Bulgarian History: Medieval States and the National Revival
The First Bulgarian Empire
The Bulgarian state is conventionally dated to 681, when Khan Asparuh's Bulgars and the Slavic tribes concluded a treaty with Byzantium after the battle at Ongal. Key markers: Khan Krum's expansion and law-giving in the early 9th century; Khan Omurtag's construction programme; and Boris I's acceptance of Christianity from Constantinople in 864, which made Christianity the state religion. The Council of Preslav (893) established Old Church Slavonic as the language of church and state, and the disciples of Cyril and Methodius - Kliment of Ohrid and Naum - built the Preslav and Ohrid literary schools. Under Simeon I (893–927) the empire reached its greatest extent and the title of tsar was adopted. The state fell to Byzantium under Basil II after the battle at Belasitsa in 1014 and the death of Tsar Samuil in 1014.
The Second Bulgarian Empire
Restored in 1185 by the brothers Asen and Petar after the uprising at Tarnovo, it peaked under Ivan Asen II (1218–1241), whose reign is associated with the Battle of Klokotnitsa (1230) and a period of trade and cultural flourishing centred on Tarnovo. Internal fragmentation and external pressure led to Ottoman conquest, with Tarnovo falling in 1393 and Vidin in 1396.
The National Revival
From the late 18th to the late 19th century, a movement of cultural and political awakening produced: Paisiy of Hilandar's 'Slavonic-Bulgarian History' (1762); the first Bulgarian school in Gabrovo (1835); the campaign for an independent Bulgarian church, culminating in the Bulgarian Exarchate (1870); and the revolutionary committees of Vasil Levski, whose internal organisation and slogan of a 'pure and holy republic' made him the central national hero. The April Uprising of 1876 and its brutal suppression provoked the international reaction that led to the 1877–78 war.
Traps and rule of thumb
Traps: confusing the two empires' founders (Asparuh vs. Asen brothers); placing the alphabet mission (863) before the conversion (864); attributing the Exarchate to 1878 rather than 1870. Rule of thumb: anchor each event to one date-and-person pair and build outward.