Bulgarian settlements – The succeeding structural hubs of Bulgarian settlements originated from this center. One of them was situated directly to the south in the region of present day Armenia. The other one was to the north leans of the Caspian Black Sea region, to the north of the central flows of the Volga River, along the valley of the Pechora River, stretching towards the Arctic Ocean. The densely populated Bulgarian area in the Middle Volga basin is dated archaeologically to the mid-8th century. Here are some excerpts from descriptions of those earliest settlements:
“He (Valarshak) came down to the green meadows near the Shara region, which was called Bezlesen or Upper Basean by the ancient people. Later, because of the Bulgarian Vhndur Buigarcolonista who had settled there, it was called after the name of their leader, Vanand…
Caucasus Mountain
In the days of Arshak, there was great turmoil in the range of the great mountain of Caucasus, in the country of the Bulgarians; many of them separated and came to our country and settled under the Kol [Koh] in the fertile land where grain was in abundance for a long time”
Bulgarian settlements – From History of Armenia by Movses Horenatsi. Selected Sources on Bulgarian History, Vol. 2, TANGRA Tanagra Publishing House, Sofia, 2004.
Still farther west, four other cultural historical zones have been confirmed. The lands, which the settling Bulgarians turned into their new homeland, are consistent with the distinctive Bulgarian environment in the post Kubrat period of Old Great
Bulgarian Kan Asparuh
Bulgaria, the Bulgarians of Kan Asparuh, the heir of the ancient rulers’ dynasty of Dulo, conquered the lands to the south of the Dnepar River and in the east part of the Balkan Peninsula between Lower Danube, the Balkan Range and the Black Sea. They transferred the center of the state to Lower Moesia and established the so-called Danube Bulgaria. It was the one, which made real the most essential achievements during the later development of the Bulgarian civilization.
