State

First Bulgarian Empire

681–1018 · 7th century · Also known as Danubian Bulgaria

The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval state founded around 681 by the Bulgar khan Asparukh on the lower Danube. It became a leading Balkan power, adopted Christianity under Boris I in the 860s and, under Simeon I (893–927), became a centre of Slavonic literature written in Glagolitic and Cyrillic. Weakened by the invasion of Sviatoslav I of Kiev in 968–971 and by Byzantine wars, it was conquered by the emperor Basil II by 1018.

First Bulgarian Empire
Image: Iamnhaz · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 6 profiles

Avar KhaganateDecline, SummaryFirst Bulgarian EmpireImpact, SummaryVolga BulgariaFoundationKievan Rus'MilitarySecond Bulgarian EmpireFoundationKievan Rus'Military

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). First Bulgarian Empire. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/first-bulgarian-empire
MLA
“First Bulgarian Empire.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/first-bulgarian-empire. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “First Bulgarian Empire.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/first-bulgarian-empire.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘First Bulgarian Empire’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/first-bulgarian-empire (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻