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Kahn Asparukh

Male - 700    Has 46 ancestors and 33 descendants in this family tree.

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  • Name Asparukh  
    Prefix Kahn 
    Gender Male 
    Death 700 
    Siblings 4 Siblings 
    Person ID I78092  Geneagraphie
    Last Modified 1 Nov 2009 

    Father Khan Kubrat,   b. 595-600   d. 651 (Age 51 years) 
    Family ID F32270  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Children 
    +1. Khan Tarvel   d. 721
    +2. Kahn Ajjar   d. Yes, date unknown
    Family ID F32271  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 12 Jul 2007 

    Children 
    +1. Maria   d. Yes, date unknown
    Family ID F227192  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 1 Nov 2009 

  • Photos Photos (Log in)Photos (Log in)

  • Notes 
    • fifth son; was elected to further the work of his father. He led one of the Bulgar tribes west to the Danubian delta where he laid the foundations of the Bulgarian state, which was to survive for 13 centuries. By so doing, Asparukh (or Isperikh) fulfilled the bequest of his father.
      History has not been generous in terms of written evidence about Asparoukh. Old chronicles simply mention the son of Khan Kubrat who acquired experience in politics and statesmanship in Great Bulgaria. When the state disintegrated under pressure from the Khazars, he and his brothers resumed their nomadic life, rocked by the waves of migration and military clashes. It is not known for certain where Asparoukh's horsemen rode before crossing the Danubian delta and settling in the Ongul area (Southern Bessarabia). It is impossible to guess what made the leader head south to the lands of mighty Byzantium. Yet in 680, while alighting from his horse, he knew his tribe was to settle there at last. We can only judge Asparukh by what we know of his deeds. In the 10th century the Khazar ruler Joseph left a written statement that the greatest part of the Bulgars had followed Asparukh. The Name List of Bulgarian Khans says clearly that the state Asparukh founded was the direct and the single successor to Khan Kubrat's Great Bulgaria. The young chief and his horde sought to establish the permanent unified state that Great Bulgaria had failed to become. It was in union with the Slavic tribes south of the Danube that they would succeed. For about a century the Slavic tribes had been roaming the Byzantine lands, their burning and destruction paving the way for the founding of the future state. Their closeness to the Byzantine strongholds posed a serious threat to the empire. They set up large tribal alliances, among which the seven Slavic tribes and the Severians, inhabiting the lands between the Danube and the Balkan range, were the most powerful. They were just a step away from statehood. They were to make that last historic step together with Asparukh's Bulgars. At the end of the 670s Asparoukh made an alliance with the Slavic tribes to fight against Byzantium. In 680 he defeated the Byzantine army and swiftly moved from the Danubian delta down to the Balkan range. And thus Asparukh founded a state of Slavs and Bulgars, binding his tribe with the tribal alliance of the seven Slavic tribes and the Severians. In 681 Khan Asparukh invaded Thrace, seizing fortresses and towns. As the Byzantines were unable to stop him, Emperor Constantine IV Pogonatus was compelled to sue for peace, thus recognizing the new state to which he was to pay annual tribute. Pliska, a city in today's Central Bulgaria, became the first capital of the new state. Asparukh realized that as the new state was an alliance of tribes, it could not be established in one fell swoop but would have to be built over the course of several generations. The Slavs and the Bulgars retained their self-government and the territorial autonomy of their tribes. It is telling that in the historical sources from the end of the 7th to the beginning of the 10th century the new state is referred to as a Slav-Bulgar state. The Khan was in charge of foreign political affairs and commander of the army in times of war. The Slavs defended the northwestern border to the Carpathians against frequent attacks by the Avars. To the east the Black Sea coast was the natural borderline. The Bulgars undertook the defence of the northern borders against the Khazar invasions, far beyond the Danube. The southern border along the ridge of the Balkan range all the way to the Timok river was guarded against the Byzantine threat by the combined efforts of Bulgars and Slavs. The Thracians who had inhabited these lands before the invasion of Slavs and Bulgars were also incorporated into the new state. Asparukh was a daring leader who embodied the skills of politician and statesman, diplomat and warrior. Time taught him skills very few leaders of his rank possessed. In a century when rulers cut their way into the future with their swords, Asparukh held out his hand to the Slavs and offered them peace, a move which proved essential to the survival of the new state. The swift victory of the new state is indicative of the fact that the combined efforts of Bulgars and Slavs made them much less vulnerable. Asparukh kept an ardent watch over the alliance and severely punished any violation of it. A tireless builder and a just arbitrator, he was the perfect leader of an emerging state in times when only God knows whether peaceful construction or military power would have better safeguarded its survival. This first ruler of Bulgaria died in 700 in one of the many battles in defense of the new state.

      Nikephoros, c. 36, ed. Mango, pp. 88-91
      'When [the Byzantine emperor] Constantine became aware that the people which had settled by the Danube (Istros) was attempting to devastate by its incursions the neighbouring places that were under Roman [Byzantine] rule, he conveyed an army to Thrace and, furthermore, fitted out a fleet and set out to ward them off. On seeing the multitude of cavalry and ships, and amazed as they were by the unexpected suddenness [of the attack], the Bulgarians (Boulgaroi) fled to their fortifications and remained there for four days. Since, however, the Romans were unable to engage them in battle because of the difficulty of the terrain, they regained strength and eagerness. Now the emperor was seized by an attack of gout and being in much pain, sailed off to the city of Mesembria for treatment after giving orders to the officers and soldiers to keep on investing the fort ... But a rumour spread that the emperor had fled, and being on this account thrown into confusion they fled headlong ...
      Seeing this the Bulgarians pursued them in strength, killing those that they caught and wounding many others. After crossing the Danube in the direction of Varna ... and perceiving how strong and secure was the inland area thanks to the river and the great difficulty of the terrain, they settled there. They subjugated the neighbouring Slavic tribes (Sklavenon ethnon), some of which they directed to guard the area in the vicinity of the Avars and others to watch the Roman [Byzantine] border. So, fortifying themselves and gaining in strength, they attempted to lay waste the villages and towns of Thrace. Seeing this the emperor was obliged to treat with them and pay them tribute.' (Nikephoros, c. 36, ed. Mango, pp. 88-91)



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