Burma edly commanded them into Europe, was none other than Attila the Hun (406–453) During the sixth century the Bulgars consolidated much of their European possessions into a state called Great Bulgaria, which extended over the North Caucasian steppe and what is now Ukraine The capital of this state was at Phanagoria (modern-day Taman in Russia) The leader of Great Bulgaria was Khan Kubrat (c 585–650) After his death his five sons divided the Bulgar tribes and continued invading European territories The eldest son, Baian, remained in Great Bulgaria The second son, Kotrag, crossed the river Don and settled on its far side The descendants of either Kotrag’s or Baian’s Bulgars (or both) are reputed to be the founders of Volga Bulgaria in the eighth century, which is considered to be the cultural and ethnic predecessor of the present-day Tatarstan in the Russian Federation Kubrat’s fourth son, Kubert, moved to Pannonia and later settled in the area of present-day Transylvania The fifth son, Altchek, moved on to Italy and took Pentapolis, near Ravenna Kubrat’s third son, Khan Asparuh (644–701), moved his part of the Bulgar tribes in southern Bessarabia and established himself on an island at the mouth of the river Danube From there he began attacks against the territory of Byzantium By that time, Slavs had colonized most of the territory of the Balkan Peninsula Asparuh entered into an alliance against Byzantium with the league of the seven Slavic tribes, which occupied the territory between the Danube and the Balkan mountain range Soon the Bulgars began settling in the territory south of the Danube River Around 679 a Bulgaro-Slavic state was formed with its center at Pliska (in modern-day northern Bulgaria) Under the leadership of Asparuh the new state defeated the armies of Emperor Constantine IV in 680 This forced Byzantium to recognize the existence of an independent Bulgaro-Slavic state within the territory of its empire in 681 Although the Bulgar invasions were to continue in the following decades, these became wars for the establishment and enlargement of the new Bulgaro-Slavic state The Bulgaro-Slavic state established by Asparuh grew into the Bulgarian Empire and became the predecessor of modern-day Bulgaria See also Byzantine Empire Further reading: Anastassoff, Christ The Bulgarians: From Their Arrival in the Balkans to Modern Times Hicksville, NY: Exposition Press, 1977; Crampton, Richard J A Concise History of Bulgaria Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; Lang, David M The Bulgarians from Pagan Times to the Ottoman Conquest Southampton: Thames and Hudson, 55 1976; Vasilev, Vasil A Bulgaria: Thirteen Centuries of Existence Sofia: Sofia Press, 1979 Emilian Kavalski Burma The classical civilization of Burma (Myanmar) is centered at Pagan After the collapse of the Pyu state, the Mrammas (Sanskritized Brahma), or Burmans, founded their chief city, Pagan (Arimarddanapura or “City Where Enemies Were Exterminated”) around 849 c.e The ethnic Chinese had pushed them back around the second millennium b.c.e from Northwest China to eastern Tibet, after which they moved to Myanmar over several centuries The first Burman center developed in the rice-growing Kyawkse Plain at the confluence of the Irrawaddy and Chindwin Rivers According to the local chronicles, Pagan began as a group of 19 villages, each having its nat, or local spirit, which were later fused into a cult of a common spirit Burmese legends speak of intrigue and bloodshed in the early Pagan history until the emergence of King Anawratha, or Aniruddha (1044–77) Aniruddha conquered the Mon country of Thaton in 1057 c.e., resulting in an infusion of Mon culture into Pagan He maintained friendly contact with King Vijayabahu of Sri Lanka The Cola ruler Kulottunga I was threatening the latter Vijayabahu asked for help from the Pagan king, who sent military supplies Sri Lanka’s king sent Aniruddha the tooth relic of Buddha, which was enshrined in the Shwezigon Pagoda Pagan was brought into the maritime trading network linked to the eastern coast of India Along with the Mon monk and scholar Shin Arhan, Aniruddha was responsible for spreading Hinayana Buddhism among his people This quickly spread all over Myanmar and eventually to mainland Southeast Asia Aniruddha also is credited with constructing a large number of pagodas, including the Shwezigon Pagoda He visited the Bengal region and married an Indian princess Aniruddha developed the small principality of Pagan into an extensive kingdom, and a distinct Burmese civilization grew based on Mon literature, script, art, and architecture The second prominent king of Pagan was Thileuin Man (Kyanzittha), who ruled from 1084 to 1112 He crushed the Mon uprising that had claimed the life of the earlier king’s son and successor, Man Lulan, and made peace with the rival Thaton faction of the Mons through matrimonial alliances The Thervada monkhood