The medieval Bulgarian army was the primary military body of the First and the Second Bulgarian Empires, and some puppet states of the former, like the Despotate of Dobruja. During the first decades after the foundation of the country, the army consisted of a Bulgar cavalry and a Slavic infantry. The core of the Bulgarian army was the heavy cavalry, which consisted of ca. 12,000 heavily armed riders. At its height in the 9th and 10th centuries, it was one of the most formidable military forces in Europe and was feared by its enemies. There are several documented cases of Byzantine commanders abandoning an invasion because of a reluctance to confront the Bulgarian army on its home territory.Andreev, J. The Bulgarian Khans and Tsars (Balgarskite hanove i tsare, Българските ханове и царе), Veliko Tarnovo, 1996, p. 111 Leo Diakonos, ibid., pp. 62–63 — Leo Diakonos wrote: "...to bring his armies to those dangerous places and to send them to the Bulgarians who would slaughter them as cattle, because it is said that the Romans often got into the bad places of Bulgaria and were met by their doom. That is why he decided to retreat with his army and marched back to Byzantium."Andreev, J. The Bulgarian Khans and Tsars (Balgarskite hanove i tsare, Българските ханове и царе), Veliko Tarnovo, 1996, p. 158
The army was intrinsically linked to the very existence of the Bulgarian state. Its success under Tsar Simeon I the Great marked the creation of a wide-ranging empire, and its defeat in a prolonged war of attrition in the early 11th century meant the end of Bulgarian independence. When the Bulgarian state was reestablished in 1185, a series of capable emperors achieved a remarkable string of victories over the Byzantines and the Western Crusaders, but as the state and its army fragmented in the 13th and 14th centuries, it proved unable to halt the Ottoman advance, which resulted in the conquest of all of Bulgaria by 1396/1422. It would not be until 1878, with the Liberation of Bulgaria, that a Bulgarian military would be restored.
History
7th–8th century
The early Bulgars were a warlike people and war was part of their everyday life, with every adult Bulgar obliged to fight. The early Bulgars were exclusively horsemen: in their culture, the horse was considered a sacred animal and received special care.
The supreme commander was the khan, who mustered the army with the help of the aristocracy. The military ranks from lowest to highest were bagain, bagatur, boil, tarkhan. The permanent army consisted of the khan's guard of select warriors, while the campaign army consisted practically of the entire nation, assembled by clans. In the field, the army was divided into right and left wings.
The Bulgars were well versed in the use of stratagems. They often held a strong cavalry unit in reserve, which would attack the enemy at an opportune moment. They also sometimes concentrated their free horses behind their battle formation to avoid surprise attacks from the rear. They used ambushes and feigned retreats, during which they rode with their backs to the horse, firing clouds of arrows on the enemy. If the enemy pursued disorganized, they would turn back and fiercely attack them. According to contemporary historians, the Bulgars "could see in the dark like bats"Cited in Халенбаков, О. Детска енциклопедия България: Държавата – 681 г., с. 13 and often fought at night.
The Bulgarian army was well armed according to the Avar model: the soldiers had a sabre or a sword, a long spear and a bow with an arrow-quiver on the back. On the saddle they hung a round shield, a mace and a lasso, which the Bulgarians called arkani. On their decorated belts the soldiers carried the most necessary objects such as flints and steel, a knife, a cup and a needle case. The heavy cavalry was supplied with metal armour and helmets. The horses were also armoured. Armour was of two types — chain-mail and plate armour. The commanders had belts with golden or silver buckles which corresponded to their rank and title.
The army had iron discipline, with the officers vigorously checking if everything was ready before a battle. For a horse that was undernourished or not properly taken care of, the punishment was death. The soldiers were under threat of a death penalty when having a loose bow-string or an unmaintained sword; or even if riding a war horse in peacetime.Cited in Халенбаков, О. Детска енциклопедия България: Държавата – 681 г., с. 12
The infantry of the newly formed state was composed mainly of Slavs, who were generally lightly armed soldiers, although their chieftains usually had small cavalry retinues. The Slavic footmen were equipped with swords, spears, bows and wooden or leather shields. However, they were less disciplined and less effective than the Bulgar cavalry.
In 680, the Byzantines under Constantine IV were crushed in the battle of Ongal and were forced to conclude a humiliating peace treaty by which they de jure acknowledged the formation of a Bulgarian state on their former territory.Петров П. Хр., Към въпроса за образуването на първата българска държава, Славянска филология, V, София, 1963, стр. 89–112 In 718, a Bulgarian intervention was crucial in the repulsion of the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople. According to contemporaries, the Arabs feared the Bulgarian army and built trenches to protect themselves from a cavalry charge. In the decisive battle in the summer that year the Bulgarians slaughtered between 20,000 and 32,000 Arabs.Andreev, J. The Bulgarian Khans and Tsars (Balgarskite hanove i tsare, Българските ханове и царе), Veliko Tarnovo, 1996, p. 26 Apart from engaging in battle to the south, the Bulgarians had to fight the Avars to the north-westZlatarski, V. History of the Bulgarian state in the Middle Ages, p. 214 Sofia, 1971, and the Khazars to the north-east. After bloody fights between the Dnester and the Dneper rivers, the Khazar threat was eliminated but the founder of the Bulgarian state Khan Asparukh perished in one of the battles in 700.Andreev, J. The Bulgarian Khans and Tsars (Balgarskite hanove i tsare, Българските ханове и царе), Veliko Tarnovo, 1996, p. 19
Krum's dynasty On the turn of the 9th century, the Bulgarian Empire was on the rise. Following the victory over the Byzantines at Marcelae in 792, the country overcame a 50-year crisis and entered the new century stronger and consolidated. During the first years of his reign, Khan Krum destroyed the Avar Khaganate and doubled Bulgaria's territory, taking over the fertile Pannonian Plain and the salt and gold mines of Transylvania. Krum achieved major victories over the Byzantine Empire, annihilating the Byzantine armies in the battle of Pliska (811) and at Versinikia (813), while capturing the important city of Sofia in 809.
The Byzantine historian Pseudo-Simeon stated that Krum sent a 30,000 strong cavalry, "the whole armoured with iron",Symeon Magister, ibid., p. 616 which devastated Thrace. According to inscriptions found in the region of Pliska, Preslav, Madara and Shabla in north-eastern Bulgaria, armaments for 1,713 heavy riders were available.Венедиков, София, с. 53–54 Assuming that the surviving inscriptions are around 1/10 of the total number, that makes 17,130 men only in the so-called "inner region" of Bulgaria. After comparison with the data of Pseudo-Simeon, it can be assumed that the heavy cavalry component of the Bulgarian army numbered between 17–20,000 and 30,000 men, depending on the level of mobilization.Иванов, И. КЪМ ВЪПРОСА ЗА БЪЛГАРСКАТА ВОЕННА МОЩ ПРЕЗ ПОСЛЕДНАТА ЧЕТВЪРТ НА X И НАЧАЛОТО НА XI ВЕК. ЗАЩО БЪЛГАРИЯ ЗАГУБИ ДВУБОЯ С ВИЗАНТИЯ? During the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th centuries, Emperor Simeon the Great was able to lead in battle more than 60,000 soldiers.
Traditionally, the army's commander-in-chief was the ruler. The second in the chain of command was the kavkhan who led the army during the Emperor's absence. The third most important title in the hierarchy was the ichirgu-boil who commanded the garrison of the capital. In the field, the army was divided into three parts: center, right flank and left flank. The center was commanded by the ruler, the left flank by the kavkhan and the right flank by the ichirgu-boil.Бешелиев, В. Прабългарски епиграфски паметници, с. 37 Other higher military ranks included the tarkhan which was equal to the Byzantine strategos according to Steven Runciman,Steven Runciman, A history of the First Bulgarian Empire, London 1930, p. 286 and the higher officers were called bagain. All higher military ranks were part of the Bulgarian nobility called bolyars or boils.
Decline under Peter I During the long years of warfare under Tsar Simeon I the Great (893–927), the country was exhausted. The constant wars were unpopular enough so that 20,000 people sought refuge in Byzantium because of Simeon's "warlike rush and relentless intentions".Andreev, J. The Bulgarian Khans and Tsars (Balgarskite hanove i tsare, Българските ханове и царе), Veliko Tarnovo, 1996, p. 104 His successor Peter I concluded a favourable peace treaty with the Byzantines, but the situation inside the country saw no improvement. There were many reasons for the decline — some historians dismiss Peter I as a weak ruler, incapable of handling his own family (two of his brothers rose up against him). Furthermore, in the mid-10th century the new Bogomil heresy spread itself widely over the country.Nicolaus Papa. Response, p. 1015 The Bogomils preached that people must not follow secular authorities, pay taxes or enroll in the army. As a result, the Bulgarians were unable to stop the Magyars, who looted and plundered the countryside, further contributing to the grim situation of the state. When the Byzantines paid the Rus' knyaz Svyatoslav I to invade Bulgaria in 968, Peter I could send only 30,000 men against the 60,000 strong invading force.Cedrenus: II, p. 383 During the Rus' invasion between 968 and 971 the Bulgarians de facto lost control of the north-eastern parts of their country, including the capital Preslav, and in 970, Svyatoslav massacred 300 Bulgarian nobles, the elite of the Bulgarian nation and army, in Silistra.Драгиев, Ч. Детска енциклопедия България: Години на изпитание, с. 14
Cometopuli dynasty The fall of the north-eastern parts of the Bulgarian Empire under Byzantine rule and the decimation of its military elite had a severe impact on the Bulgarian army,Божилов, 1979; c. 122 especially since most of the heavy cavalry which was instrumental in the earlier successes over the Byzantines was recruited exactly in that region. Contemporary sources continue to mention the existence of a Bulgarian cavalry, but it was much reduced in size and was mostly light cavalry.Zlatarski, V. History of the Bulgarian state in the Middle Ages, p. 600 Sofia, 1971,
Consequently, the infantry's importance grew and the tactics changed to reflect the new conditions: the ambush, although employed in the past, now became the cornerstone of Bulgarian tactics — most Bulgarian victories in that period were a result of ambush and careful exploitation of the terrain.Skylitzes-Cedrenus, pp. 278, 285, 288 During this period, the Bulgarians acquired a reputation for their skillful archers.
Despite those difficulties, Emperor Samuil resisted the Byzantine army, which reached its zenith under Basil II, for nearly half a century. In 976 the Bulgarians led by the Cometopuli brothers reconquered the north-eastern parts of the realm. The first Byzantine attempts for counter-attack were repulsed after the annihilation of a 60,000 force in the battle of the Gates of Trajan in 986 in which Basil II himself barely escaped. In the following decade the Bulgarians took Thessaly, destroyed the Principality of Duklja, advanced deep to the south as far as Corinth on the Peloponnese peninsula and campaigned in Dalmatia and Bosnia.