Other Definitions
preslav (dest)
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PreslavPreslav (bulg.: Преслав) was capital of the First Bulgarian Empire from 893 to 972. The name of the city is of Slavic origin; apparently it was initially founded and functioned as a Slavic settlement until its fortification at the beginning of the 9th century. The close proximity to the then Bulgarian capital of Pliska led to the fast development and expansion of Preslav during the reign of the Khans Krum and Omurtag. By the time of the coronation of Khan Boris I in 852, Preslav had turned into an important strategic military centre and was the seat of the Ichirguboil. A number of churches were built in the city after the conversion of the Bulgarians to Christianity in 864. The pagan revolt of the Pliska nobility led by King Vladimir in 892 was decisive for the future destiny of the city. In 893 Vladimir was dethroned and the new ruler, Simeon the Great, decided to move the capital of the state from the still somewhat pagan Pliska to Preslav. In the following 80 years the city developed rapidly, turning into a centre not only of Bulgarian politics and diplomacy, but also of culture, literature and the fine arts. A chronicler mentioned that it took Simeon 28 years to establish and build up his new capital. Archeological excavations have, however, proved that the city continued to develop also during the 930s and 940s and reached the peak in its growth and magnificence in the middle of the rule of Tsar Peter I of Bulgaria. In view of the impressive town planning, the vital economy and the grandeur of buildings like the Round Church and the Royal Palace, Preslav was a true rival of the largest and most important city centres in the western hemisphere. Culturally, it was the centre of the Preslav Literary School which was founded in Pliska in 886 and was moved to Preslav along with the rest of the court in 893. The greatest Bulgarian writers from the Old Bulgarian period worked in Preslav, among them John Exarch, Constantine of Preslav, Chernorizetz Hrabar. It was probably around the Preslav Literary School that the Cyrillic alphabet developed in middle of the 9th century. The city had also large ceramic workshops which produced art ceramics, glazed tiles, as well as ceramic icons and iconoscopes/iconostases. In 971 it was burnt down and ravaged by the army of the Byzantine Emperor, John Tzimisshi. The magnificence of Preslav was overclouded. The conquerors took away the treasury, the king's regalia and a large part of Simeon's library. Although the town did not lose its importance in the next three hundred years, the neighbouring outskirts and the big monasteries became desolate, the economy lost its vitality and significance. The Tatar raids, during the 70s of 13th c., drove away the last citizens of Preslav as well as the protothroned bishop of the town who searched for shelter somewhere amongst the naturally protected slopes of the Shumenian plateau. Few of the old Preslavians' descendents, who somehow survived, built up a village of the same name only two kilometres northwards from the fortress where the contemporary town Veliki Preslav is now situated. Under development External links
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