The Itil/Volga Bulgar Khanate (the 7th - 1240s)
• Capital: Bulgar;
• Languages: Bulgar Turkish dialect;
• Religion: Tengrism/Gök Tanrı and Islam,
• Today: part of Russia, Tataristan and
Chuvashistan.
Bulgars
Chronology of Bulgars
• 453: death of Atilla of Hun Empire and appearance of Bulgars in Eastern Europe
• 482: First time in history that Byzantine sources mention the name of Ogurs and Bulgars.
• VII. Century second half: Under the leadership of Kotrag some Bulgars migrated shores of Volga/Idil River
• 679: Bulgars accepted sovereignty of the Khazar Khanate lasted at the end of the X. century.
• 922: Bulgars, under the leadership of Almysh acepted Islam at official level.
• XI-XIII. Centuries: Bulgars faced the attakcs of Russians.
• 1237: Under the leadership of Batu Khan Moğols invaded the Bulgar Khanate and attached the Golden Horde.
• 1438-1552: Bulgars were under tha sovereignty of Kazan Khanate.
Means of Preaching Islam among Bulgars
Record: Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) sent a Turkish invitation letter to Bulgars with three companions
1. Miltary means: Some Bulgar forces among Khazar army met Muslim Arab soldiers in the XIIIth Century
737: Umayyad commander Mervan b. Muhammed captured
20.000 Hazar and brought to Derbent. He also sent some ulama to preach Islam among Turks.
2. Economic means: Kharazmian and Samanid Turkish Muslim traders had economic activities Bulgaria.
3. Religious-Cultural means: Activities of sufi orders especially Yassawy sufis in Bulgaria.
They accepted Sünny-Hanefi interpretation of Islam.
They spoke Ogur Turkish dialect. Rather different from Oghuz Turkish dialect. For example: Dokuz-dokur, sekiz-sekir; Beş-bel.
Spread of Islam among Bulgars
• Bulgars embraced Islam according to a legend A Muslim merchant, arrived in the capital of Volga
Bulgaria from Bukhara. He was an educated man and a perfect master of the art of medicine. It so
happened that the Bulgar king and his wife at the same time were sick and had a serious illness. They were treated by all known drugs of it’s time, but the illness only increased. Found out about this matter the merchant said he could help in their trouble, but on the condition that they accept the faith. They
agreed, were healed and “embraced Islam and
converted to Islam the people of their country.”
Conversion to Islam: Almysh Khan
• Bulgars were pagans. Islam was adopted as the state religion in the early 10th century, under Almısh, son of Shilki Yiltawar.
(Altered his name after conversion: Amir Jafar bin AbdAllah)
• Almysh, after accepting Islam send an envoy to inform the Abbasid Caliphate and asked muallim, qadis, fakihs to teach
Islam as well as mimar, mühendis to help in building a fort and a mosque to Volga Bulgaria.
• In response Ahmad ibn Fadlan and a delegation were dispatched by the Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadir in 922 to establish relations.
Then the Volga Bulgar Khanate entitled as the first Turkish Muslim state in the history.
• Afterwards, they tried to spread Islam further, proposing
Vladimir Svyatoslav to take their religion in the 986 year. But two years later Kievan Russia were baptized, going the other way.
Journey of Ibn Fazlan
Volga Bulgar Hetitage
Khan Mosque
1122 Anniversary of accepting Islam in 2011
Kazan
Bulgars in 1922
Legacy of Volga Bulgars
• The founders of modern Bulgaria, today's Tatarstan and neighboring Chuvashia were, in the 5-7th century, one and the same people.
• Though the Balkan Bulgars, having accepted Christianity, soon lost their Turkic characteristics, nonetheless they preserved the old name of their country.
• The Kazan Tatars, on the other hand, preserved everything except their name. Such are the paradoxes of history.
• Even some of the Caucasia tribes were considered the decedents of Bulgars such as
• Balkars,
• Kumyks and
• Karachays
