Council of Preslav
Encyclopedia
The People's Council of Preslav took place in 893. It was among the most important events in the history of the First Bulgarian Empire
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...

 and was a cornerstone of the Christianization of Bulgaria
Christianization of Bulgaria
The Christianization of Bulgaria was the process by which 9th-century medieval Bulgaria converted to Christianity. It was influenced by the khan's shifting political alliances with the kingdom of the East Franks and the Byzantine Empire, as well as his reception by the Pope of the Roman Catholic...

 under prince Boris I
Boris I of Bulgaria
Boris I, also known as Boris-Mihail and Bogoris was the Knyaz of First Bulgarian Empire in 852–889. At the time of his baptism in 864, Boris was named Michael after his godfather, Emperor Michael III...

.

Background and sources

In 889 Boris I abdicated and retired to a monastery and was succeed by his eldest son Vladimir-Rasate
Vladimir of Bulgaria
Vladimir-Rasate was the ruler of Bulgaria from 889 to 893.He became ruler of Bulgaria when his father Boris-Mihail I decided to retire to a monastery after a reign of 36 years...

 who tried to restore Tengriism
Tengriism
Tengriism is a Central Asian religion that incorporates elements of shamanism, animism, totemism and ancestor worship. Despite still being active in some minorities, it was, in old times, the major belief of Turkic peoples , Bulgars, Hungarians and Mongols...

, the traditional religion of the country since 681. After Vladimir-Rasate was deposed by his father in 893, the latter gathered a People's Council in Preslav
Preslav
Preslav was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire from 893 to 972 and one of the most important cities of medieval Southeastern Europe. The ruins of the city are situated in modern northeastern Bulgaria, some 20 kilometres southwest of the regional capital of Shumen, and are currently a...

 to legitimate the changes. Since the issues to be discussed were of great importance for the whole country, the attendance and approval of the higher and lower nobility, the clergy and representatives of all provinces was needed. There is no direct mention of the Council in medieval sources. The most detailed description of the events that led to the downfall of Vladimir-Rasate comes from the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...

 abbot Regino of Prüm
Regino of Prüm
Reginon or Regino of Prüm was a Benedictine abbot and medieval chronicler.-Biography:According to the statements of a later era, Regino was the son of noble parents and was born at the stronghold of Altrip on the Rhine near Speyer at an unknown date...

 in his work Chronicon:

Decisions

According to the historians the Council was presided by Boris I and four major decisions were taken:
  • Prince Vladimir-Rasate was dethroned and replaced by his brother Simeon I
    Simeon I of Bulgaria
    Simeon I the Great ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe...

    . Simeon, who was intended to be a high-ranking cleric or even Archbishop, was released from his monastic oath. There was also a change in the principle of succession which allowed the brother of the monarch to succeed him. Up to that time only the son of the monarch was able to succeed him on the throne. That change was mentioned by John Exarch
    John Exarch
    John Exarch was a medieval Bulgarian scholar, writer and translator, one of the most important men of letters working at the Preslav Literary School at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century. Evidence about his life is scarce but his literary legacy suggests an excellent...

     in his work Shestodnev.
  • The capital of Bulgaria was moved from Pliska
    Pliska
    Pliska is the name of both the first capital of Danubian Bulgaria and a small town which was renamed after the historical Pliska after its site was determined and excavations began....

     to Preslav
    Preslav
    Preslav was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire from 893 to 972 and one of the most important cities of medieval Southeastern Europe. The ruins of the city are situated in modern northeastern Bulgaria, some 20 kilometres southwest of the regional capital of Shumen, and are currently a...

    . That decision is explained with the desire of Boris I to select a capital away from Pliska where the memory of the heathen past was still very strong. In the new capital Simeon would have been surrounded by people loyal to Christianity and the pro-Slavic policy of his father. Preslav was also the site of the Panteleimon Monastery where Boris I had retired and where Simeon himself might have resided. Andreev suggests that placing the capital in Preslav was a symbolic act of breaking with paganism.
  • The Byzantine
    Byzantine Empire
    The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

     clergy was to be banished from the country and replaced with Bulgarian clerics. Among the newly appointed Bulgarian bishops was Clement of Ohrid
    Clement of Ohrid
    Saint Clement of Ohrid was a medieval Bulgarian saint, scholar, writer and enlightener of the Slavs. He was the most prominent disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius and is often associated with the creation of the Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets, especially their popularisation among...

     who was sent to Devol
    Devol (Albania)
    Devol , also Deabolis or Diabolis) was a medieval fortress and bishopric in western Macedonia, located south of Lake Ohrid in what is today the south-eastern corner of Albania . Its precise location is unknown today, but it is thought to have been located by the river of the same name , and on...

     in the region of Kutmichevitsa
    Kutmichevitsa
    Kutmichevitsa was an administrative region of the Bulgarian Empire as well as Byzantine Empire during much of the Middle Ages, corresponding roughly with the territory of modern southern Albania, with some parts in present southwestern Macedonia, commonly taken too be the area included in the...

    .
  • The Old Bulgarian language
    Old Church Slavonic
    Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...

     was to replace the Greek
    Greek language
    Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

     in liturgy. Thus it became the official language of Bulgaria. That act was of great importance not only for Bulgaria but for the whole Slavic world.

Significance

The decisions taken during the Council of Preslav had a great impact on Bulgarian history. The official status of Old Bulgarian gave great impetus for the development of the Preslav
Preslav Literary School
The Preslav Literary School was the first literary school in the medieval Bulgarian Empire. It was established by Boris I in 885 or 886 in Bulgaria's capital, Pliska...

 and Ohrid Literary School
Ohrid Literary School
The Ohrid Literary School was one of the two major medieval Bulgarian cultural centres, along with the Preslav Literary School . The school was established in Ohrid in 886 by Saint Clement of Ohrid on orders of Boris I of Bulgaria simultaneously or shortly after the establishment of the Preslav...

s. The Bulgarian culture and literature entered its Golden Age
Golden Age (metaphor)
A golden age is a period in a field of endeavour when great tasks were accomplished. The term originated from early Greek and Roman poets who used to refer to a time when mankind lived in a better time and was pure .-Golden Age in society:...

 under the rule of the newly elected Simeon I and the country became the cultural and spiritual center of Slavic Europe
Slavic Europe
Slavic Europe is a region of Europe where Slavic languages are spoken. This area is situated in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans, and includes the nations of Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia,...

. The removal of the Byzantine clergy and the Greek language from the liturgy ensured that Bulgaria would stay away from any strong or direct Byzantine influence in its policy and religious life.

The Byzantine reaction was quick. As soon as 894 emperor Leo VI
Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI, surnamed the Wise or the Philosopher , was Byzantine emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty , he was very well-read, leading to his surname...

 moved the market of the Bulgarian merchants from Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

 to Salonica
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...

 which was a heavy blow to the Bulgarian economic interests. This inflamed the first commercial war in Europe won by Simeon I after the decisive battle of Boulgarophygon.

Sources

        • The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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