AHistoryIndependent states
Old Great Bulgaria (632-668)
The Bulgar state founded by Kubrat Khan on the shores of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov; the Danube and Volga Bulgars both came from it.
The Bulgars were Turkic tribes of the Black Sea steppe in the age after the Huns. Around 632 Kubrat Khan of the Dulo clan freed them from Avar rule and united them. The first centre of the state was Phanagoria on the Taman peninsula.
Kubrat was a friend of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius and received from him the title of patrikios. In his time Great Bulgaria covered the wide steppes between the Don and the Dnieper.
After Kubrat's death his sons fell out and the Khazars pressed from the east. According to tradition the eldest son, Batbayan, stayed put, Kotrag led part of the people to the Volga and Asparuh to the Danube, and so two new Bulgar states were born.
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Updated: November 10, 2026