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Under The Yoke

Every country has its own distinct culture and history. Every person has their own unique

experiences and identity. These things are crucial in the process of molding one’s character. In

the melting pot of culture that is the United States, remembering and holding on to one’s own

national or ethnic identity can be a challenge.

Growing up as a Bulgarian immigrant in the United States was definitely a challenge. My

family moved to California when I was just two years old. When I began kindergarten, I could

barely speak English. It was frustrating to be unable to communicate well with others.

I was always urged to learn English which was more difficult with parents who are not native

speakers. Eventually my emphasis on learning English had the adverse effect of diminishing my

proficiency in Bulgarian. Today, I can’t speak Bulgarian well at all, although I can understand

what people are saying pretty well. Over time, it felt as if I had lost touch with my Bulgarian

side.

I have never learned about Bulgarian history before. I was too young to start school in

Bulgaria, and my parents were too busy to teach me as they were trying to transition into living

in a new country almost halfway across the world. Of course they would teach me certain things,

but it was a relatively low priority topic. My father would sometimes tell me about a certain

empire that always irked him, that being the Ottoman Empire. I have always heard of the many

terrible things that were done to the Bulgarian people, and I knew that Bulgaria was unwillingly

a part of the Ottoman Empire, but my knowledge of the subject stopped there.

For nearly 500 years, the Ottoman Empire ruled over Bulgaria. However that is not the

start of Bulgarian history, it was not the start of the Bulgarian people. How did the people in 14th

century Bulgaria react to the Ottoman takeover? Did they fight back? Did they just roll over and

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accept it? Of course 500 years of Ottoman rule would change a people, but what exactly was the

most major change? I intend to answer the question, What Are the Greatest Impacts on Bulgarian

Culture as a Result of the Ottoman Invasion?

Bulgaria lost much of its territory and power in the Balkans as a result of the Ottoman

Invasion. To say Bulgaria had volatile borders would be an understatement. Borders as well as

leaders were shifting constantly. Several tribes inhabited the Balkans, resulting in constant

conflict between themselves. The Bulgar tribe actually did not originate in current day Bulgaria

next to the Danube river. It originated further East, near present day Ukraine and Russia. After

eventually traveling West along the Black Sea coast, the Bulgars would encounter Slavic tribes

that they would then combine with. The First Bulgarian Empire reached its largest territory in the

early 9th century under Khan Krum, while the Second Bulgarian Empire reached its largest

territory under Ivan Asen II in the early 13th century. Bulgaria would start to face a multitude of

issues after this. In a YouTube video detailing Bulgarian history, creator Epimetheus would say,

“Things began to look like they were on a way to a full recovery. Then, the Serbs killed the

Bulgarian Tsar in battle, the Black Death swept through the country, religious strife ensued, and

by the later 14th century, there were three rival tsars in Bulgaria,” (Epimetheus). These struggles

left Bulgaria in a tough spot, and allowed the invading Ottoman Empire to take over with little

resistance. Bulgaria would then be under Ottoman rule for the next roughly 500 years. After all

that time had passed, Bulgaria would gain its independence in the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish

War in 1878. Under the treaty of San Stefano, Bulgaria gained semi-autonomy and was split up

into two parts. Epimetheus explains this by saying “In the treaties ending the conflict, two

semi-autonomous Bulgarian states were established, which were later united in 1885,”

(Epimetheus). In the years after its independence, Bulgaria would continue to have issues with its

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borders and with the borders of other Balkan states. The Ottoman Empire was able to take

advantage of a weakened Bulgaria, and easily take it over, eventually leaving Bulgaria with less

territory than it had in its glory years.

The religion of many Bulgarians changed as a result of the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

Bulgarians were originally a pagan people. Christianity had been persecuted by Bulgarian rulers,

in part out of fear of their subjects having allegiance to the church or to Rome over Bulgaria.

This changed however during the rule of Boris I, who changed the main religion to East

Orthodox Christianity. The main religion would continue to be Christianity for roughly 400 years

until the Ottoman empire invaded. After their arrival, the Ottomans forced many Bulgarians to

convert to Islam or be killed. An interesting story that links back to this time period is the way

that Bulgarians nod their heads. Bulgarians will nod their heads left to right to say “yes”, and up

and down to say “no”, the opposite of what almost all other people do. The reason for this is

uncertain but there are many theories proposed to explain why this happened. Some theories

have been described in a personal interview with Rumen Kalugerov. Kalugerov is a history

teacher in Bankya, Bulgaria. He has been teaching for 30 years. He said, “An unequivocal

answer cannot be given to this question. It may be left over from the time of the ancient

Bulgarians or another nation assimilated by them. It is possible that at the time of Ottoman

slavery, this was a way of not giving a definite answer to the question posed to them”.

Over time Bulgarians would gain more religious freedom, however Christians that did not

convert to Islam were always seen as less than those who did. Christians would leave cities to

escape persecution and move to villages. Conversions of Bulgarians and immigration of Muslims

to Bulgaria would lead to Bulgaria to have a mainly Muslim population. The event that began to

reverse this was the Russo-Turkish war all the way in 1878. In an article written by Radko

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Popov, he explains the effect the war had on Bulgaria, writing, “During the 1877-78

Russo-Turkish War, which lead to the independence of Bulgaria, most of those Muslims

employed in the Ottoman administration left the country, along with significant part of the

Turkish, Circassian and Tatar populations. The war caused serious social changes and the de

facto privileged millet of the Muslims has become a minority in a Christian country,” (Popov).

Bulgaria would gain independence from the Ottoman Empire and a mass exodus of Turkish and

other Muslim people followed. What was once a majority Muslim population was now once

again a Christian majority in a short amount of time. Although Muslims would become a

minority religious group from this point in time going forward, Islam would have a lasting

impact on Bulgaria in the form of infrastructure. Many architectural remnants were left in the

wake of Bulgarian independence from the Ottoman Empire. Stephen Lewis in an article written

on this subject mentions that, “Almost half a millennium of Ottoman rule left Bulgaria with a

rich legacy of Muslim religious monuments and the infrastructure of Ottoman secular life:

Mosques, fountains, baths, bridges, caravansaries, markets, clock towers, fortifications, and

heterodox shrines. These include some of the earliest known examples of Ottoman style and

seminal works of Mimar Sinan,” (Lewis). However, following the abrupt exodus of Muslim

peoples from Bulgaria left many of these structures deserted. After facing many years of neglect

and sometimes destruction at the hands of Bulgarians, much of the Ottoman infrastructure was

left in ruin. Bulgaria still has diverse groups of Muslims living in it. Dženita Karié comments on

this in her article on Muslim reform in the Balkans when she writes, “Their departure affected

not only the social fabric in Bulgaria, but also the way administrative, political and public

discourses represented Muslims. Bulgarian Muslims consisted of diverse ethnic and linguistic

groups that espoused a variety of religious practices: from Slavic-speaking Pomaks to Tatars and

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Turks, from Sunni Muslims to Alevi-Kizilbash communities,” (Karié). Had the Ottoman Empire

not overtaken Bulgaria, many of these groups wouldn’t exist today. With all these new ethnic

groups, a new issue arose. Mary Neuburger details this in an article when she wrote, “The

implied ancestral "Bulgarian-ness" of both Pomaks and Turks did much to complicate the

Bulgarian nationalist projects to follow as the Muslim minorities within became unruly symbols

of both victims of Ottoman oppression and perpetrator of historical crimes,” (Neuburger).

Leaders were confused on how to classify this group of Bulgarian speaking Muslims. On one

hand they shared qualities with their former oppressors, and on the other hand they were likely

victims of them as well. Today, many Muslims still live in Bulgaria. Census data from 2011

suggests that roughly 8% of the Bulgarian population. Christians are still a vast majority of the

population, but as time passes it seems that people are becoming less religious as a whole. With

shifts in religion and constant border changes, it would be hard for Bulgaria, or any country for

that matter, to develop a national identity.

Bulgarians developed a sense of national pride after being freed from Ottoman rule.

Creating and maintaining a national identity in ancient Bulgarian was a struggle due to the

constant conflicts, territory changes, and instability of the time period. As previously mentioned,

The early Bulgarian kingdoms greatly struggled with wars. If it wasn’t with the Byzantine it was

with the Mongols, if it wasn’t with the Mongols it was with the Serbs and so on. These

conditions already made it difficult to establish a national identity, but when the Ottoman Empire

invaded, the quest for a national identity became much harder. Religious turmoil and foreign

invaders made it almost impossible to achieve this goal. Following their independence from the

Ottoman Empire, Bulgarians would try to reestablish their identity as a free people.

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Bulgarian nationalist movements were slow forming but over time they gained more

steam. This came to a head in the April Uprising of 1876, which planted the seeds for Bulgarian

independence. To this point, Bulgarians were still living under Ottoman rule, and many

considered themselves to be Ottomans. The shortcomings of the Uprising are mentioned in an

article by The Sofia Echo, in which they write, “The 1876 April Uprising in Bulgaria was a

military failure, but foreign journalists brought to the world's attention the grave atrocities

employed to suppress the rebellion” (RR: Freedom or Death). Although the uprising fell short

militarily, Bulgaria was able to gain foreign support due to the harsh backlash they faced from

the Ottoman Empire. Bulgarians wanted to be independent, they wanted to be Bulgarians, this

uprising was just the start of the Bulgarian fight to be their own people. Bulgarians from the time

of the Ottomans forward had always been a mix of cultures from different nations whether it be

Greek influence, Ottoman influence, or some other Balkan state. This foreign influence was well

described in an article from M. Gurbuz in which he writes, “Until the 1860s, there was not any

serious political nationalistic movement in Bulgaria. The nationalistic intellectual elite was

formed after 1860. Both a lack of proper secular, independent Bulgarian education and the Greek

domination of Bulgarian culture resulted in Bulgarian nationalism arising relatively late,”

(Gurbuz). Bulgarian culture had mixed with other nations to the point where parts of it are

assumed to be originally Bulgarian. It took some work to look through Bulgarian culture and

discern which parts had come from Bulgaria, and which parts had foreign influence. For a long

time Bulgarians were ashamed of their heritage. 500 years of unwillingly being a part of an

Empire brought shame to Bulgarian people. Gurbuz in his article writes of a monk by the name

of Father Paisii who wrote a book to try and get Bulgarians to stop feeling ashamed of their

heritage. He wrote, “Father Paisii's purpose was not aggressive, but defensive. He raised a voice

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against his brethren who had looked down on the ethnic Bulgarians. He wanted the Buigarians to

overcome psychological pressure and hurt, but he failed to show that Bulgarians were a distinct

ethnic group,” (Gurbuz). Ottomans influenced Bulgarian identity with the institution of

еничарството, or “Enicharstvo'', roughly translating to “Janissary”. “Enicharstvo is the taking

away of minor Christian boys from their parents. The children were taken to the Asian part of the

Ottoman Empire, where they were turned into mortal enemies of Christians in special schools.

Janissary corps were one of the most feared Ottoman military units. They had no right to

property, no right to marry. They were loyal only to Allah and the Sultan,” (Kalugerov). These

children were taken from their families and rid of their Bulgarian identity. Only knowing

Ottoman and soldier life, they were trained to hate Bulgaria and think they were Ottomans

themselves. Despite the involuntary recruitment of these soldiers, the word has become

synonymous with the word “traitor”. Another way Bulgarian nationalism was affected by the

Ottoman Empire is the Macedonian question. Bulgarians and Macedonians both have much

shared history. So much so that each side thinks that the other is part of them. Bulgarian territory

had expanded greatly prior to Ottoman rule, however it greatly diminished after it. Whether

Macedonia is actually just part of Bulgaria is still debated by many people today. Quite recently

a panel of historians from Bulgaria and Macedonia was formed to try and de-escalate tensions

between the two countries. This was written about in an article from Boyko Vassilev. In his

article he wrote, “Separate from the Prespa Accord between North Macedonia and Greece in

2018, the 2017 agreement between North Macedonia and Bulgaria, which established the

historical commission, aimed to boost cooperation and relieve tensions between Skopje and

Sofia, thereby paving Skopje’s road to EU and NATO membership,” (Vassilev). This well

intentioned panel quickly started bickering amongst themselves about various issues. There is no

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love lost between Balkan nations, all of them think that they are right, and that they deserve

more. As a result of gaining freedom from the Ottoman Empire, Bulgarians were able to develop

a feeling of national pride that was likely stronger than it was before the Ottoman Empire

invaded.

All in all Bulgaria faced major challenges as a result of the Ottoman invasion.

Considering that Bulgaria was occupied for 500 years cannot be argued. From the medieval ages

to modern ages, Bulgaria was under Ottoman rule. Research on this topic has unfortunately been

heavily confusing. Some Bulgarians exaggerate the way of life under the Ottoman Empire.

Others are completely dismissive of the treatment Bulgarians faced, going as far as to say

Ottoman occupation was a good thing for them. While arguments can be made for territory,

religion, and nationalism, the biggest effect of the Ottoman Invasion has to be nationalism.

Bulgaria would face more territory changes as a result of the Balkan Wars, Muslims are now a

minority in Bulgaria, but Bulgarians managed to create a national identity that did not previously

exist in the old kingdoms. Being a relatively small country in Eastern Europe, people often

overlook the history and achievements of Bulgarians. Like any other group of people large or

small, Bulgarians have a deep history that deserves to be mentioned. The history of Bulgaria is

not limited to that little country along the Danube River and Black Sea. Many things can be

learned by studying its complex history. Bulgarian history involves long periods of imperialism,

religious persecution, ethnic conflict, revolution, and foreign influence.

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Works Cited

Epimetheus, director. The History of Bulgaria Explained. YouTube, YouTube, 24 Dec, 2022,

Accessed 19 Mar. 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3lgeUSfVSk.

Gurbuz, M. (2009). Emergence of Bulgarian Nationalism. Dergipark. Accessed: 13 Feb,

2023. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/12935

Kalugerov, Rumen. Personal interview. 4 March, 2023.

Karié, Dženita. "BETWEEN EMPIRE AND NATION: MUSLIM REFORM IN THE

BALKANS." Arab Studies Journal 30.2 (2022): 122-6. ProQuest. Accessed: 2 Mar,

2023.

https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/between-empire-nation-muslim-reform-b

alkans/docview/2760890389/se-2.

Lewis, Stephen, 'The Ottoman Architectural Patrimony of Bulgaria', EJOS, IV (2001) (= M.

Kiel, N. Landman & H. Theunissen (eds.), Proceedings of the 11th International

Congress of Turkish Art, Utrecht - The Netherlands, August 23-28, 1999), No. 30,

1-25. Accessed: 13 February, 2023.

https://hakpaksak.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/stephen-lewis-the-ottoman-architectural

-patrimony-of-bulgaria.pdf

Neuburger, Mary. "Bulgaro-Turkish Encounters and the Re-Imaging of the Bulgarian Nation

(1878-1995)." East European Quarterly 31.1 (1997): 1-20. Accessed: 2 Mar, 2023.

https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/bulgaro-turkish-encounters-re-imaging-bu

lgarian/docview/195171094/se-2. .

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Popov, Radko (2013) "Islam in Modern Bulgaria: 1878 to Present Days," Occasional Papers

on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 33 : Iss. 2 , Article 1. Accessed: 19 March, 2023

https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol33/iss2/1

READING ROOM: `Freedom Or Death'." The Sofia Echo, May 07, 2007. ProQuest,

Accessed: 19 March, 2023

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/reading-room-freedom-death/docview/9036972

84/se-2.

Vassilev, Boyko. "My Story, Your Story, History: Asking Historians to Reconcile

Competing Historical Traditions Sounds Like a Sensible Idea, but was this a Poisoned

Chalice for Bulgarian and North Macedonian Historians?" Transitions Online Jun 25

2019. Accessed 1 Feb, 2023.

https://www.proquest.com/magazines/my-story-your-history/docview/2253906251/se-2

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Works Consulted

"Bulgaria's Other Crisis: Bulgaria's Church." The Economist (Online) Feb 22, 2013

ProQuest. Accessed: 15 Feb, 2023.

https://www.proquest.com/magazines/bulgarias-other-crisis/docview/1308182127/se-2.

Gomersall, Libby. "READING ROOM: The Martenitsa Story." The Sofia Echo, Feb 29

2008, ProQuest. Accessed: 3 Mar, 2023.

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/reading-room-martenitsa-story/docview/905226

674/se-2.

Payton,James R.,,Jr. "A Concise History of Bulgaria." Canadian Journal of History 32.3

(1997): 501-3. Accessed: 1 Feb, 2023.

https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/concise-history-bulgaria/docview/194323

943/se-2.

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