The Red Kaganate

Last Page Update: November 10, 2003 Contact Copyright Information Main Page Structure of the Red Kaganate Gatherings, Events, . . . Historic Steppes Tribes Legends of the Nomads Flags and other Identifiers Clothing and Apearance Food and related Matters Armour Weapons and Combat Public Forum Resource Links Email: [email protected] Editor: Norman J. Finkelshteyn Bulgaria By Steven Lowe Historical Overview Beginning The First Bulgarian Empire Basil the Bulgar-Slayer The Second Bulgarian Empire The Ottoman Conquest Wargear and Tactics Tactics Weapons Armour Dress The area which became Bulgaria took in the Roman provinces of Thrace and Moesia. Under the Eastern Romans it was a Christian region. After attacks in the 5th and 6th centuries by the Huns, Gepids and Avars broke down civilisation in the two provinces, an overwhelming invasion by Slavs inundated Thrace. At the end of the 6th century the Bulgars, a Turkic race, probably descended from the Huns, invaded under their Khan Asparukh and conquered the Slavs, adopting a position similar to the Norman overlords in England. The native Thracians were driven into the mountains, to become known as the Vlach or Wallachians. Other racial groups in Bulgaria in Byzantine times included Armenians planted as colonists by the Byzantines, the Cumans (Polovtsians) and Pechenegs or Patzinaks, both Turkic races. This combination became the nation of Bulgaria. Bulgaria�s relations with Byzantium were often stormy, with Bulgarian armies several times reaching the walls of Constantinople and Byzantine armies sacking the Bulgarian capital. However, there were also protracted periods of (wary) peace and trade. In 712 Khan Tervel helped depose Emperor Justinian II Rhinometos (so-called because his nose had been cut off) to regain his throne, though relations subsequently soured between the two. Possibly the greatest Bulgarian Khan was Krum the Terrible, who nearly conquered the Byzantine Empire. He trapped and massacred their army in a mountain pass in 811, and had the skull of Emperor Nikephoros lined with silver to use as a drinking vessel. Krum conquered large areas of the Byzantine Empire and was preparing for a final, overwhelming assault when he burst a blood vessel and died. Despite strong opposition during Khan Omurtag�s reign Christianity grew in Bulgaria in the 9th century, ending with the conversion of Khan Boris, who changed his name to Michael I and adopted the title of Kijnaz (king) or Tsar. Both the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches wanted authority over Bulgarian Christians, but a combined council finally agreed they should come under the Patriarch of Constantinople. Boris-Michael abdicated to a monastery in 889, but after his son Vladimir Rasate renounced both Christianity and the Byzantine alliance in 893, he overthrew, blinded and imprisoned Vladimir, installing another son, the ex-monk Symeon in his place. The First Bulgarian Empire Under Symeon, who had been educated in Constantinople, the Bulgarian Empire�s power reached a new peak, rivalling the days of Khan Krum. But in 894 Symeon invaded Byzantium, beginning a series of wars which, though they included the Bulgarian army twice reaching the walls of Constantinople, exhausted Bulgaria. On Symeon�s death in 927 the weakling Peter ascended the throne, beginning a period of decline with attacks from Magyars and other invaders causing chaos in the country. At this time the heresy known as Bogomilism (named after the monk who founded it) began. Briefly, its tenets were that Satan was the first born son of God the Father, Jesus the second, that matter was the creation of Satan and that obeying governments and kings was forbidden by God, as was the hierarchy of the Greek Orthodox church. (1) With its strongly anti-authoritarian philosophy, it gained great popularity among the lower classes, and its influence lasted into the 15th century. In the last years of his reign, Peter demanded tribute from Byzantium, provoking a Byzantine-financed invasion of Bulgaria by the Varangians of Russia. But the Russians went on to ravage the Empire itself, and Emperor Nikephoros Phokas, who had lost control of the situation, was murdered by his wife and her lover, General John Tzimiskes. Tzimiskes declared himself Emperor and led an army to Bulgaria. After a savage battle followed by a three month siege, he defeated and forced the submission of the Russians in 971. The invaders were allowed free passage home, but were ambushed and massacred by Pechenegs en route. Tzimiskes stripped the new Bulgarian Tsar Boris of the insignia of royalty and took him back to Constantinople, but gave him the rank of Magister in the Byzantine hierarchy. He castrated Boris� brother to ensure the Bulgarian monarchy was not revived. However, on Tzimiskes� death there was a sudden resurgence of Bulgarian independence. Samuel Compipopulus and his three brothers raised a rebellion in Tsar Boris� name. Boris escaped from Constantinople but was accidentally shot dead by a Bulgarian sentry when he tried to get home. Samuel went on to become Tsar in 993 after victories over the Byzantines. Basil the Bulgar-Slayer He was successful until 1001 when Emperor Basil II, fresh from victories in the Middle East, undertook a number of campaigns in which he conquered all of north-western Bulgaria. In 1014 the Byzantines surprised and routed the Bulgarian army in the Belassista mountains. Basil had all the prisoners blinded, except for one in every hundred who was left with one eye to lead the others home. Samuel is said to have died of shock on hearing the news. Thereafter, Basil was known as Bulgaroktonos - the Bulgar-slayer. In 1018 Basil made a triumphant entry to the capital and brought the first Bulgarian Empire to an end. The whole Balkan peninsula belonged to Byzantium for the first time since the Slavonic migrations almost five centuries before. In 1096 the rapacious First Crusade passed through Bulgaria, now a Byzantine province, followed in 1147 by the Second Crusade. The crusaders looked on the Greek Orthodox Bulgarians as heretics and treated them with savagery. The Second Bulgarian Empire In 1185 the Vlachs rose in revolt after two of their leaders, the brothers Peter and Assen, were humiliated at the Byzantine court. Emperor Isaac was forced to come to terms with them and effectively lost control of Bulgaria. In 1197 a third brother, Kalojan, murdered Peter and Assen and declared himself Tsar of the second Bulgarian Empire. In 1204, Constantinople fell to the Fourth Crusade, and the crusaders� arrogance caused Kalojan to side with the dispossessed Byzantines. He invaded Thrace and defeated the crusaders in 1205 near Adrianople, capturing crusader �Emperor� Baldwin. But despite further victories over the crusaders, Kalojan was killed by his own nobles. He was succeeded by his nephew, Boril the inept, who is chiefly known for having unsuccessfully tried to suppress the Bogomil heresy. In 1218 Boril was deposed by Ivan Assen who rapidly restored prosperity after Boril�s chaotic rule. After Ivan�s death, decline set in, aggravated by the effects of the Mongol invasions of neighbouring regions under Khan Nogai. A swineherd named Ivailo overthrew Tsar Constantine Assen Tikh with Mongol aid, but was then assassinated at Nogai�s order. The Mongol influence was overcome by Constantine�s nephew in the 1280�s, and stability restored. The Ottoman Conquest In 1330 Tsar Michael Shishman was killed in a disastrous combined attack with Byzantium on Serbia. The Ottoman Turks took advantage of this conflict, invading the Balkans in the second half of the 14th century. Turkish power spread rapidly and in 1362 they took Adrianople, cutting the land route from Bulgaria to Constantinople. Thousands were carried off into slavery in Asia Minor. After a catastrophic Serbian campaign against the Turks more territory was lost and both the Byzantine Emperor and the Bulgarian Tsar were forced to acknowledge the overlordship of Sultan Murad. Tsar Michael sent his beautiful sister to the Sultan�s harem. In the 1380s there were still flickers of Bulgarian resistance, but after a disastrous Hungarian crusade in 1396 to which Bulgaria had allowed free passage, the Turks completely took over and Bulgarian independence ceased to exist until 1877. Though there were sporadic attempts to liberate Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in the 15th century, a final Christian defeat in which King Vladislav of Hungary and Poland died sealed its fate. Bulgaria�s fall led to the isolation and final capture of Constantinople in 1453. WARGEAR and TACTICS The original Bulgars were much feared cavalry, and judging by the illustrations they maintained this force (including horse archers). They also developed an effective infantry arm. A ninth century letter from Pope Nicholas to the first Christian Tsar, Boris-Michael, criticises the Bulgarian war practice of using horsetail banners for the army, seeking auguries, performance of ceremonial dances before battle and taking of oaths on a sword. These presumably diminished as the Bulgars embraced Christianity. There are two mentions of Bulgarians using palisades, both in offence (to trap the Byzantine army in a mountain pass in 811) and in defence (fig. 7). Though information on Bulgarian wargear is scarce and mostly later than the Varangian period, the Bulgarians seem to have been heavily influenced by their more powerful and sophisticated Byzantine neighbours. Figures 2-13 give some idea of the equipment used. Weapons All the swords illustrated appear very similar to their Byzantine counterparts - straight and two-edged, with wide cross-guards. But while figures 3, 4 and 9 seem to have wheel or ball pommels (with a �button� on the end, in figure 4), figure 2 shows curved pommels or hilts (possibly like the pistol-grips on sabres used by contemporary Magyars and others). Some have tapered blades while others seem to have their edges parallel. Fig. 10 shows a single sharply tapered sword, while another from the Manasses Codex has a straight sword with a straight crossguard. Figures 4-7 and 9-13 show simple spears, mostly with leaf-shaped blades, without the �wings� common on Frankish spears. Several bear square pennons, each with a triangualr tail at the bottom. Figure 4 also has what appears to be a halberd, but this dates from a time when the halberd was relatively common in the West as well. There is also what might be a ceremonial mace in Figure 4. Tsar Boris was killed by an arrow from a Bulgarian sentry in the late 10th century. Figure 9 shows horse archers using recurve bows and one arrow seems to have a complex head, presumably to pierce armour. The bowman on the left has a quiver beside his saddle, tapering outward towards the bottom in steppe nomad style. Armour The only illustrations of Bulgarian armour I have been able to find are in figures 3,4 and 9-13 from Bulgarian sources and 6 and 7 from the Byzantine Skylitzes Chronicle. Of these, the armour in figure 3 from the 13th century is lamellar. Figure 4 from the 14th century shows what may be a combination of lamellar and mail. The picture quality in figure 9 (a Bulgarian copy of the Manasses Codex dated 1345) is poor and the figures are difficult to make out. They do not appear to be wearing armour, except perhaps the archer on the left, whose garment shows patterns suggestive of scale or lamellar. However, the contemporary Seljuk Turks, among others, wore magnificent clothes over their armour, and this may be the case here. Other pictures from the same source (Figs 10-13) show figures with no armour visible. Their tunics are mostly blue, though their leader the Tsar is in red. All have broad bands on the sleeves, the same colour as the tunics, plus a broad band across the chest and another (possibly a belt) at the waist. TThe Skylitzes Chronicle shows Bulgarians wearing identical lamellar to their Byzantine enemies. However, this may be due to carelessness or ignorance on the part of the Byzantine artist. Figs 4, 8 and 9-13 show Bulgarian helmets from Bulgarian sources. . Note, however, that Figure 4 is from the 14th century and figs 8 and 9 are undated. All the figures from the Manasses Codex appear to be wearing coifs (mostly of mail, though some seem to be lamellar). Two figures have either ONLY coifs on their heads, or else a helmet under the coif. (This seems more likely, as the coifs are somewhat conical, and one has a crest of three plumes). All but two of these helmets are conical � the others are hemispherical. Several seem to have spikes, while others have crests � mostly triple plumes, though others are more elaborate. One conical helmet has a triple plumed crest and an Islamic-looking turban roll around the base. Most helmets are shown blue (presumably steel colour) as are the coifs, but a few combinations of helmet and coif are shown yellow, as though gilded. Figures 5-7, from the Skylitzes Chronicle show Bulgarians with kite-shaped shields identical to the Byzantines. Figures 9 and 13, showing both circular and kite shields, is from a Bulgarian source and should probably be regarded as more reliable. Dress Figures 2 and 5, both from Byzantine sources, show Bulgarian dress. Figure 2 is self-explanatory, but figure 5, again from the Skylitzes Chronicle, show identical dress to the Byzantines, with the addition of turbans. The Menologion of Basil II has in a well known portrait of Basil in gold lamellar armour, pictures of Bulgarians in dress identical to Byzantine clothing. Figure 11 shows the formal dress of the powerful, a direct copy of that worn by Byzantine Emperors - floor length and embroidered with pearls and gems. I have also included a picture of Bulgarian royalty � Tsar Ivan Alexander (1331-71) and family � in court dress � red with gold and black trim. REFERENCES Lang, D.M. The Bulgarians from Pagan Times to the Ottoman Conquest Thames & Hudson Southampton 1976 1. Bogomilism probably owed its origins to Armenians transplanted to the region by Byzantium, who were devotees of the Paulician sect, a group with markedly similar beliefs. Bogomilism probably also spread to Italy and France, influencing or even bringing into being the Cathar or Albigensian heresy. A version of this article also appears at Steven Lowe's Website "Egfroth's Home Page" (http://www.geocities.com/egfrothos/).