European Khaganates
Founded by Bulgar Turkic tribes of the Dulo clan — the same ethnic stock as the Khazar Khaganate — the First Bulgarian Empire's early rulers held the title Khan, etymologically identical to Khagan. Their ruler list is preserved in the Nominalia of the Bulgarian Khans, one of the most important primary source documents of the early medieval steppe tradition in Europe. The Bulgarian state Christianized in 864 AD, after which rulers adopted the Slavic title Tsar.
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After defeating Constantine IV, Asparuh secured a treaty in which Byzantium recognized Bulgaria and paid it tribute. A win on the battlefield lasts when it is turned into a formal agreement.
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By putting Justinian II back on the throne, Tervel won the title of Caesar for a Bulgar ruler, and in 717–718 his army helped break the Arab siege of Constantinople. Backing the right partner at the right moment can buy decades of standing.
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After Nikephoros I burned Pliska, Krum trapped the retreating Byzantine army in the mountain passes and killed the emperor. The moment an opponent believes the contest is won can be the moment to strike.
Read the case4 Rulers
The founding dynasty of the First Bulgarian Empire, the Dulo clan traced their lineage to the same Bulgar-Turkic nobility that produced the Khazar Qaghans. The Nominalia records their regnal years using a Turkic calendar system — the most direct evidence of the Bulgarian khans' steppe heritage.
Founder of the First Bulgarian Empire; led his Bulgar tribal confederation across the Danube in 679–681 AD and defeated the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IV, forcing Byzantium to formally recognize the Bulgarian state and pay annual tribute — a remarkable achievement against the most powerful surviving Roman state; established the capital at Pliska in the Danube delta region
Read the profileSon of Asparuh and one of the most consequential Bulgarian Khans; assisted the deposed Byzantine Emperor Justinian II in regaining his throne in 705 AD, receiving the title 'Caesar' from Byzantium — the only foreign ruler ever granted this Roman imperial title; crucially, his forces helped repel the first great Arab siege of Constantinople in 718 AD, earning Byzantine gratitude and cementing Bulgaria's role as a Balkan power
Read the profileMaintained the Bulgarian state during a period of Byzantine resurgence under Leo III; his reign preserved the territorial gains of Asparuh and Tervel against Byzantine pressure to reassert Balkan dominance
Read the profileLast Khan of the Dulo founding dynasty; his death without a clear successor triggered a prolonged succession crisis that saw six khans in less than two decades and temporarily weakened the Bulgarian state
Read the profile9 Rulers
Following the end of the Dulo dynasty, Bulgaria entered a period of dynastic instability as the Ukil and Ugain clans competed for the throne. The Nominalia records this as a period of rapid succession, with several khans ruling for only a year or two before violent replacement.
First Khan of the Ukil clan; came to power amid the post-Dulo succession struggles; conducted border negotiations with the Byzantine Empire over the frontier in Thrace
Read the profileHis peaceful policy toward Byzantium was opposed by the Bulgarian military aristocracy; assassinated after concluding a peace treaty that the warrior nobility considered too favorable to Byzantium
Read the profileFrom the Ugain clan; adopted an aggressive policy against Byzantium; defeated by Emperor Constantine V at the Battle of Anchialos in 763 — one of the largest battles fought in the Balkans in the 8th century; was killed by his own nobles after the defeat
Read the profileBriefly held power after Teletz; attempted to negotiate peace with Byzantium but was overthrown within months by the war faction; fled to Constantinople, becoming the first Bulgarian Khan to seek Byzantine political asylum
Read the profileAccording to the Nominalia, ruled for only 40 days — the shortest reign in Bulgarian Khan history; the extreme brevity reflects the complete breakdown of stable succession during this period
Read the profileBrother of the noble Bayan; held the throne for about a year before a rebellion, and was caught and killed near the Danube in 767.
Read the profileMade peace in person with Constantine V, who then invaded and burned settlements near Pliska; blamed for trusting him, Pagan was murdered by his own servants in 768.
Read the profileStabilized the Bulgarian state after a decade of chaos; conducted a successful deception operation against Byzantine Emperor Constantine V, tricking him into revealing his Bulgarian informants; fled to Constantinople in 777 but his reign marked the end of the worst succession instability
Read the profileLongest-reigning Khan of the succession-crisis era; defeated Emperor Constantine VI at the Battle of Marcellae in 792 AD, forcing Byzantium to resume tribute payments to Bulgaria; his reign restored Bulgarian military prestige and stabilized the frontier for the final pre-Christianization generation
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The greatest period of the First Bulgarian Empire, when Khan Krum expanded Bulgarian territory to include most of the Balkans, sacked the Byzantine city of Serdica (Sofia), and twice threatened Constantinople itself. Krum's successors completed the empire's transformation from a steppe-derived khanate into a settled Balkan state.
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