Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
335 BC
Macedonian king Alexander the Great extends the Thracian holdings of his father
Philip II by marching to the Danube, the northernmost border of his massive empire.
AD 46
Rome annexes the eastern Balkans and modern-day Bulgaria is divided into provinces:
Thrace (in the south), Moesia (in the north) and Ulpia Serdica (today's Sofia) as the
capital of Inner Dacia.
293
Roman emperor Diocletian establishes the 'Tetrarchy' (rule of four), reorganising im-
perial administration. Regional 'capitals' are established, including Serdica (Sofia),
which becomes important.
443-47
Forces of Attila the Hun cross the Danube, sweeping into Roman territory and sacking
Serdica (Sofia) and Philipopolis (Plovdiv), forcing Rome to pay tribute in gold.
681
After Turkic Bulgar tribes sweep down from the Black Sea steppes, Khan Asparuh es-
tablishes the First Bulgarian Empire at Pliska. Centuries of chronic fighting with Byz-
antium ensue.
814
Khan Krum dies unexpectedly while preparing to besiege Constantinople; the Bulgars
make peace two years later.
855
Byzantine monks Kiril and Metodii undertake a mission to the Moravian Slavs; their
monk-disciples later create the Cyrillic alphabet in Ohrid, in Bulgarian-controlled
Macedonia.
917
