Founding of the First Bulgarian Empire
Khan Asparuh’s Bulgars routed the army of Constantine IV at Ongal in the Danube Delta, crossed the river and, allied with the local Slavs, founded a state that Byzantium recognized by treaty in 681.
- Date
- between 680 and 681exact date unknown: an interval is given
- Place
- Ongal (Danube Delta)approximate locationtoday: Tulcea County, Romania · Balkans and Anatolia
- Participants
- First Bulgarian Empire, Asparuh, Byzantine Empire, Constantine IV
- Threads
- Early medieval Europe (500–1000)
- Also known as
- Battle of Ongal; Битва при Онгале; Danube Bulgaria; Дунайская Болгария
After the break-up of Kubrat’s Old Great Bulgaria under Khazar pressure, Asparuh led part of the Bulgars west and fortified himself in the marshes of the Danube Delta. In the summer of 680, freed from the Arab war, Constantine IV attacked them by land and sea, but the Bulgars held their fortified camp; when the emperor left for treatment at Mesembria, a rumour of his flight caused a panic, and the Bulgar cavalry routed the retreating army.
The Bulgars then occupied Moesia between the Danube and the Balkan range, united with the Seven Slavic tribes and, in 681, after raiding Thrace, forced Constantine IV to conclude a treaty with an annual tribute. The year 681 is conventionally taken as the foundation of the Bulgarian state; its early capital was Pliska.
Connections
Causes and preconditions
- Rise of the Khazar Khaganatebetween 630 and 650 – c. 670 · Eastern EuropeKhazar pressure broke up Kubrat’s Great Bulgaria and drove Asparuh’s Bulgars west
Related events
- First Arab siege of Constantinople674–678 · Balkans and AnatoliaFreed from the Arab war, Constantine IV turned against the Bulgars in 680
Same participants
- Second Arab siege of Constantinoplebetween 15 July and 15 August 717 – 15 August 718 · Balkans and Anatoliavia First Bulgarian Empire
Same place
- Sviatoslav’s invasion of Bulgariabetween 967 and 968 – July 971 · Balkans and Anatolia
- Siege of Izmail11 (22) December 1790 · Eastern Europe
Adjacent events in the thread
- Umayyad conquest of Hispania711–718 · Western and Central Europe
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within 25 years of this event
Eastern Europe
- Rise of the Khazar Khaganatebetween 630 and 650 – c. 670
- Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv: the legendary founding of Kyivbetween 500 and 700
- Early Slavic cultures: Prague-Korchak, Penkovka and Kolochinc. 450 – c. 700
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Battle of Ongal
- Wikipedia (English): Asparuh of Bulgaria
- Wikipedia (Russian): Битва при Онгале
- Wikipedia (Russian): Аспарух
- Fine J. V. A. The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century. — Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1983.
- Раннефеодальные государства на Балканах. VI–XII вв. / отв. ред. Г. Г. Литаврин. — М.: Наука, 1985.