Asparukh
| Asparukh Аспарух |
|
|---|---|
| Khan of Bulgaria | |
|
|
| Reign | 681–701 |
| Predecessor | Kubrat |
| Successor | Tervel |
| Born | around 640 |
| Died | 701 Dnieper River |
| Issue |
Tervel Ajjar |
| House | Dulo |
| Father | Kubrat |
Asparukh (also Asparuh, Isperih or Ispor) (Bulgarian: Аспарух, Asparuh or (rarely) Исперих, Isperih) was а ruler of Bulgars in the second half of the 7th century and is credited with the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 680/681.
The Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans states that Asparuh belonged to the Dulo clan and reigned for 61 years. This long period cannot be accepted as accurate due to chronological constraints, and may indicate the length of Asparuh's life. According to the chronology developed by Moskov, Asparuh would have reigned 668–695. Other chronologies frequently end his reign in 700 or 701 but cannot be reconciled with the testimony of the Namelist. According to the Byzantine sources, Asparuh was a younger son of Kubrat, who had established a spacious state ("Great Bulgaria") in the steppes of modern Ukraine. Asparuh may have gained experience in politics and statesmanship during the long reign of his father, who probably died in 665 (apud Moskov). According to Djagfar Tarikhy (a work of disputed authenticity) Asparukh was made the leader of the Onogur tribe by his father. After his father's death, Asparuh would have acknowledged the rule of his older brother Bat Bayan, but the state disintegrated under Khazar attack in 668, and he and his brothers parted ways, leading their people to seek a more secure home in other lands.
Asparukh was followed by 30,000 to 50,000 Bulgars. He reached the Danube and while the Byzantine capital Constantinople was besieged by Muawiyah I, Caliph of the Arabs (674–678), he and his people settled in the Danube delta, probably on the now disappeared Peuce Island. After the Arab siege of Constantinople ended, the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IV marched against the Bulgars and their Slav allies in 680 and forced his opponents to seek shelter in a fortified encampment. Forced to abandon the leadership of his army in order to seek medical treatment for his ailments in Anchialo ( today's Pomorie), the emperor sabotaged the morale of his troops, who gave in to rumours that their emperor had fled. With segments of the Byzantine army starting to desert, the Bulgars and their allies broke through the blockade and routed the enemy troops at the battle of Ongala in 680. Asparuh then swiftly moved from the Danubian delta down to the Balkan range.
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