Kubrat

Kubrat was a leader of the Onogur-Bulgars who created a group of people known as Old Great Bulgaria around the year 632. His name might have come from Turkic words meaning "to gather" or "wolf." Kubrat helped bring many groups together under one rule, making Old Great Bulgaria an important place in history. Today, people remember him for his role in shaping early Bulgarian history. For more about a town with a similar name, see Kubrat (town).

Origin

Kubrat was known as Kurt in the Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans, and he was part of the Dulo clan. He ruled for 60 years after Gostunus from the Ermi clan.

The Bulgars were nomadic people who spoke a Turkic language. They were part of a group called the Hunnic confederation in the 5th century. After the leader Attila died, these tribes moved east into the area between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Some western Bulgar tribes joined the Avar Khaganate, while the eastern Bulgars became part of the Western Turkic Khaganate by the end of the 6th century.

Different writers described Kubrat in various ways. Theophanes the Confessor called him "king of the Onogundur Huns." Patriarch Nikephoros I referred to him as "lord of the Onuğundur" and "ruler of the Onuğundur–Bulğars." John of Nikiu named him "chief of the Huns." Scholars have described him differently as well.

History

Kubrat grew up in the royal palace of the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople. He was a leader of the Onogur-Bulgars and helped form a group of tribes called Old Great Bulgaria around the year 632. Kubrat fought against the Avars and made an agreement with the Byzantine leader Heraclius.

Kubrat told his five sons to stay together to keep their strength. But after he passed away, the group split apart because of disagreements and pressure from the Khazars to the east.

Kubrat's death

The Pereshchepina Treasure was found in 1912 near Poltava by people living close by. This treasure includes many gold and silver items from a time when many groups of people were moving around. Some rings found there helped experts understand that this might have been the resting place of Kubrat. The treasure shows a strong link between the Bulgars and the Byzantines, as some pieces look like they were made by Byzantine craftsmen.

Experts think Kubrat may have died between the years 650 and 665 AD, based on different pieces of evidence and old records.

Legacy

Kubrat has inspired many places and works. A hill named Kubrat Knoll on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, remembers him. In the 1981 Bulgarian movie Aszparuh, an actor named Vasil Mihaylov played Kubrat. The special mark, or tamga, that Kubrat used appears in the logo of a Bulgarian political group called Morality, Unity, Honour.