Kanasubigi ( el, ΚΑΝΑΣΥΒΙΓΙ), possibly read as ''Kanas Ubigi'' or ''Kanas U Bigi'' was a title of the early

Bulgar Bulgar may refer to: *Bulgars, extinct people of Central Asia *Bulgar language, the extinct language of the Bulgars * Oghur languages Bulgar may also refer to: *Bolghar, the capital city of Volga Bulgaria *Bulgur, a wheat product * Bulgar, an Ash ...

rulers of

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Europ ...

Omurtag Omurtag (or Omortag) ( bg, Омуртаг; original gr, Μορτάγων and Ομουρτάγ', Inscription No.64. Retrieved 10 April 2012.) was a Great Khan ('' Kanasubigi'') of Bulgaria from 814 to 831. He is known as "the Builder". In the v ...

and his son Malamir are mentioned in inscriptions as Kanasubigi. The title '' khan'' for early

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

rulers is an assumed one, as only the form ''kanasubigi'' or "kanasybigi" is attested in stone inscriptions. Historians presume that it includes the title '' khan'' in its archaic form ''kana'', and there is a presumptive evidence suggesting that the latter title was indeed used in

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 ...

, e.g. the name of one of the Bulgars' ruler

Pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

occurs in Patriarch Nicephorus's so-called breviarium as (''Kampaganos''), likely an erroneous rendition of the phrase "Kan Pagan". Among the proposed translations for the phrase ''kanasubigi'' as a whole are ''lord of the army'', from the reconstructed Turkic phrase ''*sü begi'', paralleling the attested

Old Turkic Old Turkic (also East Old Turkic, Orkhon Turkic language, Old Uyghur) is the earliest attested form of the Turkic languages, found in Göktürk and Uyghur Khaganate inscriptions dating from about the eighth to the 13th century. It is the old ...

''sü baši'', and, more recently, "(ruler) from God", from the

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...

''*su-'' and ''baga-'', i.e. ''*su-baga'' (an equivalent of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

phrase , ''ho ek Theou archon'', which is common in Bulgar inscriptions). Another presumption is that the title means the ''great khan''. This titulature presumably persisted until the Bulgars adopted

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. Some Bulgar inscriptions written in Greek and later in Slavonic refer to the Bulgarian ruler respectively with the Greek title ''archon'' or the Slavic title '' knyaz''.Manassias Chronicle, Vatican transcription, p. 145, see Battle of Pliska

References

Bibliography

*Hanswilhelm Haefs, ''Das goldene Reich der Pamir-Bulgaren an Donau und Wardar'' (p. 120), {{ISBN, 3-8334-2340-4 Bulgar language Bulgarian royalty Bulgarian noble titles First Bulgarian Empire