In the days of Constantine, who removed the capital of his Empire to the
Balkan Peninsula, Roman civilisation in what is now Bulgaria was already
being swamped by barbarian invasions. The Goths and the Huns ravaged the
land fiercely without attempting to colonise it. The Slavs were invaders
of another type. They came to stay. It was at the beginning of the third
century that the Slavs made their first appearance, and, crossing the
Danube, began to settle in the great plains between the river and the
Balkan Mountains. Later, they went south-wards and formed colonies among
the Thraco-Illyrians, the Roumanians, and the Greeks. This Slav
occupation went on for several centuries. In the seventh century of the
Christian era a Hunnish tribe reached the banks of the Danube. It is
known that this tribe came from the Volga and, crossing Russia,
proceeded towards ancient Moesia, where it took possession of the whole
north-east territory of the Balkans between the Danube and the Black
Sea. These were the Bulgars, or Bolgars. The Slavs had already imposed
on the races they had found in the Peninsula their language and customs.
The Bulgars, too, assumed the language of the Slavs, and some of their
customs. The Bulgars, however, gave their name to the mixed race, and
assumed the political supremacy.
The analogy I have before suggested of the Norman invasion of England
and the Bulgar invasion of Bulgaria generally holds good. The Slavs were
a people who tilled the soil, cherished free institutions, fought on
foot, were gentle in character. The Bulgars were nomads and
pastoralists, obeying despotic chiefs, fighting as cavalry. They came as
conquerors, but in time were absorbed in the more stable Slavonic type.
Without a doubt the Bulgars were racially nearly akin to the
Turks--first cousins at least. Mingling with the Slavs they adopted
their language and many of their customs. But something of the Turk
survives to this day in the character of the Bulgarian people. It shows
particularly in their treatment of their women. Though the Bulgarian is
monogamic he submits his wife to an almost _harem_ discipline. Once
married she lives for the family alone. Though she does not wear a veil
in the streets it is not customary for her to go out from her home
except with her husband, nor to receive company except in his presence,
nor to frequent theatres, restaurants, or other places of public
amusement. There is thus no social life in Bulgaria in the European
sense of the term, and there is great scope there for a campaign for
"women's rights."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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