First Bulgarian Empire

The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval state that existed in Southeastern and southeastern Central Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 680–681 after a group of Bulgars, led by Asparuh, moved south to the northeastern Balkans, and secured Byzantine recognition and their right to settle south of the Danube by defeating – possibly with the help of local South Slavic tribes – the Byzantine army led by Constantine IV.