Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1908-10-14

and the export trade by the Black
Sea. The government is Christian.
There is national militia, and mill
tary service is compulsory. The Bull
garians We're originally a Tartar ma
tion, which in the 4th century were
settled on the Volga. The ruins of
their former capital may still be seen
in the neighborhood of Kazan. Their
which occupied part of
the Asiatic Sarmatia of the Greeks,
was called Great Bulgaria, and is now
comprehended in the Russian govern
ment 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 Dam
ube was founded in. the latter half
of the seventh century, but the Bull
garians who established it were COM
paratively few in number, and after
their adoption of Christianity in the
9th century they become completely
mixed up with the Slavonic inhabi
tants. though the whole became
known as Bulgarians. The greatest
ruler of this kingdom was Symeon
(SSS-927), who subjugated the greater
part of the peninsula, and raised the
Archbishop of Bulgaria to a position
independent of the Patriarch of Con-
stantinople. Under the son of Sy-
neon this empire fell to pieces. The
western half broke off and founded
a seperate kingdom, with Ochrida in
Macedonia for its capitol, and the
eastern portion was subdued by the
Bazantine Emperor. John Zimisces,
who reincorporated it with the en-
pire.
The western Bulgarian kingdom exist
ed only until about 1913 when it al
so was subdued by Basil II, the
slayer of the Bulgarians." Toward
the end Of the 18th century, however.
the Bulgarians revolted and managed
to establish a third kingdom between
the Balkan range and the Danube.
which. sometimes weak and some
times powerful, continued to exist
till the. advent of the Turks. The las.
ruler Of, this kingdom was conquered
by Bajazet about 1890, and for near
ly 500 years the Turks ruled supreme.
In 1876. on account of the atrocities
of the Turkish soldiers, an insurrec-
tfon broke out. Russia took the part
of Bulgaria against Turkey, and the
war of 1878 followed. By the first
article of the Treaty of Berlin, July
13, 1878, the municipality of Bulgaria
was. constituted, made tributary to
Turkey, and placed under the suzer-
ainty Of the Sultan In 1879, AlexaE-
der of Battenburg, German prince
was chosen sovereign of part of Bull
garia, the rest being made separate
province called East Rumelia, to pre-
vent Bulgaria becoming stron
state. In 1885 there was a revolution
in East Rumelia, which annexed itsel
to Bulgaria. Servia interviewed, and
Alexander was forced to abdicate
Against Russia's will, Ferdinand
Saex-Coburg accepted the vacan
throne! in 1887 The government
that of hereditary prince. as chief
executive. with responsible ministers
and legislative assembly Zone for
every 100000, elected directly by the
people for three years. 1t pays annual
tribute to the Sultan. Population
d90O) 3,733.1s9, about "a per cent
Bulgarians. 10 per cent Turks, the
rest Spanish Jews, with sprinkling
of Greeks. seyenty-seven per cent
ale Of the faith of the Orthodox
Greek church, only 21s per cent Mos
lens.