List of Bulgarian monarchs

Tsar of the Bulgarians
Царь на Българитѣ
Standard of the Tsar of Bulgaria (1945)
Longest reign
Peter I
927–969
Details
StyleHis Majesty
First monarchAsparuh (khan)
Boris I (knyaz)
Simeon I (Tsar)
Last monarchSimeon II
Formationc. 680
Abolition15 September 1946
ResidenceVarious historically
Tsarevets (1185–1393)
Royal Palace (1882–1946)
AppointerVariously hereditary or elective
Pretender(s)Simeon II

The monarchs of Bulgaria ruled Bulgaria during the medieval First (c. 681–1018) and Second (1185–1422) Bulgarian empires, as well as during the modern Principality (1879–1908) and Kingdom (1908–1946) of Bulgaria. This list includes monarchs from the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire until modern times, omitting earlier mythical rulers as well as rulers of separate states such as Old Great Bulgaria and Volga Bulgaria.

Various titles have been used by the rulers of Bulgaria. The only recorded title, used before Bulgaria's conversion to Christianity, is kanasubigi, likely meaning "Khan"[1] or "the sublime Khan".[2] When Bulgaria converted to Christianity in the ninth century, the ruler Boris I (852–889) was using the title knyaz (prince).[3] For much of its later history under the first and second empires, Bulgaria functioned as a multi-ethnic imperial state modelled on the neighbouring Byzantine Empire,[4] which contributed to the adoption of the title of tsar (emperor) by Bulgarian monarchs beginning with Simeon I (893–927) in 913.[5] Some powerful medieval Bulgarian rulers challenged Byzantine authority by proclaiming themselves as both Bulgarian and Roman emperors.[6]

When Bulgaria re-emerged as a state in 1878 in the form of the Principality of Bulgaria, the rulers initially used the title knyaz since they were autonomous vassals of the Ottoman Empire and not fully independent.[7] From Bulgaria's complete independence from the Ottomans in 1908 until the abolition of the monarchy in 1946, Bulgarian monarchs once more used the title tsar,[8] though this time generally translated internationally as "king" rather than "emperor".[8][9]

  1. ^ Florin Curta (2019) Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages (500-1300) (Vol. 1); Brill, ISBN 9789004395190, p. 95.
  2. ^ Steven Runciman (2018) A History of the First Bulgarian Empire, ISBN 9780359041435, p. 68
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Detrez-2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Madgearu, Alexandru (2016). The Asanids: The Political and Military History of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1280). BRILL. p. 50. ISBN 978-90-04-33319-2.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Crampton-1987 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Bideleux, Robert; Jeffries, Ian (2007). The Balkans: A Post-Communist History. Routledge. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-134-58328-7.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tarnovo Const.-1879 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Temizer-2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Crampton-2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).