

A successful Bulgarian revolt in 1185 established a Second Bulgarian Empire, which reached its apex under Ivan Asen II (1218–1241). The First Bulgarian Empire lasted until the early 11th century, when Byzantine emperor Basil II conquered and dismantled it. It dominated most of the Balkans and significantly influenced Slavic cultures by developing the Cyrillic script. They established (Danubian) Bulgaria, victoriously recognised by treaty in AD 681 by the Eastern Roman Empire. The Bulgars led by Asparuh of Bulgaria attacked from the lands of (Old Great) Bulgaria and permanently invaded the Balkans in the late 7th century. Around the 6th century, these territories were settled by the early Slavs. After the Roman state splintered, tribal invasions in the region resumed. In the 6th to 3rd century BC the region was a battleground for ancient Thracians, Persians, Celts and Macedonians stability came when the Roman Empire conquered the region in AD 45. One of the earliest societies in the lands of modern-day Bulgaria was the Neolithic Karanovo culture, which dates back to 6,500 BC.

Sofia is the nation's capital and largest city other major cities are Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas. Bulgaria covers a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi), and is the sixteenth-largest country in Europe. It occupies the whole eastern part of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, and the Black Sea to the east. Bulgaria ( / b ʌ l ˈ ɡ ɛər i ə, b ʊ l-/ ( listen) Bulgarian: България, romanized: Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe.
