Prehistory and Antiquity
Further information: Neolithic Europe, Bronze Age Europe, and Thrace
The Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari, a 3rd century BC tomb listed as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites
The Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari, a 3rd century BC tomb listed as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites
Prehistoric cultures in the Bulgarian lands include the Neolithic Hamangia culture and Vinča culture (6th to 3rd millennia BC), the eneolithic Varna culture (5th millennium BC; see also Varna Necropolis), and the Bronze Age Ezero culture. The Karanovo chronology serves as a gauge for the prehistory of the wider Balkans region.
The Thracians, the earliest known identifiable people to inhabit the present-day territory of Bulgaria, have left traceable marks among all the Balkan region despite its tumultuous history of many conquests.[7][8] The Panagyuriste treasure ranks as one of the most splendid achievements of the Thracian culture.
The Thracians lived divided into numerous separate tribes until King Teres united most of them around 500 BC in the Odrysian kingdom, which peaked under the kings Sitalces and Cotys I (383-359 BC). In 188 BC the Romans invaded Thrace, and warfare continued until 45 AD when Rome finally conquered the region. The conquerors quickly Romanised the population. By the time the Slavs arrived, the Thracians had already lost their indigenous identity and had dwindled in number following frequent invasions.
[edit] The Slavs and Old Great Bulgaria
Main article: Old Great Bulgaria
The Slavs emerged from their original homeland (location not definitively established: see Slavic peoples) in the early 6th century and spread to most of the eastern Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, forming in the process three main branches — the West Slavs, the East Slavs and the South Slavs. The eastern South Slavs became part of the ancestors of the modern Bulgarians. They assimilated what remained of the Thracians.[9] Modern...