History
THE OTTOMAN DOMINATION
From the end of 14th century until the end of 19th century Bulgaria disappears from the map of Europe and is included in Ottoman province Rumelia. The social, cultural and economic development of the state was forcibly interrupted. Fortresses and palaces were razed to the ground, churches were desecrated and burned down, and many specimens of Bulgarian art and culture were destroyed. The independent Bulgarian Patriarchate was liquidated and brought under the supervision of Constantinople’s Patriarchate.
During the first couple of centuries under Ottoman rule conquerors displayed outrageous cruelty while attempting to assimilate the Bulgarian population into their empire. Zealous efforts were made to subdue the nation and make it adopt the Islam but of no avail. Regardless of the inhuman methods applied, Bulgarians firmly stood their grounds resisting with utmost determination for which very often they paid with their lives, but they preserved their language, religion and traditions. Crucial help was given by Bulgarian clergy and monasteries, who managed to rescue even though small part of bulgarian literature. Important pieces of bulgarian heritage were saved by many monasteries (Rila, Bachkovo, Troyan, Rozhen, Cherepish, Dragalevtsi, Dryanovo etc.) and the monastic schools of Hilandar and Zograf monasteries in Mount Athos.
The eager resistance of Bulgarians and the inability of Ottomans to break the will-power of the enslaved nation (regardless of the serious military power they held in Bulgaria), turned out to be a serious barrier for the Ottoman expansion to Central Europe and contributed to the weakening of the striking power of the Ottoman troops. The struggle of Bulgarians against the invaders remained in the epic poetry as a page of exceptional heroism, courage and selflessness.
From the end of 14th century until the end of 19th century Bulgaria disappears from the map of Europe and is included in Ottoman province Rumelia. The social, cultural and economic development of the state was forcibly interrupted. Fortresses and palaces were razed to the ground, churches were desecrated and burned down, and many specimens of Bulgarian art and culture were destroyed. The independent Bulgarian Patriarchate was liquidated and brought under the supervision of Constantinople’s Patriarchate.
During the first couple of centuries under Ottoman rule conquerors displayed outrageous cruelty while attempting to assimilate the Bulgarian population into their empire. Zealous efforts were made to subdue the nation and make it adopt the Islam but of no avail. Regardless of the inhuman methods applied, Bulgarians firmly stood their grounds resisting with utmost determination for which very often they paid with their lives, but they preserved their language, religion and traditions. Crucial help was given by Bulgarian clergy and monasteries, who managed to rescue even though small part of bulgarian literature. Important pieces of bulgarian heritage were saved by many monasteries (Rila, Bachkovo, Troyan, Rozhen, Cherepish, Dragalevtsi, Dryanovo etc.) and the monastic schools of Hilandar and Zograf monasteries in Mount Athos.
The eager resistance of Bulgarians and the inability of Ottomans to break the will-power of the enslaved nation (regardless of the serious military power they held in Bulgaria), turned out to be a serious barrier for the Ottoman expansion to Central Europe and contributed to the weakening of the striking power of the Ottoman troops. The struggle of Bulgarians against the invaders remained in the epic poetry as a page of exceptional heroism, courage and selflessness.
