APersonIndependent states
Asparukh
Son of Kubrat and founder of the Danube Bulgar state (681-700): the khan who made Byzantium pay tribute and founded a Bulgar state in the Balkans.
After Old Great Bulgaria broke up under Khazar pressure, Asparukh led his tribes west and settled in the Danube delta at a place called Ongal. In 680 the army of Emperor Constantine IV attacked them there, but the Bulgars defeated it and crossed south of the Danube.
In 681 Byzantium made peace and agreed to pay the Bulgars a yearly tribute; this year is taken as the founding of the Bulgarian state. Asparukh made Pliska his capital and formed an alliance with the local Slavic tribes. According to Bulgarian tradition he fell in battle against the Khazars in 700.
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Updated: November 12, 2026