6000 B.C.

Neolithic settlements on the territory of present-day Bulgaria

2000 B.C.

Thracian civilisation encompasses the region

8th-6th century B.C.

Thracians mentioned in Greek epics

46 A.D

Thrace becomes Roman province. The most famous Thracian was Spartacus, said to be from the town of Sandanski in Southwest Bulgaria.

480 

First invasion of Bulgars, a tribe from Central Asia

5th century

Roman Empire falls after years of fighting off invading barbarian tribes – Visigoths, Vandals, etc.

End 5th century

Beginning of Slav settlements in Bulgaria.

681

Han Asparuh, the Bulgar leader, establishes the First Bulgarian Kingdom, with its capital in Pliska. At its height under Tsar Simeon (893-927) it covered not only present-day Bulgaria but also Serbia, Macedonia and part of Northern Greece.

855 or 862-863

Cyril and Methodius (of Thessalonika) create the first Slavic alphabet, the Glagolic, to give the Bulgarians a unified language and to assist in their adoption of Christianity. Glagolic is later modified and renamed Cyrillic after one of the brothers.

861

Boris I converts to Christianity and begins the conversion of the Bulgarian people. Subsequent Bulgarian kings were called Tsars, or Caesars, after the Byzantine tradition

893

Capital moves from Pliska to Preslav

927

Capital moves to Ohrid, in present-day Macedonia

1018 – 1187

Bulgaria is incorporated into the Byzantine Empire At this point Greek again takes precedence over Bulgarian as the written language.

1185

Bolyar brothers Peter and Assen lead a victorious battle against the Empire’s army and found the 2nd Bulgarian Kingdom.
The zenith of the 2nd Bulgarian Kingdom under Ivan Assen II, with its capital in Veliko Turnovo, when it reaches the Adriatic and Aegean Seas.

1383-1878

Bulgaria becomes part of the Ottoman Empire.
A dark age for Bulgarian cultural development.

1762

Beginning of the Bulgarian cultural renaissance (known as National Revival), marked by Father Paissy’s Slav-Bulgarian History

1876

The April Uprising and massacre at Batak, which brings the attention of the great powers to Bulgaria. Tens of thousands of Bulgarians were killed in the rebellion - 15,000 in Plovdiv alone. Almost 58 villages were completely destroyed, including 5,000 men, women and children who were brutally burned and hacked to death in the town of Batak.

1862

Georgi Rakovsky forms legion in Belgrade to train revolutionaries to fight for Bulgaria’s liberation.

1877

Russia declares war on Turkey.

3 March 1878

Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule. The Treaty of San Stefano, in which Bulgaria was supposed to regain its former territories, including Macedonia.

13 July 1878

Treaty of Berlin, in which the Great Powers take away 2/3 of the territorial gains accorded by the San Stefano Treaty. Fearing a strong Bulgaria and the increase of Russian influence in Europe, they leave Bulgaria divided in two parts, with Eastern Rumelia still governed by Ottomans.

1878

Prince Alexander of Battenberg arrives to take charge of Bulgaria, at the age of 22. The Treaty required Bulgaria to choose a European prince who wasn’t a member of the ruling dynasties and who would acknowledge the Sultan

1879

Sofia becomes capital

6 September 1885

Unification of Eastern Rumelia with the Principality of Bulgaria declared in Plovdiv by Bulgaria’s politicians without Battenberg’s knowledge. Both Russia and the Great Powers are furious at Bulgaria’s lack of obedience.

1886

Alexander Battenberg is dethroned in a coup. Prince Ferdinand I of Saxe-Coburg Gotha is elected Prince.

22 September 1908

Declaration of Independence from Ottoman rule. Prince Ferdinand becomes Tsar Ferdinand.

October 1912

First Balkan War: Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece fight Turkey for Macedonia.

1913

2nd Balkan War. Bulgaria turns on its neighbours and allies to try to take more Macedonian territory for itself. This time Romania takes advantage of the fact that Bulgaria is fighting on the other fronts and attacks the Dobroudzha. Bulgaria defeated by Serbia, Greece, Romania and Turkey, losing territory on all sides

14 October 1915

Bulgaria enters WWI on the German side, in the hope of reclaiming its lost territories

1918

Ferdinand abdicates and his son Boris inherits the throne
Peace Treaty of Neuilly, in which Bulgaria loses land on all sides to Serbia, Romania and Greece; massive reparations.

1918 – 1943

A time of instability under Tsar Boris III

1941

Bulgaria joins WWII on the side of the Axis Powers.

1943

Tsar Boris dies and his son, 6 year-old Simeon, becomes Tsar.

9 September 1944

Soviet army takes control of Sofia after declaring war on Bulgaria on September 5th. Sofia invaded by partisans who, together with the Fatherland Front, stage a coup and overthrow the monarchy and the government. From this point up to 1947 they steadily eliminate the opposition.

9 September 1946

Establishment of People’s Republic of Bulgaria following a referendum in which 92% voted in favour of a republic.

15 September 1946

8 year old Tsar Simeon and his family leave Bulgaria for exile

November 1946

Georgi Dimitrov becomes Prime Minister

December 1948

5th Congress of the Communist Party imposes a Soviet model on the country’s future development

1949

Bulgaria becomes founder member of Comecon. Georgi Dimitrov dies and is replaced by Vulko Chervenkov, a staunch Stalinist who rules cruelly and isolates Bulgaria from the non-socialist world

1954

Todor Zhivkov is elected First secretary of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party

1956

Chervenkov forced to resign as de-Stalinisation is announced in the Soviet Union

1985

Controversial campaign to force Turkish population to adopt Bulgarian names begins. At least 50 people lost their lives resisting. Thousands of ethnic Turks were “allowed” to leave via the Turkish border in 1989

10 November 1989

The day the demolition of the Berlin Wall begins, Todor Zhivkov is deposed by his own party. Replaced by Peter Mladenov, another communist.

18 November 1989

UDF (Union of Democratic Forces) formed from 16 opposition political organizations

January 1990

Andrei Lukanov, former member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, announced as Prime Minister.
First free elections in Bulgaria.

October 1991

UDF wins the elections with Philip Dimitrov as Prime Minister, only to resign and be replaced by a caretaker government under Lyuben Berov.

December 1994

BSP (Bulgarian Socialist Party) wins elections, with Zhan Videnov as PM.

1996

Hyper inflation cripples the country. It reaches 579%

January 1997

Mass street protests against the government, parliament is attacked and unrest and strikes continue until February 4th when the Socialist government announces its resignation. Stefan Sofiyanski (now mayor of Sofia) manages a caretaker government.

April 1997

UDF government, led by Ivan Kostov, wins parliamentary elections. A period of relative stability ensues. Currency is stabilized by an agreement with the IMF, establishing a currency board in Bulgaria.

June 2001

There is all-round incredulity when Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha, Tsar in exile, arrives in the country only 2 months before the parliamentary elections and forms a party which manages to win the majority vote.

November 2002

Bulgaria receives its invitation to join NATO in 2004

December 2002

Bulgaria receives a road map to join the EU in 2007.

April 2004 

Bulgaria becomes a fully-fledged member of NATO.

April 2005

Bulgaria signs the EU Accession Treaty

August 2005

New coalition government of BSP, NMSII and MRF comes to power

January 2007

Bulgaria becomes a member of the European Union