Kanasubigi ( el, ΚΑΝΑΣΥΒΙΓΙ), possibly read as ''Kanas Ubigi'' or ''Kanas U Bigi'' was a title of the early
Bulgar 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 Eur ...
.
Omurtag and his son
Malamir are mentioned in inscriptions as Kanasubigi.
The title ''
khan
Khan may refer to:
*Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan
*Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name
*Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
'' for early
Bulgarian 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
Khan may refer to:
*Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan
*Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name
*Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
'' 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 Macedo ...
, 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. I ...
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, Du ...
''*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 popula ...
. 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
, or ( Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...
''.
[Manassias Chronicle, Vatican transcription, p. 145, see ]Battle of Pliska
The Battle of Pliska or Battle of Vărbitsa Pass was a series of battles between troops, gathered from all parts of the Byzantine Empire, led by the Emperor Nicephorus I, and the First Bulgarian Empire, governed by Khan Krum. The Byzantines plu ...
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