Pliska
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Ruins of the early medieval city of Pliska, the first Bulgarian capital |
Pliska (
Bulgarian: Плиска) is the name of both the first capital of Danubian
Bulgaria and a small village (formerly known as
Aboba) which was renamed after the historical Pliska after its site was determined and excavations begun.
Pliska was the capital of Bulgaria between
681 and
893 AD. According to a Bulgarian chronicle, it was founded by Khan
Asparukh. It is called Pliskusa by
Georgios Kedrenos and
Anna Comnena. It had an area of 23 km² and was surrounded by a moat and earthwork ramparts. The walls of the inner fortress were 2.6 meters thick and about 12 meters high.
Pliska was sacked by the
Byzantine army in
811, but the invaders were soon driven out by Khan
Krum (see
Battle of Pliska). Khan
Omurtag brought in artisans and craftsmen to improve the city. In
886,
Boris I founded the Pliska Literary School (after
893 Preslav Literary School), which was headed by
Naum of Preslav.
In
892, the city became the scene of a pagan revolt led by King
Vladimir. After the crushing of the revolt, Vladimir was dethroned and the third son of
Boris I,
Simeon, was installed into power. One of the first steps of the new ruler was to move the capital to
Preslav, a fortified town in the vicinity of Pliska, probably because of the steadily strong pagan influence in the old capital.
The importance of Pliska gradually waned throughout the
10th century with the concentration of power and resources in Preslav. The city was destroyed during the assaults of the
Kievan Rus' and the
Byzantine Empire between
969 and
972 and was not rebuilt again.
The ruins of the city of Pliska lie 3 km north of the modern village of Pliska. The site of the city is currently a National Archaeological Reserve.
Under
Ottoman rule, the village known as Pliska since
1947, was instead caled Aboba, a name which it kept until
1925, when the name was changed to
Pliskov, a variant of its current name. The settlement has a population of 1124 and is located 146 m above sea level in
Shumen Province at the south end of the
Ludogorie plateau. It is approximately 400 km northeast of
Sofia, at 43° 22' N, 27° 7' E.
