20190523_Bulgaria_6647 crop Rhodope Mountains sRGB av Dan Lundberg

Entranceway into Bachkovo Monastery. The Bachkovo Monastery (near the village of Bachkovo) was founded in 1083 CE by a Georgian military officer from the Byzantine [Eastern Roman Empire] army. In the 13th and 14th centuries CE the monastery came under the patronage of Bulgarian tsars. The Ottomans destroyed the monastery in the 16th century CE, but it was restored in the 17th century CE. Bulgaria was settled by Thracians (by the 12 century BCE) who were conquered by the Persians (6th century BCE) but later regained control (5th century BCE). The Macedonians took over (4th century BCE) until succumbing to the Celts (3rd century BCE) before the Roman Empire annexed Thrace in 45 CE. The Bulgars invaded and signed a peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire [Eastern Roman Empire] in 681 CE to launch the First Bulgarian Empire. In 1018 CE the Byzantines seized back control until an uprising in 1185 CE led by Asen dynasty nobles initiated the Second Bulgarian Empire. By 1396 CE, following more than a decade of attacks, the Ottomans had enserfed the Bulgarian people who gradually supplanted their ethnic identity with a religious one, Orthodox Christianity. In 1877 CE, the Russians declared war on the Ottomans who were defeated with the aid of Bulgarian rebels. The treaty signed on 3 March 1878 CE called for an autonomous Bulgarian principality, establishing the Third (current) Bulgarian State. [March 3 is the National Liberation Day holiday today.] In 1944 CE monarch (tsar) rule was abolished. In 1946 CE, Bulgaria became a socialist state ruled by the Communist Party until a revolution in 1989 CE transformed Bulgaria into a democracy. On Google Earth: Bachkovo Monastery 41°56'32.17"N, 24°50'57.63"E