B

ULGARIA, bul-går'e-a, or beel grea, independent kingdom of the Balkan Peninsula (q.v.), southeastern Europe. Bulgaria is bounded on the north by the Danube and Rumania; on the east by the Black Sea; on the south by Turkey and the Egean Sea; and on the west by Serbia and Greece. Before the Balkan Wars (q.v.) in 1912-13 the estimated area of the country was 24,380 square miles, and of South Bulgaria (formerly Eastern Rumelia) 13,700 square miles, total 38,080 square miles. According to the census of 1900 the total population was 3,744,283; in 1906, 4,028,260; in 1910, 4,337,516. By the Treaty of London (30 May 1913) Bulgaria had gained a large amount of territory from Turkey, but being discontented with her share, she turned against her former allies (29 June 1913) and was severely defeated in the second Balkan War and in consequence lost much of what she had won. Rumania intervened and acquired about 2,900 square miles of territory. Bulgaria finally secured only about 10,000 square miles from Turkey, while she lost nearly 3,000 square miles of her own territory to Rumania, with a population of about 273,000. Balkan statistics, however, should be accepted with considerable reserve, as it is rare to find any two authorities in agreement. The most recent figures obtainable give the kingdom of Bulgaria an area of 43,320 square miles, and a total population of 4,467,000, made up of Bulgarians, Turks, Rumanians, Greeks, Serbs, Gypsies, Jews, Russians, Germans and other nationalities. Before 1913 Bulgaria was divided into 12 districts, Saint Zagora, Bourgas, Vidin, Philippopolis, Varna, Rustchuk, Tirnovo, Choumen, Pleven, Sofia, Kustendil and Vratza. The capital is Sofia (q.v.), with a population of 103,000; other chief towns are Philippopolis, Varna, Rustchuk, Slivno, Shumla and Plevna.

Soil, Climate, Industry. The surface of Old Bulgaria is a gradually sloping plain, broken by occasional mountains, which give rise to rapid tributaries of the Danube. The Balkan Mountains or Stara Planina are described under Balkan Peninsula and Balkan Mountains. There is little mining, although the mountains are rich in minerals, iron, gold, silver, manganese and copper. The soil is excellent and the slopes of the mountains are richly wooded. The climate is healthy, and the country enjoys the reputation of possessing more centenarians than any other in Europe. People stated to be 105 to 125 years of age are

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not uncommon, though it is not improbable that such remarkable longevity may be due rather to unreliable records and memories than to any virtues of climate. Over 70 per cent of the people are engaged in agriculture and most of nd mo them own freehold plots on which they pay a small land tax, while they enjoy free rights over communal grazing and timber lands. A considerable quantity of grain, chiefly wheat, is exported; fruit and vegetables are raised in abundance; roses are largely cultivated for the production of the attar, which is exported to the value of $1,500,000 per annum. Wine is plentiful and cheap; silkworms are bred in some regions and tobacco forms an important crop. Stone quarries and government coal mines are in operation; domestic industries are chiefly carpets, hosiery, woolen and cotton goods and ribbons. The highways are still in a backward condition; most of the traffic is carried on by the rivers, and export trade by the Black Sea ports of Vara and Bourgas; passenger and merchant steamers run between Varna and Constantinople (150 miles). Rustchuk, Vidin and Sistova are the chief Danube ports. There is a railroad system of nearly 1,500 miles in the kingdom; Sofia is connected with the general European system, and several new lines are projected or are in course of construction, one to run from the Danube to the Egean Sea. The National Bank of Bulgaria (capital, $4,000,000) has over 60 branches; there is also a State Agricultural Bank, and a French, a German and an Austrian bank. On 1 April 1916 Bulgaria abolished the Julian calendar (old style), which is 13 days behind ours, and adopted the Gregorian calendar. Statistics of 1914 showed the Bulgarian revenue as $51,399,000; in 1915, $55,135,975; expenditure, 1914, $51,352,520; in 1915, $55,073,240; national debt, 1915, $231,496,540. Imports, 1914, $44,586,860; exports, 1914, $28,813,372.

Government.- Bulgaria is a constitutional monarchy. Legislative authority is vested in the Sobranje, a national assembly consisting of only one chamber, to which members are elected at the rate of one representative to every 20,000 of the population. The members are paid for their services; elections are held every four years unless the Sobranje is dissolved by the King before the expiration of its term. With certain exceptions, every man over 30 is eligible. For decisions concerning highly important matters of state the Sobranje is doubled by special election and resolved into a "Grand Sobranje." The cabinet is composed of

eight ministers appointed by the King; they hold the usual portfolios premier, finance, war, etc.

Religion. The national religion of Bulgaria is the same as that of the orthodox Greek Church, but it is independent of that body. Over 75 per cent of the population belong to that faith; the remainder are Mohammedans, Jews, Roman Catholics, Protestants and Gregorian Armenians, whose ancestors seceded from the Greek Church in the 5th century. The University of Sofia is open to women as well as men; the state subsidizes education, which is obligatory and free to those who cannot pay for it. There are also Greek, Turkish, American, Jewish, French, Armenian and German schools, and education is further promoted by free libraries, museums and technical schools.

Military Service.- Despite its small population, Bulgaria possesses a large and efficient army. It gave a good account of itself in the Serbian War of 1885, and a still better one in the Balkan Wars. Recruiting is by conscription; Moslems are exempt on payment of a tax of $100 each. Every other Bulgarian subject is liable to 26 years' service, and the army is consequently composed of many different races. Besides the pure-bred Bulgars, there are Turks, who cannot pay the tax, Pomakes (settlers and nomads), Jews ("Spanioles" and Poles), Serbs, Greeks, Rumanians, Armenians, Gypsies, Circassians, and naturalized Russians, Germans and Levantines. The army actually dates from January 1878. From 1389, when the Turks defeated the Slav allies, till 1878, the Bulgarians, as Christian subjects of Turkey, had been exempt from military service. The soldiers are well-treated, though hard-worked, and very particular attention is paid to their spiritual welfare. Should a regiment contain but one Jew and one Mohammedan, a rabbi and a dervish are provided. The barracks are comfortably built and equipped with appliances calculated to promote the health of the troops. Large mirrors and framed pictures adorn the walls; drunkenness is practically unknown, and little smoking is indulged in. The Bulgarian officer takes his profession seriously, working and studying hard with dogged pertinacity and living within his income. The basis of the army's theoretical teaching and science is German; drill, ranks and names are Russian. The corps of reserve officers about 3,000—is composed of merchants, lawyers, teachers, etc. There is a military academy at Sofia. The war strength of the army is considerably over 300,000. A few gunboats and about a dozen small steamers make up Bulgaria's floating strength.

History. The Bulgarians were originally a Tartar nation, which in the 4th century settled on the Volga. The ruins of their former capital may still be seen in the neighborhood of Kazan. Their kingdom, which occupied a part of the Asiatic Sarmatia of the Greeks, was called Great Bulgaria, and is now comprehended in the Russian government of Orenburg. They afterward removed to the countries between the Bog and the Danube and called their territories Second Bulgaria. The first Bulgarian kingdom south of the Danube was founded in the latter half of the 7th century, but the Bulgarians who established it were comparatively few in num

ber, and after their adoption of Christianity in the 9th century they became completely mixed up with the Slavonic inhabitants, though the whole became known as Bulgarians. The greatest ruler of this kingdom was Symeon (888927), who subjugated the greater part of the peninsula and raised the Archbishop of Bulgaria to a position independent of the Patriarch of Constantinople. Under the son of Symeon this empire fell to pieces. The western half broke off and formed a separate kingdom, with Ochrida in Macedonia for its capital; and the eastern portion was subdued by the Byzantine Emperor, John Zimisces, who reincorporated it with the empire. The western Bulgarian kingdom existed only till about 1018, when it also was subdued by Basil II, "the slayer of the Bulgarians." Toward the end of the 12th century, however, the Bulgarians revolted and managed to establish a third kingdom between the Balkan range and the Danube, which, sometimes weak and sometimes powerful, continued to exist till the advent of the Turks. The last ruler of this kingdom was conquered by Bajazet I about 1390, and for nearly 500 years the Turks ruled supreme. In 1876, on account of the atrocities of the Turkish soldiers, an insurrection broke out. Russia took the part of Bulgaria against Turkey, and the war of 1877-78 followed. (See BATAK). By the first article of the Treaty of Berlin, 13 July 1878, the principality of Bulgaria was constituted, made tributary to Turkey and placed under the suzerainty of the Sultan. In 1879, Alexander of Battenberg, a German prince, was chosen sovereign of part of Bulgaria, the rest being made a separate province, called Eastern Rumelia, to prevent Bulgaria from becoming a strong state. In 1885 there was a revolution in Eastern Rumelia, which annexed itself to Bulgaria.

The annexation of Eastern Rumelia led to a quarrel with Russia; Tsar Alexander III withdrew all Russian officers who had been training the Bulgarian army and were still serving in it. King Milan of Serbia considered the moment ripe to realize the territorial aspirations of his country and declared war on Bulgaria, 14 Nov. 1885. (See SERBO-BULGARIAN WAR). After a short, sharp campaign the Serbians were defeated but saved from extinction by the intervention of Austria. Russian and Bulgarian conspirators abducted Prince Alexander and set up a government under Russian tutelage. A counter-revolution, headed by Stambuloff (q.v.), succeeded in restoring the Prince within a few days. Unfortunately Alexander made a false move when he telegraphed to the Tsar and offered to resign his crown into Russian hands. This step turned Bulgarian opinion against him; he was compelled to abdicate and leave the country on 9 Sept. 1886. For 11 months Bulgaria remained without a ruler, its affairs being managed by a regency under the leadership of Stambuloff. This statesman, an innkeeper's son, was a rude, violent man, of uncouth manners but sincere patriotism. He had been largely responsible for throwing off the Turkish yoke, and now fought strenuously to resist the aggression of Russia. The Russian candidate for the throne was rejected and Prince Valdemar of Denmark, to whom it was offered, refused the honor. Stambuloff sent a commission round the Euro

pean capitals to find a prince for the vacant post. Their choice eventually fell upon Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, son of Prince Augustus of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Princess Clémentine, daughter of King Louis Philippe of France. At the time of his election (7 July 1887), Prince Ferdinand was 26 and an officer in the Austrian Hussars. The task that lay before him was difficult and the enterprise most precarious. Though he never achieved the popularity of his predecessor, the new Prince brought his undoubted ability and ambition to the regeneration of Bulgaria. Aided by Stambuloff, who, like Bismarck, was the master of his sovereign, Ferdinand produced order from chaos with an iron hand. None of the Powers would recognize him, and it took nine years before he succeeded in wearing down the antagonism of those within and without his domain. He cultivated the friendship of Turkey and Rumania and combated the Russian influence permeating Bulgaria. It would perhaps be more correct to ascribe the strong antiRussian policy to Stambuloff rather than to the Prince; the former was the fortiter in re to the suaviter in modo of the latter. With but one passion-love of his country - Stambuloff labored ruthlessly and mercilessly for a master whom he despised, whom he would neither flatter nor betray. Stambuloff cared nothing for the man; only for the nationality he represented. With fiery, self-sacrificing energy Stambuloff developed the resources of his country railways, financial reform, education creating an efficient army and fostering every type of commerce and industry. During the seven years that Prince Ferdinand and his Minister "worked together" their personal relations grew from bad to worse, developing into fierce hatred. By describing his conduct in an official communication as "infamous," Prince Ferdinand goaded Stambuloff into resignation in 1894. Stambuloff's request that he be permitted to visit a foreign health resort was refused. He made a public declaration that he would be. murdered, and on 15 July 1895 his prognostication was fulfilled; he w murdered and mutilated by four men in the streets of Sofia in the presence of the police. One of his hands, which was cut off in the struggle, is said to be still preserved in his home, to be buried on the day when his murder is avenged.

was

From the moment of Stambuloff's resignation Prince Ferdinand took the reins into his own hands. For the next 10 years a succession of premiers wrestled with the chaotic finances of the country and the thorny question of Macedonia. Efforts were made to establish friendly relations with Russia and Austria. Prince Ferdinand's eldest son, Boris (b. 30 Jan. 1894) had been baptized a Roman Catholic, the religion of his parents; at the age of two he was rebaptized and received into the Orthodox Greek Church, the Tsar standing as his sponsor. Russia then recognized Prince Ferdinand, and the other Powers followed suit. The Minister for Public Works in Stambuloff's last cabinet (1892-94) was a Bulgarian journalist, M. Petkoff, who had previously been mayor of Sofia. He was walking with Stambuloff at the time the latter was murdered. In 1903 General Petroff became Premier, and Petkoff joined the cabinet as Minister of the

1928

Interior. On the resignation of General Petroff (5 Nov. 1906), M. Petkoff was called to the helm of Bulgarian affairs. He belonged to the party known as the Stambuloff section of the Liberals, distinguished by its irreconcilable hostility to Russian influence in the Balkans. Less than five months (11 March 1907) later, Petkoff was shot dead on the street by a dismissed employee of the Agricultural Bank. The accession of Count von Aehrenthal (q.v.) as Austrian Foreign Minister in October 1906 was destined profoundly to influence Balkan affairs, and especially those of Bulgaria. For many years Bulgaria had been begging the Powers to relieve her of the burden of the "Capitulations," a relic of Turkish rule. According to these rules, a foreign subject could not be arrested except in the presence of a kavass, dragoman or some other consular official, or tried without similar supervision. Practically all the other Powers had signified their readiness to abolish the Capitulations if consent thereto could be obtained from every one of them. Austria-Hungary, however, had hitherto always objected to any change. Within a month of taking office, Count von Aehrenthal rendered this service to Bulgaria, which cost Austria nothing and yet laid the principality under a great obligation. By this simple stroke the dual monarchy assured to itself the warm sympathy of Bulgaria to an extent long absent from their relations. For 10 years it had been the policy of Count Goluchowsky (Aehrenthal's predecessor) to play off the Slav against the non-Slav Balkan States, e.g., Greece and Rumania against Bulgaria and Serbia, inclining toward the former and treating the latter in a magisterial manner that aroused bitter resentment. Austria's "graceful concession" paved the way for two important events profitable to both parties. Having gained the goodwill of Bulgaria, Austria was able, in 1908, to annex Bosnia-Herzegovina, despite the fierce opposition of Serbia. To Prince Ferdinand, the removal of the Capitulations was the first step toward the realization of his larger policy-complete independence from Turkish suzerainty, and a royal crown. In September 1908, Prince Ferdinand was received with royal honors at Budapest; 12 days later (5 October) Bulgarian independence was proclaimed and the Prince took the title of Tsar of Bulgaria; two days later Emperor Francis Joseph issued a proclamation that Austro-Hungarian sovereignty was extended to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The moment was well chosen; the Young Turk revolution had just achieved its object; the Committee of Union and Progress ruled in Constantinople, and there seemed every prospect of Turkey becoming a united and enlightened nation, strong to reassert her claims on Bosnia-Herzegovina and suzerainty over Bulgaria. Shadowy indeed those claims were, for public opinion in western Europe had long ceased to consider them valid. The fact that Tirnovo (Trnovo) was chosen as the scene of the proclamation of the re-establishment of the Bulgarian kingdom added to the dramatic interest of the situation, for no portion of the Bulgarian soil is so intimately associated with the most stirring events of the national history. The church of the Forty Martyrs, wherein the Prince read the proclamation, was built in 1230

by John Asen, "Tsar and Autocrat of the Bulgarians," whose inscription on one of the pillars reads: "I smote the Greek army and all lands have I conquered, from Adrianople to Durazzo, the Greek, the Albanian, and the Servian land. Here the Bulgarian

Tsars were crowned and buried, and many inscriptions of those times still adorn the walls. Turkey claimed $24,000,000 as compensation; Bulgaria offered $7,600,000. An agreement was arrived at through the intermediary of Russia, who advanced most of the money; in April 1909, the Powers recognized Bulgaria as an independent, sovereign state.

The next important event in the history of Bulgaria was the formation of the Balkan League (q.v.) and the Balkan Wars in 1912 and 1913. However much Bulgaria was to blame for the second war, the Treaty of Bucharest (10 Aug. 1913), imposed upon her by Serbia, Montenegro, Rumania and Greece, was a colos sal blunder on the part of those who dictated it. It left Bulgaria sullen and dissatisfied, and robbed her of the fruits of her early victories. She failed to receive any part of that district of Macedonia inhabited chiefly by Bulgars. Serbia and Greece had obtained most of the spoils, and Rumania had rectified her frontier at Bulgaria's expense. This legitimate grievance was destined to affect the course of the great European War (q.v.) that broke out a year later. The sympathies of Rumania were with the Allies, but she could not enter the war without an understanding with Bulgaria. On behalf of Greece, M. Venizelos had promised the support of his country to Great Britain and France if the necessity should arise. In a communication to King Constantine (11 Jan. 1915) he pointed out that, if Greece allowed Serbia "to be crushed to-day. . . . we should have to submit to the disturbance of the Balkan equilibrium in favor of Bulgaria, who, thus strengthened, would either now or some time hence be in a position to attack us, when we should be entirely without either a friend or an ally." He proposed to make "adequate concessions" to Bulgaria; but he confessed, "on account of Bulgaria's greed, it is not at all certain, whatever concessions we make, that we shall be able to satisfy her There was every indication that Bulgaria might have been won for the Allies had her price been paid, as her most distinguished generals favored a Russian alliance; but nothing was done to conciliate her. The Bulgarian Premier, M. Radoslavoff, declared in July and again in August that Bulgaria was prepared to enter the war as soon as she received the necessary guarantees. But the Russian disaster in the Carpathians and the failure of the Dardanelles campaign persuaded King Ferdinand that by joining Germany and Austria he would be on the winning side. A secret treaty was signed about 17 July 1915 between Bulgaria, Germany, Austria and Turkey. Bulgaria was promised her price, in the shape of Serbian Macedonia, with Salonica and Epirus thrown in. September began the Austro-German advance that was to deal the final blow to Serbia. On the 21st M. Venizelos asked the Allies for 150,000 men; they were promised on the 24th, and Greece began mobilizing. Bulgaria was also mobilizing; a deputation of ex-ministers waited on the King and warned him against

During

joining the Central Powers. Serbia proposed on the 27th to attack Bulgaria, as the presence of German and Austrian officers in Sofia looked suspicious, but Great Britain opposed the plan, apparently still harboring belief in the Bulgarian declaration of "armed neutrality." Had the Serbians not counted till the last moment on Greece fulfilling her treaty obligations, it is probable that they would have disregarded the British advice. On the 3d of October the Russian government addressed a note to Bulgaria declaring that there was no longer any doubt "as to the object of the present military preparations," and the Russian Minister was instructed to leave Sofia if the Bulgarian government did not "openly break with the enemies of the Slav cause and of Russia within 24 hours by sending away the officers belonging to the armies of states who are at war with the Powers of the Entente." An unsatisfactory reply led to a rupture of diplomatic relations, and Bulgaria formally entered the conflict on 5 Oct. 1915. On the 19th an imperial manifesto issued in Petrograd stated that "the Bulgarian troops have attacked our loyal ally Serbia, already bleeding in a struggle against a stronger enemy." See WAR, EUROPEAN.

Bibliography.— Abadjieff, C., 'Die Handelspolitik Bulgariens' (Munich 1910); Andrassy, J., La Bulgarie et la guerre générale' (Budapest 1916); Anon, 'Ferdinand of Bulgaria: the amazing career of' (London 1916); Anon, 'Nationalism and War in the Near East' (Oxford 1915); Baker, Valentine (Pasha), War in Bulgaria) (London 1879); 'Balkanicus' (pseud.), The Aspirations of Bulgaria,' translated from the Serbian (London 1915); Barkley, H. C., Between the Danube and the Black Sea: or, Five Years in Bulgaria' (London 1876), and 'Bulgaria before the War' (London 1877); Beaman, H., M. Stambuloff (London 1895); Blanqui, J. A., Voyage en Bulgarie pendant l'année 1841) (Paris 1843); Bousquet, G., 'Histoire du peuple Bulgare) (Paris 1909); Brailsford, H. N., Macedonia: its races and their future' (London 1906); Buclens, F., 'La Bulgarie contemporaine' (Brussels 1905); Bulgaria of To-Day: official edition of the Bulgarian ministry of commerce and agriculture (London 1907); Calary de Lamazière, R., Les Capitulations en Bulgarie' (Paris 1905); Caleb, A., La Bulgarie et le traité de Berlin' (Geneva 1909); Cambon, V., Autour des Balkans' (Paris 1890); Chaunier, A., 'La Bulgarie: étude d'histoire diplomatique', (Paris 1909); Cholet, Count A. P. de, 'Etude sur la guerre Bulgaro-Serbe) (Paris 1891); Curtis, W. E., The Lost Provinces of Turkey' (Chicago 1903); Dicey, E., The Peasant State: Bulgaria in 1894) (London 1894); Drander, A. G., Evénements politiques en Bulgarie' ·(Paris 1896), and Cinq ans de règne: le prince Alexandre de Battenberg en Bulgarie (Paris 1884); Dupuy-Peyou, L. L., La Bulgarie aux Bulgares (Paris 1896); Eliot, Sir C., Turkey in Europe (London 1908); Falkenegg, Baron von, Bulgarien, Vergangenheit und Gegenwart' (Berlin 1900); Floericke, K., 'Geschichte der Bulgaren (Stuttgart 1913); Forbes, Toynbee, Mitrany and Hogarth, The Balkans: a history of Bulgaria, etc.) (Oxford 1915); Fox, F., Bulgaria (London 1915); Gladstone, W. E., 'Lessons in massacre: or, the conduct of the Turkish government in and about Bulgaria

since May, 1876) (London 1877); Gubernatis, Comte de, 'Le Bulgarie et les Bulgares) (Florence 1899); Guechoff, J. E., "The Politics of the Balkan League' (London 1915); Guérin Songeon, R. P., Histoire de la Bulgarie' (Paris 1913); Herbert, W. V., 'By-Paths in the Balkans (London 1906); and The Chronicles of a Virgin Fortress, being some unrecorded chapters of Turkish and Bulgarian history) (London 1896); Hilferding, A. F., Geschichte der Serben und Bulgaren (Bautzen 1864); Huhn, Maj. A. von, The Struggle of the Balkans for National Independence under Prince Alexander) (London 1886); Huyshe, W., The Liberation of Bulgaria: war notes in 1877) (London 1894); Jireček, C. J., 'Geschichte der Bulgaren (Prague 1876), and 'Das Fuerstenthum Bulgarien (Prague 1891); Kanitz, F. P., Donau-Bulgarien und der Balkan' (Leipzig 1882); Kazezes, N., 'Greeks and Bulgarians in the 19th and 20th Centuries' (London 1907); Koch, A., Prince Alexander of Battenberg: reminiscences of his reign in Bulgaria (London 1887); Lamouche, L., 'La Bulgarie dans le passé et le présent (Paris 1892); Landemont, Comte A., 'L'élan d'un peuple: la Bulgarie jusqu'au traité de Londres 1861-1913) (Paris 1914); Leger, L., 'La Bulgarie' (Paris 1885); Launay, L. de, 'La Bulgarie d'hier et de demain (Paris 1912); Macdonald, J., Czar Ferdinand and his People' (New York 1913); Macfie, R. A., (With gypsies in Bulgaria (Liverpool 1916); MacGahan, J. A., The Turkish Atrocities in Bulgaria' (London 1876); Mach, R. von, 'The Bulgarian Exarchate (London 1907); Mahoney, P. C., 'Bulgaria and the Powers (Dublin 1915); Miklositch, F., Vergleichende Grammatik der bulgarischen Sprache (Vienna 1879); Miller, W., Travels and Politics in the Near East' (London 1898), and (The Balkans' (New York 1896); Moeller, R., 'Der Serbisch-Bulgarische Krieg 1885 (Hanover 1891); Moltke, The_Russians in Bulgaria and Rumelia in 1828 and 1829) (London 1854); Monroe, W. S., 'Bulgaria and her People (Boston 1914); Moore, F., The Balkan Trail (New York 1906); Morfill, W. R., 'Grammar of the Bulgarian Language) (London 1897); Murray, W. S., The Making of the Balkan States' (London 1912); Muzet, A., Aux pays Balkaniques' (Paris 1912); Pears, Sir E., Forty years in Constantinople' (London 1916); Price, W. H. C., Light on the Balkan Darkness (London 1915); Pypin and Spasovitch, 'History of the Slavonic Literature) (Paris 1881); Report of the International Commission to inquire into the causes and conduct of the Balkan War' (Washington 1914); Ruland, W., Auszug der bulgarischen Geschichte' (Berlin 1912); St. Clair, S. G., and Brophy, C. A., 'A Residence in Bulgaria (London 1869); Samuelson, J., 'Bulgaria past and present' (London 1888); Scelle, G., La situation diplomatique de la Bulgarie avant la proclamation de son indépendence' (Revue gén. de droit international, Paris 1908); Schurman, The Balkan Wars' (Princeton 1915); Stambler, B., Les Roumains et les Bulgares: le traité de Bucarest' (Paris 1914); Stoyanoff, Z., Autobiography of a Bulgarian Insurgent' (London 1913); Strausz, A., 'Die Bulgaren (Leipzig 1898); Toula, F., Reisen und geologische Untersuchungen in Bulgarien)

(Vienna 1890); Vymazal, F., Die Bulgarische Sprache schnell und leicht zu erlernen' (Vienna 1888); Ward, Capt. M. C., 'Handbook of the Armies of the Balkan States' (War Office, London 1900); Wiesner, A. K., Aus Serbien und Bulgarien (Leipzig); Woods, H. C., The Danger Zone of Europe' (London 1911); also, Washed by Four Seas' (London 1908). See also bibliography under BALKAN PENINSULA AND BALKAN WARS.

HENRI F. KLEIN.

Editorial Staff of The Americana. BULGARIAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. Bulgaria and the adjacent districts of Macedonia are considered to have been the cradle of the old Slavic languages. The ancient Bulgarian language was the richest of them all, and was the scriptural language of the Greek-Slavic Church and the great medium of ecclesiastical literature in the ancient Slavic lands. The Russian language is said to have been molded by missionaries of the Greek Church sent from Bulgaria about the 11th century, while the future empire was still in a state of semi-barbarism. The Russian tongue has preserved many inflections which the Bulgarian has lost. After the overthrow of the Bulgarian kingdom at the close of the 14th century, the grammatical structure and purity of the language became impaired by mixture with the Wallachian, Albanian, Rumanian, Turco-Tartar and Greek vernaculars; and the modern Bulgarian language has only the nominative and vocative of the seven Slavic cases, all the rest being supplied by prepositions. It has an article, which is put after the word it qualifies, like that of the Albanians and Wallachians. Among ancient Bulgarian ecclesiastical literature must be mentioned the translations of the Bible by Cyril and Methodius, and the writings of John of Bulgary in the 10th century. Grammars of the Bulgarian language have been published by Neofyt in 1835 and by Christiaki in the following year. Venelin, a young Russian scholar, sent to Bulgaria by the Russian archæographical commission, published in 1837 a grammar and two volumes of a history of the Bulgarians, but died while he was engaged in preparing a third volume. A new grammar was given to the public by Bogojev in 1845 and finally, in 1849, by the Rev. E. Riggs, an American missionary stationed at Smyrna, who also sent a Bulgarian translation of Gallaudet's 'Child's Book on the Soul' to New York. Dictionaries of the Bulgarian language have been compiled by Neofyt Rilski, who also published a work on education, and Stojanowicz. A Bulgarian version of the New Testament was printed at Smyrna in 1840 for the British and Foreign Bible Society. The Bulgarian national songs are numerous, and are similar to those of the Serbians. Czelakowsky's collection of Slavic songs contains a number of Bulgarian songs. Bobojev has published several historical poems. Among more recent writers the poet Christo Boteff (d. 1876), who exercised a powerful influence on the national spirit, is regarded as one of the greatest poets Bulgaria has produced; while the poet-novelist Ivan Vazoff is the most popular author to-day. He is also a dramatist and was at one time a soldier and a revolutionary. His best works were written during the years of his exile in