Păcuiul lui Soare is an island on the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

in southeastern

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

, known for its

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 ...

and

Byzantine 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 ...

fortress, built in the 8th century and abandoned by the 15th century. The island belongs to the Ostrov commune in

Constanța County Constanța () is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the Dobruja region. Its capital city is also named Constanța. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 684,082 and the population density was 96/km2. The degr ...

. The village of Ostrov is located on the southern bank of the Danube, in the historical region of Northern Dobruja. The island's name in Romanian means "Soare's Island", using an archaic word for "island". ''Soare'' itself (meaning "Sun" in Romanian) is a Romanian name. Modern researchers suppose that the ruins from the beginning of the 8th century belong to the "Glorious Palace" of the

Khans 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 ...

of the First Bulgarian Empire on the Danube and the main base of the Bulgarian Danube fleet. Many Protobulgarian marks have been found engraved in the masonry, resembling that of the imperial 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 ...

. The text from the Holy 40 Martyrs Column found in

Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

indicates that the Great Khan

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 ...

(?–831) built, perhaps over Byzantine ruins, the medieval port and palace complex. Archaeologist states that the fortress was built between 972 and 976 by the troops of Emperor John I Tzimiskes. In the 1950s, about 25% of the fortress was visible, and in 2011, 10-15% of the fortress was still visible, due to

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...

Gallery

PacuiulLuiSoareConstanta.JPG, A medieval medallion discovered on Păcuiul lui Soare Wharf of the Bulgarian fortress on the island Ostrov (Păcuiul lui Soare).png, Wharf of the fortress-reconstruction Bulgarian fortress on the island Ostrov.png, Plan of the Bulgarian fortress

References

Romania in the Early Middle Ages Byzantine forts Forts in Romania Islands of the Danube Byzantine sites in Romania Dobruja First Bulgarian Empire River islands of Romania {{Romania-archaeology-stub