The Seven Slavic tribes ( bg, Седемте славянски племена, Sedemte slavyanski plemena), or the Seven clans ( bg, Седемте рода, Sedemte roda, links=no) were a union of Slavic tribes in the Danubian Plain, that was established around the middle of the 7th century and took part in the formation of the First Bulgarian Empire together with the Bulgars in 680−681. Since its establishment it faced attacks of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. The Bulgars crossed the Danube and in the 670's they concluded an alliance with the Slavic Union. Theophanes writes that the Bulgars became masters of the Slavs. The Slavic Union recognized the sovereignty of Khan

Asparukh 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 ...

and together, in the spring of 681, they won a major victory over the Byzantines. In the late 7th century the Seven tribes were assigned the defence of the newly established Bulgar Khanate's western and northwestern border (the

Iskar River The Iskar ( bg, Искър, ; la, Oescus) is a right tributary of the Danube. With a length of 368 km it is the longest river that runs entirely within Bulgaria.Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

) against Avar raids, as well as some of the passes of the Balkan Mountains, whereas the Severi, whose possible participation in the union is not clear, would guard the eastern part of the mountains. The Seven Slavic tribes, together with other Slavic tribes of the Bulgarian Empire, gradually formed the Bulgarian ethnicity in the 9th century due to the

Christianization of Bulgaria The Christianization of Bulgaria was the process by which 9th-century medieval Bulgaria converted to Christianity. It reflected the need of unity within the religiously divided Bulgarian state as well as the need for equal acceptance on the in ...

under Boris I and the preceding administrative reforms that deprived them of their autonomy and self-government through the Comitatus (First Bulgarian State). The Asparuch Bulgars were not numerous and settled in the Balkans with a single migration wave, which Michael the Syrian described as numbering 10,000. Therefore, they gradually were assimilated into the Slavic culture, until by the 10th century they had adopted the

Slavic language The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the Ea ...

, with the

Bulgar language Bulgar (also known as Bulghar, Bolgar, or Bolghar) is an extinct Oghur Turkic language spoken by the Bulgars. The name is derived from the Bulgars, a tribal association that established the Bulgar state known as Old Great Bulgaria in the mid- ...

going extinct in the kingdom.dějepis.com, Jižní Slované
/ref>

Notes

{{Bulgaria-stub First Bulgarian Empire South Slavic tribes Slavic tribes in Thrace and Moesia

See also

Notes