Slavs and Bulgars

The Pagan Bulgars and Byzantine Christianity in the Eighth and Ninth Centuries

“…42 The secession of Greek Christian and other groups from the Avar kaghanate points to the strains which a federation of steppe nomads and subject peoples was liable to undergo, as the momentum of campaigning and plundering gradually gave way to a sedentary, less martial way of life. 43 The Miracula Sancti Demetrii vividly depicts the fate of such a group of Greek Christians who were captured by the Avars and hence moved from Illyricum to Pannonia. 44 The captives were free to keep their Christian religion, allowing them to preserve the memory of their origins and native lands.…”

Basil I, Constantine VII and Armenian Literary Tradition in Byzantium

“…72 This might seem incidental if it were not for the familiar, and securely attested, subsequent history of the spread of Christianity in Bulgaria and the emergence of an effectively autonomous Bulgar church. 73 The rivalry between Latin and Byzantine missions in Bulgaria in the early 860s is well-known, as is the baptism of the Bulgar leader Boris in 865. 74 History attributed to Sebēos, the Armenian Smbat Bagratuni is described engaging the king of the K'ushans in single combat between the battle lines, 'both men of gigantic strength and fully covered in armour'.…”