Kanasubigi (), possibly read as ''Kanas Ubigi'' or ''Kanas U Bigi'', was a title of the early Bulgar rulers of the

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire (; was a medieval state that existed in Southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 680–681 after part of the Bulgars, led by Asparuh of Bulgaria, Asparuh, moved south to the northe ...

. Omurtag (814–831) and his son Malamir (831–836) are mentioned in inscriptions as Kanasubigi. The title '' khan'' for early Bulgarian rulers is an assumed one, as only the form ''kanasubigi'' or "kanasybigi" is attested in stone inscriptions. Historians presume that it includes the title '' khan'' in its archaic form ''kana'', and there is a presumptive evidence suggesting that the latter title was indeed used in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, e.g. the name of one of the Bulgars' ruler

Pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

occurs in Patriarch Nicephorus's so-called breviarium as (''Kampaganos''), likely an erroneous rendition of the phrase "Khan Pagan". Among the proposed translations for the phrase ''kanasubigi'' as a whole are ''lord of the army'', from the reconstructed Turkic phrase ''*sü begi'', paralleling the attested

Old Turkic Old Siberian Turkic, generally known as East Old Turkic and often shortened to Old Turkic, was a Siberian Turkic language spoken around East Turkistan and Mongolia. It was first discovered in inscriptions originating from the Second Turkic Kh ...

''sü baši'', and, more recently, "(ruler) from God", from the

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

''*su-'' and ''baga-'', i.e. ''*su-baga'' (an equivalent of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

phrase , ''ho ek Theou archon'', which is common in Bulgar inscriptions). Another presumption is that the title means the ''great khan''. This titulature presumably persisted until the Bulgars adopted

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. Some Bulgar inscriptions written in Greek and later in Slavonic refer to the Bulgarian ruler respectively with the Greek title ''archon'' or the Slavic title ''

knyaz A , also , ''knjaz'' or (), is a historical Slavs, Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times. It is usually translated into English language, English as 'prince', 'king' or 'duke', depending on specific historical c ...

''.Manassias Chronicle, Vatican transcription, p. 145, see

Battle of Pliska The Battle of Pliska or Battle of Vărbitsa Pass was a series of battles between troops, gathered from all parts of the Byzantine Empire, led by the Emperor Nicephorus I, and the First Bulgarian Empire, governed by Khan Krum. The Byzantines pl ...

References

Bibliography

*Hanswilhelm Haefs, ''Das goldene Reich der Pamir-Bulgaren an Donau und Wardar'' (p. 120), {{ISBN, 3-8334-2340-4 Bulgar language Bulgarian royalty Bulgarian noble titles First Bulgarian Empire

See also

References

Bibliography