The Russians, who had also been incited to foreign conquest by the fertile regions of the south, landed an ar my of 60,000 men on the shores of the Danube, and en tering Bulgaria, ravaged the country with fire and sword. In a desperate encounter, the Bulgarian horse yielded to the swords of the Russians with the loss of their king and the captivity of his children. Swatoslaus, the Rus sian chief, now advanced to the south. He invested the city of Adrianople hi spite of the remonstrances of the Roman emperor, and even threatened the capital itself. But his numbers were unable to withstand the attack of 12,000 Romans, under the command of the valiant Zimisces. Alareianopolis was taken by storm, and 8500 Russians put to the sword. The sons of the Bulgarian king were rescued from prison, and invested with the diadem of their father ; and Swatoslaus was compelled to take refuge in the strong fortress of Dristra, on the banks of the Danube, and at last allowed to escape only by the generosity of his conqueror. The Bulgarians immediately submitted to their deliverer. But their submission ended with his life in 975, when they shook off the Roman yoke, and renewed their former devasta tions in the empire. After a long and doubtful struggle, the emperor Basil at last prevailed, and was honoured with the surname of the Slayer of the Bulgarians. His awn ice was gratified by ten thousand pounds weight of gold, which he found in the palace of Lychnidtts ; and his vengeance was satiated, by depriving 15,000 captives of their sight, except one of each hundred, to whom he left a single eye, that they might conduct their blind cen tin y to the presence of their sovereign. This terrible example awed the nation to obedience ; and their king is said to have died of horror and grief, at the sight of his wretched subje( ts. Dispirited, and circumscribed with in a province, they continued for nearly two cell 'In•., the p itient suhjc ens of the Roman emperor ; and, on account of tic it power ful assistance against the Turks rod Lat•iri, they NS Cr(' allowed to choose a king of their own nation , who acknovd1«4;ed himself a vassal of the empire. The East( rn empire, i owev Cr, was fist hasten i to dee y. Its schism with the Latin clot! ch, and the acy and r 'parity of its princes, presented a fa ,. on! tole c pportmlity th•owin!;- oil' their subjection.
exasperated by the plunder of tic it 11, chs and herds, which had Liven Carried oil to ripply the In xm icy c I* the royal table, and by the denial of rank and prey in the military. service. Their for int • i.njunits had long been emendier•d in silence, and were aggrav ted by the present insults ; but the arms end policy of their sovereign Cab -John delivered them from oppression, and firmly established the independence of the kingdom. He renounced all submission to the religion, as well as to the laws of Constantinople, and, dispatching an embassy to Pope Innocent III., acknow ledged himself a disciple of the Latin church ; and re ceived from the Vatican a royal title, a Latin archbishop, a holy banner, and the licence of coining money. His enmity to the Greeks, however, was soon turned into compassion and alliance. Upon the subversion of that monarchy by the Latins, in 1204, and the accession of Baldwin, count of Flanders, to the empire of the East, Calo-John, as a. votary of the pope, claimed the honour of being a friend and associate ; but his ambassadors were dismissed with a haughty message, that their rebel sovereign must deserve a pardon, by bowing before the footstool of the imperial throne. Toe Bulgarian sup pressed for a while his resentment, but cherished the in sult. He inflamed the discontent of the Greeks, and promised them his friendship and support. He joined to his own forces a body of 14,000 Tartars, which he had drawn from the Scythian wilderness ; and when the flower of the emperor's army was transported beyond the Hellespont, the signal was given for the general mas sacre of the Latins. Adrianople was taken. Baldwin, who had come to besiege the rebels, was defeated and taken prisoner ; and the remainder of his troops were saved from destruction, by a masterly retreat of three days, to the shores of the Propontis. The success of the Bulgarians continued till the jurisdiction of the La tins was confined to the capital and a few adjacent for tresses ; but his career of victory was stopped at the siege of Thessalonica, where he fell a victim to domes tic treason, being stabbed during the night in his tent. His successor was unable to prosecute his schemes of ambition and revenge ; and, after several defeats, the Bulgarian king was compelled to conclude an honoura ble peace with the successor of Baldwin. The inde pendence of Bulgaria, however, was not of long continu ance. In 1275, Stephen IV., king of Hungary, having vanquished and cut to pieces the army of the Bulgarians, compelled them to acknowledge him as their sovereign. But revolting from the Hungarians, and joining with the emperor of Constantinople against the Turks, they were totally defeated by Amurath I., whose successor, Baja zet, completed the conquest of the whole country in 1396, and reduced it to a province of the Turkish em pire, in which state it has ever since remained. See Cit K r. v.
Bulgaria is divided by the Turks into four Sangiak ships, viz. Widin, Sardine, Nicopoli, and Silistria, with each a capital of the same name, except Sardicc, which is now called Sophia. The other principal cities arc Cistow, Rousdjionk, Orsowa, Babadag, Toultcha, Ras grad, Bazardjik, Choumla, Ternova, Varna, Lovatz, Ste. This province is in general mountainous, but the plains and wallies, which arc watered by the Danube and numer ous tributary streams, are rich and fertile. Even in the
ni(mlitain:;, nature has spread many of her richest gifts. The forests of Mount Ilamms abound in a variety of fruit trees, pal ticularly cherries, apricots, and vines ; and in its deep glens and uninhabited recesses, aromatic shrubs and the gayest flowers are as numerous and ex quisite, as iu the most cultivated gardens in our less ge nial oi I.
The chief productions of Bulgaria are grain of all kinds, cattle, especially horses, wool, iron, and wine, which form a very extensive and lucrative commerce ; and the navigation of the Danube, which is performed by small boats, allOrds it an easy contmunication with the neighbouring provinces, and the ports on the Black Sea ; but as the commerce ()I' this province, especially its im ports, Mill be more particularly considered in the ac count of its principal cities, we shall confine ourselves in this article to a general description of its productions and exports. The exportation of corn out of the kingdom is rigorously prohibited, so that the capital is its princi pal market ; and from the immense quantities which are annually carried down the Danube, this river is called by the Turks, the Foster-father of Constantinople. Wheat, in sells for 36 paras the quilot, which, in the southern distric is of Bulgaria, weighs 48 okas ; but, in the northern parts, the quilot weighs 120 okas, and costs there only 60 parts. Rice, barley, mid millet, sells for from 45 to 50 papas, and sesame from 65 to 70. The greatest quantity of rice grows in the territory of Phi lippopoli. It is a farm of the Grand Signior's, and the rice is given away chiefly in the payment of pensions, which are specined by a certain number of quilots per day. The wool that is gathered in Bulgaria is of a very excellent quality, particularly that of Nicopolis, which sells for from 8 to 10 paras the oka ; and which, by pro per management, might be made even to equal the wool of Spain. What is produced in the southern part of the province, passes to Constantinople ; but that of the north is spread over Germany and the ports of the Adriatic. Its silk is also very abundant, and constitutes an import ant article of commerce with the capital. The silk of the best quality, which conies from Zagara, Tchirpan, and Kizanlik, is nearly ten piastres the oka, while the silk of Haskeni sells for eight. The Bulgarians owe the increase of this article entirely to the inhabitants of Brousse in France, who have come to settle in the coun try, and who have planted a prodigious quantity of mul berry trees. The honey of this province is superior in quality to that of Wallachia or Aloldavia. The best comes from the neighbourhood of Yamboli, which sells for about eight paras the oka ; but its exportation is prohibited, except to Constantinople ; and though very abundant, it is with great difficulty that it can be smug gled into any of the ports on the Black Sea. Wax is sold here pure and unadulterated. It is yellow, and of an excellent quality, and is gathered in great quantities at Ternova, Vamboli, Cistow, Rousdjiouk, Toutraka, Silistria, Prevat, Bazardjik, Zagara, Tchir pan, Choumla, and Rasgrad. The tobacco of this pro vince varies greatly in quality. The best, which comes from Yenidji: sells from 12 paras to as high as a piastre the oka ; that of Konmarlu, from eight to ten pass; and that of Kirdjali, a little cheaper. The fourth quality, which is called kiNil deli, is a very strong tobacco, which is exported to Egypt and Arabia, and sells at eight or nine paras the oka. The wine of Bulgaria is rather of an inferior quality. It is, however, made in considerable quantities; and between five and six thousand waggon loads are yearly carried to Russia and Poland, which commonly costs about 50 paras the quintal. The im mense quantities of tallow, which are collected in this country, is contraband every where throughout the king dom, except at Constantinople, Adrianople, and Rodosto ; and butter, which is made in great plenty on the shores of the Danube, is hoarded up entirely for the use of the capital. Bulgaria carries on a considerable trade in hides. Those of the buffalo weigh from 18 to 70 okas, and sell at from 2 to 13 piastres; and the price of ox hides, with h weigh from to okas, is front 37 piastres. It has also considerable manufac tures of Mo rocco leather, and sin ep skins of all ( olours, garlic ularly at Rousdjiouk, on the Danube. Its horses, paeticularly those of Dobrog•, are very It esteem( (I. They are small and strong, like the Tartar horses, but much better shaped. Iron is a prineipal arti( It of conum rt . in this province. The mines of Saniakow and Ketistenchl arc very extensive, and supply Constantinople and all the dis tricts on the Black Sea. These mines are farmed 1)) the (;rand Signior, and the metal sells upon the spot for front 4} to 5 piastres the quintal. Its wrought iron also greatly sought after, particularly the pistol and mus ket barrels of Selimna, which are equal to those of Con stantinople ; and the prodigious quantiti( s of horse-shoes and nails which are made at Sophia, are scattered over the whole Ottotnan empire. Saltpetre, of a very good quality, is gathered at Philippopoli, Bazardjik, and Yam buli. A new branch of commerce has lately been formed in Bulgaria, consisting of hare skins, of which great quantities arc exported from Adrianople to France : and such is the demand for this article, that at la•sc Hies i• brings 111.4114 to 5 livres per pound. But if the demand continues, the quantity must soon he diminished ; for the Bulgarian peasants, who find hare-hunting. such a lucra tive concern, will not stop until they have considerably lessened their numbers, perhaps destroyed the species.