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National awakening of Bulgaria The National awakening of Bulgaria refers to the Bulgarian nationalism that emerged in the early 19th century under the influence of western ideas such as liberalism and nationalism, which trickled into the country after the French revolution, mos ...

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Bulgarian nationalism Bulgarian irredentism is a term to identify the territory associated with a historical national state and a modern Bulgarian irredentist nationalist movement in the 19th and 20th centuries, which would include most of Macedonia, Thrace and ...

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Georgi Sava Rakovski Georgi Stoykov Rakovski ( bg, Георги Стойков Раковски) (1821 – 9 October 1867), known also Georgi Sava Rakovski (), born Sabi Stoykov Popovich (), was a 19th-century Bulgarian revolutionary, freemason, writer and an impo ...

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Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

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The Bulgarian Legion ( bg, Българска легия, translit=Balgarska legiya, ) was the name of two military bands formed by

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n volunteers in the

n capital of

in the second part of the 19th century. Their ultimate goal was the liberation of the Bulgarian people from

Ottoman rule Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

through coordinated actions with the neighbouring

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

countries.

First Bulgarian Legion

The First Bulgarian Legion (Първа българска легия) was established in 1862 by

in agreement with the Serbian government. At the time

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

was at war with the Ottoman Empire and Serbia itself was planning to join the conflict. According to the initial plan, in case of war between Serbia and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, the Legion would cross the border and enter the Bulgarian lands, where it would instigate an uprising among the population. In order to sustain direct contact with the Serbian government, the so-called Provisional Bulgarian Command was established on the initiative of Rakovski. His ''Plan for the Liberation of Bulgaria'' inspired Bulgarians and some six hundred young people responded to his appeal to create the Legion, many of them emigrants and refugees in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. Among them were

Vasil Levski Vasil Levski ( bg, Васил Левски, spelled in old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a national hero of Bulgaria. Dubbed th ...

Stefan Karadzha Stefan Karadzha (pronounced aɾadʒˈa bg, Стефан Караджа; born Stefan Todorov Dimov, Стефан Тодоров Димов; 11 May 1840 – 31 July 1868), was a Bulgarian national hero, a revolutionary from the national lib ...

Vasil Drumev Kliment of Tarnovo (born Vasil Nikolov Drumev, bg, Васил Николов Друмев; c. 1841 – 10 July 1901, known by his title as Metropolitan Kliment of Turnovo), was a leading Bulgarian clergyman and politician. He was also a wr ...

Dimitar Obshti Dimitar Obshti ( bg, Димитър Общи) was a 19th-century Bulgarian revolutionary, who fought for the liberation of Bulgaria, Serbia and Crete from the Ottoman Empire, as well as for the ''Risorgimento'' of Italy. Biography Obshti was bor ...

Matey Preobrazhenski Father Matey Preobrazhenski ( bg, Матей Преображенски, " Matthew of the Transfiguration"; 1828–1 March 1875) was the clerical name of Mono Petrov Seizmonov (Моно Петров Сеизмонов), nicknamed Mitkaloto ("The ...

and other figures that later came into national prominence. The support of the Legion was taken care of by the Serbian government. The members had to go through some military training so as to be able to participate in the future uprising and in the expected conflict between Serbia and the Ottoman Empire. According to Trotsky, when the Turkish forces entered

, the Bulgarian legion distinguished itself in the fighting.Trotsky, p.487 However the conflict ended swiftly and the subsequent Constantinople Conference decided that not all Ottoman troops should withdraw from Serbia. Due to pressure from the Ottoman Empire the Serbian authorities requested the Legion to be disbanded.Trotsky, p.487. As a result, on 21 September 1862 the participants were expelled from Belgrade.

Second Bulgarian Legion

The Second Bulgarian Legion (Втора българска легия) was founded in 1867, as relations between Serbia and the Ottoman Empire once again worsened and the Serbian authorities began preparing for war and organizing the

First Balkan Alliance The First Balkan Alliance ( sr, Први балкански савез/Prvi balkanski savez) was a system of agreements concluded by the Principality of Serbia in the period of 1866–68 to unite the nations of the Balkans in a common struggle aga ...

. This was used by the Band of Virtues (Добродетелна дружина), who concluded an agreement with Serbia to establish a Bulgarian military school in Belgrade to instruct military leaders for a future uprising in Bulgaria. This time the expenditures were paid by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, the volunteers being trained by Serbian officers. The surviving rebels from the bands of

Panayot Hitov Panayot Ivanov Hitov ( bg, Панайот Иванов Хитов) (November 11, 1830 – February 22, 1918) was a Bulgarian ''hajduk'', national revolutionary and voivode. Born in 1830 in Sliven (known as İslimiye at the time), he became a haj ...

and

Filip Totyu Todor Todorov Topalov (or Topalski) ( bg, Тодор Тодоров Топалов or Топалски; 1830-23 March 1907), better known under the pseudonym Filip Totyu (Филип Тотю), was a Bulgarian revolutionary of the Bulgarian National ...

joined the Legion, as well as young people from Bulgaria and the Bulgarian

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

in Romania. However, the expected war between the two countries never broke out due to the Ottoman authorities' engagement with the suppression of the

Cretan Revolt (1866–1869) Cretan Revolt may refer to one of the following uprisings in Crete: Under Venetian rule * Cretan Revolt (1212) of the Hagiostephanites family * Cretan Revolt (1217) of the Skordiles and Melissenos families * Cretan Revolt (1222) of the Melissenos f ...

and reluctance to further complicate its relations with Serbia. Meanwhile, the government of

Jovan Ristić Jovan Ristić ( sr-Cyr, Јован Ристић; 16 January 1831 – 4 September 1899) was a Serbian politician, diplomat and historian. Biography Born at Kragujevac, he was educated at Belgrade, Heidelberg, Berlin and Paris. After failing to o ...

, which opted for reconciliation with the Ottomans, came into office in Serbia. The Second Bulgarian Legion lost its usefulness to the Serbians as a result of this. It was disbanded in April 1868 despite the opposition of the Russian diplomats, its members being expelled from Serbia.

Historical experience

The experience of the two Legions showed the Bulgarian Legionnaires that the formation of an insurrectionary centre to manage the Bulgarian liberational movement from the outside and particularly the binding of the national uprising's task with the politics of other states would always be exposed to danger. Nevertheless, the Legions were an excellent school that prepared a large number of the future Bulgarian leaders.

References

{{commons category, Bulgarian Legions Expatriate military units and formations Military units and formations established in 1862 Military units and formations disestablished in 1868 Bulgarian revolutionary organisations Military history of Bulgaria Military history of Belgrade Rebels from the Ottoman Empire Bulgaria–Serbia relations 1862 establishments in Serbia