and quickly made peace with them in
order to strengthen themselves against the Byzantines. As the Slavs were
far more numerous than the Bulgars, the latter were assimilated, and
within two centuries the Bulgars had been completely slavicized. The
Slavic language and culture were adopted, although the Bulgarian name
and political structure were retained. A Slav-Bulgarian state was formed
with the capital at Pliska.

The First Bulgarian Kingdom lasted from A.D. 679 to A.D. 1018, when it
fell to Byzantium. During this period the social system resembled the
feudal system of Western Europe. The king, or tsar, was the leading
nobleman. As the political situation of the period varied, he was
alternately supported or opposed by the boyars (large landowners). The
great majority of the people were serfs.

During the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. the Bulgarians consolidated
and further reinforced their power. By the ninth century they were so
powerful that they challenged the Byzantine Empire itself. Twice in this
period the Bulgarians controlled areas of Greece, Turkey, Yugoslavia,
Romania, and even Russia. In a battle in 811 the Bulgars completely
devastated the Byzantine army that had invaded their country; killed the
Byzantine emperor, Nicephorus; and went on to lay siege to
Constantinople itself. The siege failed, but Bulgaria had established
itself as a power with which to be reckoned.

During the ninth century A.D. Bulgaria once again became the focus of
Greek and Roman cultural and political rivalry. The dispute was finally
terminated when Bulgaria, under King Boris I, accepted Christianity
from Constantinople rather than from Rome. As early as 836 the Byzantine
Empire had sent two brothers, Cyril and Methodius, to convert the Slavs.
When the brothers were in Venice, they argued in favor of church
services and literature in the Slavic language, opposing the Roman
bishops who believed that only Hebrew, Greek, and Latin were suitable
languages for worship. This dialogue further exacerbated the tensions
between Byzantium and Rome. By 870 Boris made Orthodox Christianity the
official religion of the state. At this juncture Bulgaria fell under the
Byzantine sphere of influence, completing--for the moment--its break
with the Roman religion and culture.

The influence of Cyril and Methodius upon the Bulgarian language and
culture is incalculable. They not only carried a new liturgical form to
Bulgaria but also devised a n