Editing History of Bulgaria (section)

===Christianization===
{{Main|Christianization of Bulgaria|Bulgarian Orthodox Church|Golden Age of Bulgaria}}

Under Boris I, Bulgaria [[Christianization of Bulgaria|became officially Christian]], and the [[Ecumenical Patriarch]] agreed to allow an autonomous Bulgarian Archbishop at Pliska. Missionaries from Constantinople, [[Cyril and Methodius]], devised the [[Glagolitic alphabet]], which was adopted in the Bulgarian Empire around 886. The alphabet and the [[Old Church Slavonic|Old Bulgarian]] language that evolved from [[Slavic languages|Slavonic]]<ref>L. Ivanov. [[wikisource:Essential History of Bulgaria in Seven Pages|Essential History of Bulgaria in Seven Pages]]. Sofia, 2007.</ref> gave rise to a rich literary and cultural activity centered around the [[Preslav Literary School|Preslav]] and [[Ohrid Literary School]]s, established by order of Boris I in 886.

[[File:The Great Basilica Klearchos 2.jpg|thumb|250px|Ruins of Pliska, capital of the First Bulgarian Empire from 680 to 893]]
In the early 9th century, a new alphabet — [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] — was developed at the Preslav Literary School, adapted from the [[Glagolitic alphabet]] invented by [[Saints Cyril and Methodius]].<ref>
Barford, P. M. (2001). ''The Early Slavs''. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press
</ref> An alternative theory is that the alphabet was devised at the Ohrid Literary School by Saint [[Climent of Ohrid]], a Bulgarian scholar and disciple of Cyril and Methodius.

By the late 9th and early 10th centuries, Bulgaria extended to [[Epirus]] and [[Thessaly]] in the south, [[Bosnia (region)|Bosnia]] in the west and controlled all of present-day Romania and eastern Hungary to the north reuniting with old roots. A Serbian state came into existence as a dependency of the Bulgarian Empire. Under Tsar [[Simeon I of Bulgaria]] (Simeon the Great), who was educated in Constantinople, Bulgaria became again a serious threat to the Byzantine Empire. His aggressive policy was aimed at displacing Byzantium as major partner of the nomadic polities in the area. By subverting the principles of Byzantine diplomacy and political culture, Simeon turned his own kingdom into a society-structuring factor in the nomadic world.<ref>Boris Todorov, "The value of empire: tenth-century Bulgaria between Magyars, Pechenegs and Byzantium," ''Journal of Medieval History'' (2010) 36#4 pp&nbsp;312–326</ref><ref name="The First Bulgarian Empire">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761556147_8/Bulgaria.html#p48 |title=The First Bulgarian Empire |encyclopedia=[[Encarta]] |access-date=2007-03-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071204165922/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761556147_8/Bulgaria.html#p48 |archive-date=2007-12-04 }}</ref>

Simeon hoped to take Constantinople and become emperor of both [[Bulgarians]] and Greeks, and fought a series of wars with the Byzantines through his long reign (893–927). At the end of his rule the front had reached the [[Peloponnese]] in the south, making it the most [[List of medieval great powers|powerful state]] in contemporary [[Southeast Europe]].<ref name="The First Bulgarian Empire"/> Simeon proclaimed himself "[[Tsar]] (Caesar) of the Bulgarians and the Romans", a title which was recognised by the Pope, but not by the Byzantine Emperor. The capital [[Preslav]] was said to rival [[Constantinople]],<ref>Bakalov, Istorija na Bǎlgarija, "Simeon I Veliki"</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://sofia.usembassy.gov/uploads/images/9slwbq67Sfo4dBuR2WMVfg/about_bulgaria1.PDF |title=About Bulgaria |publisher=U.S. Embassy Sofia, Bulgaria |access-date=2007-03-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061230015953/http://sofia.usembassy.gov/uploads/images/9slwbq67Sfo4dBuR2WMVfg/about_bulgaria1.PDF |archive-date=2006-12-30 }}</ref> the new independent [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church]] became the first new [[patriarchate]] besides the [[Pentarchy]] and Bulgarian translations of [[Christianity|Christian]] texts spread all over the [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] world of the time.<ref>{{cite book |title=Istorija na Balkanite XIV–XX vek |last=Castellan |first=Georges |others=trans. Liljana Caneva |year=1999 |publisher=Hermes |location=[[Plovdiv]] |isbn=954-459-901-0 |language=bg |page=37 }}</ref>