)[10] | yïlan | yïlan | йылан | илан | жылан | чылан | мечин „Monkey“ |
| Horse | Ima[11] (Imen) | yunt, yund | йылқы | илҡы | жылқы | чылғы | ит „Dog“ | |
| Ram | Teku, Teke[12] | qony | qoin | қой | ҡой | қой | хой | қақай „Boar“ (Mongolian) |
| Monkey | bičin | bičin | биҗин | мишин | маймыл, мешін | кіжі „Human/Man“ | чычқан „Mouse“ | |
| Rooster | Toh (čux)[13] | takïɣu | takïɣu | тауқ | тауыҡ | тауық | таңах | тақаа „Rooster“ (Mongolian) |
| Dog | Eth[14] | it | it | ит | эт | ит | турна „Crane“ | инек „Cow“ |
| Boar | Dohs (čočka)[15] | laɣzïn (?) | toŋuz | тоңуз | доңгыз | қара кейік | öскі „Ram“ | пар „Tiger“ |
| Systems | |||||
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In limited use | |||||
| Historical | |||||
| By specialty |
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| Reform proposals | |||||
Displays and applications | |||||
Year naming and numbering |
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| Fictional | |||||
