Bulgaria

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Bulgaria (Bulgarian: България, IPA: ), officially the Republic of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Република България, IPA: ), is a country in Southeastern Europe, and the oldest contemporary country in Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the east, Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north, mostly along the Danube.

Bulgaria is an active member of NATO and is joining the European Union on January 1, 2007. The country has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, and is a founding member of the OSCE. As a Consultative Party to the Antarctic Treaty, Bulgaria takes part in the governing of the territories situated south of 60° south latitude.

History

The Thracians were an ancient people who inhabited what is now Bulgaria. They were divided in numerous tribes until king Teres united most of them in a single state around 500 BC. This kingdom was called the Odrysian state and reached its peak under the kings Sitalkes and Cotys I (383-359 BC). In 341 BC it was destroyed by the Macedonian state but rose from its ashes at the end of the 4th century BC under Seuthes III. In 188 BC the Romans invaded Thrace and the wars with them continued to AD 45, when it became a Roman Province.

The Thracians did not have writing and now their legacy survives mainly in the numerous treasures and tombs they left. It is believed that the oldest golden treasure - the one of Varna, which is 6,500 years old, is Thracian-made. One of the most talented ancient commanders, Spartacus, was a Thracian born in the Rhodope Mountains.

In the late 7th century a branch of the Bulgars led by Khan Asparuh migrated into the northern Balkans, where they merged with the local Slavic and Thracian population to form the First Bulgarian Empire in AD 681. In 717 the Bulgarians helped relieve the Arab siege of Constantinople, killing some 40,000-60,000 soldiers. Their khan Tervel was called by his contemporaries The Saviour of Europe. In 864 Bulgaria accepted the Orthodox Faith and became a major European power in the 9th and the 10th century, while fighting with the Byzantine Empire for the control of the Balkans. The greatest territorial extension was reached under Simeon I, the first Tsar, covering much of the Balkans and modern-day Romania. Following a decline in the middle of the 10th century the Bulgarian state was crushed by an assault by the Rus' in 969. The Byzantines then began campaigns to conquer Bulgaria. In 971 they seized the capital Preslav and captured emperor Boris II. The resistance continued in the western Bulgarian lands for nearly half a century until the state was completely destroyed by the Byzantines led by Basil II in 1018.

Read more at Wikipedia.org