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Bulgaria |
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Bulgaria
Sofia
The Republic of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Република България), or Bulgaria, is
a country in the southeast of Europe. It borders
the Black Sea to the east, Greece and Turkey to
the south, Serbia and Montenegro and the
Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Romania
to the north along the river Danube.
Terminology
Bulgaria is named after the Bulgars. Their
tribal name, Bulgar may come from burg, which
means "castle" in Germanic languages. A. D.
Keramopoulos derives the name "Bulgars" from
burgarii or bourgarioi meaning "those who
maintain the forts" (burgi, bourgoi, purgoi)
along the northern boundaries of the Balkan
provinces, and elsewhere in the Roman Empire,
first mentioned in Greek on an inscription dated
A.D. 202, found between Philippopolis and Tatar
Pazardzhik (and last published in Wilhelm
Dittenberger's Sylloge inscriptionum graecarum,
3 ed., vol. II [1917], no. 880,1. 51, p. 593).
The Bulgarians, previously known as Moesians,
inhabited Thrace.
An alternative Turkic etymology for the name of
the pre-Slavicised Central-Asian Bulgars derives
from Bulgha meaning sable and has a totemistic
origin.
Main article: History of Bulgaria
-Bulgaria
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
populaton and possibly remnants of the Thracian
population to form the first Bulgarian state in
681 AD. This was the first Slavic nation-state
in history. The Bulgarian empire was a
significant European power in the 9th and the
10th century, while fighting with the Byzantine
Empire for the control of the Balkans. The
Bulgarian state was crushed by an assault by the
Rus in 969 and completely subdued by a
determined Byzantine assault under Basil II in
1018.
It was re-established in 1185 and continued to
be an important power in the European south-east
for two more centuries by fighting to assert its
place in the region with the Byzantine Empire,
crushing the Crusader states in Greece, as well
as Hungary. By the end of the 14th century the
country was overrun by the Ottoman Empire. A
liberation attempt by the Polish-Hungarian
forces under the rule of Wladislaus III of
Poland was clashed in 1444 in the battle of
Varna.
An autonomous Bulgarian principality comprising
Moesia and the region of Sofia was established
in 1878 following the Russo-Turkish War,
1877-78. After uniting with Eastern Rumelia in
1885, the principality was proclaimed a fully
independent kingdom in 1908.
During 1912 and 1913 it became involved in the
Balkan Wars, a series of conflicts with its
neighbours, during which Bulgarian territory
varied in size. During World War I and later
World War II, Bulgaria found itself fighting on
the losing side. Despite that fact, Bulgaria
saved the lives of its own 50,000 Jews from the
Nazi death camps by refusing to comply with a 31
August 1943 resolution, which demanded their
deportation to Auschwitz.
Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of
influence after World War II and became a
People's Republic in 1946. Communist domination
ended in 1989, when Bulgaria again held
multiparty elections.
Bulgaria joined NATO on 29 March 2004 and is set
to join the European Union on 1 January 2007
after signing the Treaty of Accession on 25
April 2005.
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Background:
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The
Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with
the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century
to form the first Bulgarian state. In succeeding
centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine
Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by
the end of the 14th century the country was overrun
by the Ottoman Turks. Bulgaria regained its
independence in 1878, but having fought on the
losing side in both World Wars, it fell within the
Soviet sphere of influence and became a People's
Republic in 1946. Communist domination ended in
1990, when Bulgaria held its first multiparty
election since World War II and began the
contentious process of moving toward political
democracy and a market economy while combating
inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime.
Today, reforms and democratization keep Bulgaria on
a path toward eventual integration into NATO and the
EU - with which it began accession negotiations in
2000. |
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Location:
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Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea,
between Romania and Turkey |
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Geographic coordinates:
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43 00 N, 25 00 E
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Map references:
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Europe |
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Area:
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total: 110,910 sq km
water: 360 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly larger than Tennessee |
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Nationality:
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noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian |
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Ethnic groups:
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Bulgarian 83.6%, Turk 9.5%, Roma 4.6%, other 2.3%
(including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian)
(1998) |
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Religions:
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Bulgarian Orthodox 83.8%, Muslim 12.1%, Roman
Catholic 1.7%, Jewish 0.1%, Protestant,
Gregorian-Armenian, and other 2.3% (1998) |
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Languages:
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Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to
ethnic breakdown |
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Currency:
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lev (BGL) |
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Currency code:
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BGN |
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Exchange rates:
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leva per US dollar - 2.2147 (January 2002), 2.1847
(2001), 2.1233 (2000), 1.8364 (1999), 1,760.36
(1998), 1,681.88 (1997)
note: on 5 July 1999, the lev was
redenominated; the post-5 July 1999 lev is equal to
1,000 of the pre-5 July 1999 lev |
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