The Great Basilica of Pliska ( bg, Голяма базилика в Плиска, translit=Golyama bazilika v Pliska) is an architectural complex in Pliska, the first capital of the

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Europ ...

, which includes the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, an

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

's palace and a monastery. The basilica was constructed on the orders of the ''

knyaz , or ( Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...

'' of Bulgaria,

Boris I Boris I, also known as Boris-Mihail (Michael) and ''Bogoris'' ( cu, Борисъ А҃ / Борисъ-Михаилъ bg, Борис I / Борис-Михаил; died 2 May 907), was the ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire in 852–889. At ...

(), after his

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

in 864 and the resultant Christianization of Bulgaria. Completed around 875, the

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

was long and wide. The complex includes Great Basilica itself – a

used as the

cathedral church A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral ...

– and the attached monastery and episcopal palace inhabited by

Christian monks Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...

and the bishop of Pliska.

Description

The basilica was built at the place of what is known as the cross-shaped Mausoleum, an older religious building that is thought by some researchers to be an unknown kind of Bulgar heathen temple. According to the

Shumen Shumen ( bg, Шумен, also romanized as ''Shoumen'' or ''Šumen'', ) is the tenth largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and economic capital of Shumen Province. Etymology The city was first mentioned as ''Šimeonis'' in 1153 by t ...

architectural museum's research, an early Christian

martyrium A martyrium (Latin) or martyrion (Greek), plural ''martyria'', sometimes anglicized martyry (pl. martyries), is a church or shrine built over the tomb of a Christian martyr. It is associated with a specific architectural form, centered on a cent ...

that included a cross-shaped church and a holy spring also existed at that place. The martyr buried there is thought to be

Enravota Saint Enravota ( bg, Свети Енравота) or Voin (Воин, "warrior") or Boyan (Боян) was the eldest son of Omurtag of Bulgaria and the first Bulgarian Christian martyr, as well as the earliest Bulgarian saint to be canonized. Born ...

, the first Bulgarian

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

. The martyrium is thought to have been destroyed in 865 during the failed rebellion of the heathens in the wake of the Christianization of Bulgaria. Other researchers, however, regard the cross-shaped remains as a mausoleum of early Bulgarian rulers. The archbishop's residence lay to the north and south of the basilica: the northern yard hosted a residential building, with a bath with a

hypocaust A hypocaust ( la, hypocaustum) is a system of central heating in a building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room, and may also warm the walls with a series of pipes through which the hot air passes. This air can warm th ...

lay to the west of it. The building to the south of the cathedral accommodated a school and a scriptorium. Two

necropoleis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

are located in the vicinity of the complex: a monastic necropolis lies to the southwest of the church, while a secular one intended for nobles was unearthed in front of the basilica's

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

. The yard north of the basilica also accommodated monastic buildings with a kitchen and a dining room. The eastern part of the yard was allocated for a residential building with ten identical monastic cells. Another bath with a hypocaust, a cross-shaped one, and a well lay in the centre of that yard.

History

Pliska was the first capital of Bulgaria, and according to legend founded by

Asparuh of Bulgaria Asparuh (also ''Ispor''; bg, Аспарух, Asparuh or (rarely) bg, Исперих, Isperih) was а ruler of Bulgars in the second half of the 7th century and is credited with the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681. Early life ...

in the late 7th century; this legend is archaeologically unsubstantiated. The site was originally an encampment, with the first tent-shaped buildings at Pliska of uncertain date. No evidence exists of a settlement before the 9th century, and claims that the site dates from

Late Antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...

have been contested. By the early 9th century, Pliska was surrounded by a

defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

and of land was further enclosed by an outer earthwork with stone

revetment A revetment in stream restoration, river engineering or coastal engineering is a facing of impact-resistant material (such as stone, concrete, sandbags, or wooden piles) applied to a bank or wall in order to absorb the energy of incoming water ...

long. After the Byzantine army sacked and burned Pliska in 811, led by the emperor

Nikephoros I Nikephoros I or Nicephorus I ( gr, Νικηφόρος; 750 – 26 July 811) was Byzantine emperor from 802 to 811. Having served Empress Irene as '' genikos logothetēs'', he subsequently ousted her from power and took the throne himself. In r ...

(), Pliska was rebuilt by Omurtag (), who used ''

spolia ''Spolia'' (Latin: 'spoils') is repurposed building stone for new construction or decorative sculpture reused in new monuments. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice whereby stone that has been quarried, cut and used in a built ...

'' from nearby Roman buildings and employing late Roman-inspired rectilinear and

plans in the architecture of his new

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

palace, which descended from

Late Antique Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English has ...

prototypes like Diocletian's Palace at

Split, Croatia )'' , settlement_type = List of cities and towns in Croatia, City , anthem = ''Marjane, Marjane'' , image_skyline = , imagesize = 267px , image_caption = Top: Nighttime view of ...

. When

() converted to Christianity in 864, the religious buildings of Pliska were adapted for Christian use and it was after this point that the Great Basilica was constructed, together with a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

which was attached to it. The monastery was home to the disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius. After the ''

tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

'' Simeon I founded his new capital at

Preslav The modern Veliki Preslav or Great Preslav ( bg, Велики Преслав, ), former Preslav ( bg, link=no, Преслав; until 1993), is a city and the seat of government of the Veliki Preslav Municipality (Great Preslav Municipality, new B ...

, Pliska was slowly abandoned. It was captured at the turn of the 2nd millennium by

Theodorokanos Theodorokanos ( el, Θεοδωροκάνος) was a Byzantine general of Armenian origin active under Basil II both in the East and in the Balkans. Life His name is the hellenized form of Armenian ''T‘ot‘orakan'' ("belonging to Theodore"). ...

and

Nikephoros Xiphias Nikephoros Xiphias ( el, Νικηφόρος Ξιφίας, ) was a Byzantine military commander during the reign of Emperor Basil II. He played a distinguished role in the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria, and was instrumental in the decisive Byzant ...

, during the campaigns of the emperor

Basil the Bulgar-Slayer Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar ...

(), which ended the First Bulgarian Empire.

Gallery

File:Old Basilica in Pliska.jpg, The basilica File:Old Basilica in Pliska 5.JPG, The basilica's

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

File:Old Basilica in Pliska 6.JPG, Left part of the altar File:Old Basilica in Pliska Sarcophagus.JPG, Sarcophagi near the altar File:Old Basilica in Pliska Reconstruction.JPG, An authentic small-scale model of the basilica File:Great Basilica of Pliska.png, Plan

References

* * * {{coord, 43, 23, 55, N, 27, 8, 20, E, region:BG, display=title Ruins in Bulgaria Bulgarian Orthodox churches in Bulgaria Buildings and structures in Shumen Province Pliska 9th-century churches Christian monasteries established in the 9th century First Bulgarian Empire Tourist attractions in Shumen Province 9th century in Bulgaria Medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church buildings Medieval Bulgarian architecture Religious buildings and structures completed in 875