A Short History:
Now Bulgaria is à little and insignificant country but in ancient times it was a powerful kingdom on the Balkan peninsula with great culture.In the 14th century the beginning of its Renaissance was interrupted by the Ottoman Turks, who came from Asia.It was the last barbarian invasion in Europe and was crucial for the Balkan countries.Byzantium, as a part of the Roman empire, was exterminated forever.Bulgaria was the next victim.In 1396 it was completely conquered.Its capture was accompanied by terrible destructions and cruel massacres of the Bulgarian population.The cultural and political elite was swept away.All cultural centres, monasteries and libraries were set on fire.Everything that could remind the Bulgarian people about their former kingdom was annihilated.Every year beautiful Bulgarian women were led to Turkish harems and hundreds of little boys were taken to Turkish military schools where they forgot their identity and became the cruelest soldiers in Europe (janissaries). Each resistance was followed by terrible slaughter.Many people were forced to change their religion or to die.This tragic period lasted 500 years. In 1878 Bulgaria was liberated by the Russian army and the Bulgarian resistance movement. |
