Pagan ( bg, Паган) was ruler of

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 ...

in 767–768.

Biography

Pagan has been identified as a member of that faction of the Bulgarian aristocracy which sought to establish peaceful relations with the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. After ascending the throne following the murder of his predecessor Toktu, Pagan set out together with his court to attend negotiations with Emperor

Constantine V Constantine V ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantīnos; la, Constantinus; July 718 – 14 September 775), was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able ...

Kopronymos somewhere in

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...

. In the heated talks the emperor represented himself as intent on keeping the peace in Bulgaria and upbraided the Bulgarians for their anarchy, and for deposing their former ruler

Sabin Sabin may refer to: ;Places in the United States * Sabin, Minnesota, a city in Clay County, Minnesota * Sabin, Portland, Oregon, a neighborhood in Portland, Oregon *Sabin-Schellenberg Center, a technical skills center for the North Clackamas Schoo ...

, who lived as a refugee at the imperial court. The emperor nevertheless agreed to make peace, and Pagan returned home. At this point Constantine V suddenly invaded Bulgaria and managed to penetrate across the mountains into the core area of the Bulgarian state, setting afire some settlements around the Bulgarian capital

Pliska Pliska ( , cu, Пльсковъ, translit=Plĭskovŭ) was the first capital of the First Bulgarian Empire during the Middle Ages and is now a small town in Shumen Province, on the Ludogorie plateau of the Danubian Plain, 20 km northeast o ...

. Although Constantine V did not follow up his relatively successful invasion and returned home, Pagan faced the wrath of his subjects who accused him of credulity and inability to oppose the enemy. The monarch fled in the direction of

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

, but was murdered by his servants, and succeeded by

Telerig Telerig ( bg, Телериг) was the ruler of Bulgaria from 768 to 777. Although Telerig is first mentioned by Byzantine sources in 774, he is considered as he immediate successor of Pagan, who was murdered in 768. In May 774, Byzantine Empero ...

. The 17th century Volga Bulgar compilation ''

Cäğfär Taríxı The ''Cäğfär Taríxı'' ( Tatar Cyrillic: Җәгъфәр тарихы, pronounced ; Russian: Джагфар Тарихы, in English generally ''Djagfar Tarikhy,'' via the Russian transliteration of the Volga Tatar name; Tatar language for ''Hist ...

'' (a work of disputed authenticity) represents Boyan (i.e., Pagan) as the son of the former ruler Bunek (i.e.,

Vinekh Vineh (also spelled Vinekh; bg, Винех) was ruler of Bulgaria in the mid-8th century. According to the Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans, Vineh reigned for seven years and was a member of the Vokil clan. Vineh ascended the throne after the de ...

), and credits him with the expulsion of Sain (i.e., Sabin).Bahshi Iman, ''Djagfar Tarihi'', vol. III. Orenburg 1997. (Primary source.)

References

*Mosko Moskov (1988). ''Imennik na bălgarskite hanove (novo tălkuvane)''. Sofia. *Jordan Andreev, Ivan Lazarov, Plamen Pavlov, ''Koj koj e v srednovekovna Bălgarija'', Sofia 1999. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pagan Of Bulgaria 8th-century births 768 deaths 8th-century murdered monarchs Murdered Bulgarian monarchs 8th-century Bulgarian monarchs

Biography

See also

References