Bulgarian history, important dates

681 AD - The Bulgarian state was established. It is one of the first ever European states. The first Bulgarian capital was Pliska. The Khans Asparoukh, Kroum (803 - 814 AD), and Omourtag (852 - 831 AD) turned it into a mighty power in Southeastern Europe.

855 - The Brothers Cyril and Methodius created the Slavonic (Cyrillic) alphabet.

865 - Knyaz Boris I Mikhail (852-907 AD) did away with paganism and introduced East-Orthodox Christianity as the official religion in Bulgaria. The Byzantine Empire recognized him as the Tsar of the Bulgarians.

893 - 927 - Under the reign of Tsar Simeon (the Great), son of Tsar Boris I,the Bulgarian Kingdom became the biggest in territory and the most powerful in Europe. The Golden Age of Bulgarian culture set in.

1396 - Bulgaria fell under Ottoman yoke that lasted 5 centuries.

1762 - The beginning of the Bulgarian National Revival, which found expression above all in the development of the arts, culture, and crafts. Monk Paissii of the Hilendar Monastery (on Mount Athos) wrote the “Slav-Bulgarian History” book.

3rd March 1878 - Following the Russian-Turkish War a Peace Treaty was signed. It put the end to the Ottoman rule. That was the beginning of the Third Bulgarian Kingdom.

6th September 1885 - Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia (the actual liberation of Bulgaria).

22nd September 1908 - Prince Ferdinand Saxe-Coburg-Gotha proclaimed Bulgaria independent and himself the Tsar.

1944 - After the World War II Bulgaria fell under the influence of USSR.

1990 - In the course of the changes in the Eastern Bloc countries the first free elections were held and the new democratic Constitution of Bulgaria was passed in 1991.