Bulgarians

A South Slavic ethnic group, mostly living in Bulgaria, there making about 84% of the population. Bulgarians are a nation who takes a great care of their folklore, cultural and artistic heritage.

LANGUAGE

The word Bulgarian most probably comes from an old Turkis word bulgаr – of mixed origin, which was a name of one of the Turkish-Tatar tribes.  In the Ottoman period, the name Bulgarian was used to denote masses of enslaved serfs, regardless their ethnicity.

RELIGION AND TRADITION

Bulgarians are predominantly of Christian Orthodox affliation, although there are Muslims and Roman Catholics.

GEOGRAPHY

Bulgaria is the country in eastern Europe, bordering with  Greece, Turkey, Serbia, FYR Macedonia and Romania. It capital is Sophia. It has the population of 8,850,000.

HISTORY

Supposedly the Bulgarian ancestors was an Iranian people from Pamir, which later on mixed with the Slavs. In the 2nd century they arrived to the regions around the Volga and the steppes of the northern Caucasus. The descendants of these Bulgarians, mixed with the Slavs, formed a country in the Balkans.

Original title of the Bulgarian rulers was the khan. The Bulgarians adopted Christianity under the influence of Byzantium.