During most of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

the

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

did not maintain

naval forces A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operati ...

. The first records of Bulgarians ships come from the reign of Khan Omurtag: during his war against the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

(827-829) he came with ships from the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

and landed troops in the rear of the Franks. The first organised Bulgarian navy was built under Emperor

Ivan Asen II Ivan Asen II, also known as John Asen II (, ; 1190s – May/June 1241), was Emperor (Tsar) of Second Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria from 1218 to 1241. He was still a child when his father Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria, Ivan Asen I one of the founders of th ...

(1218–1241). It was rather small and included galleys to guard the coast. The Navy's importance increased during the reign of Dobrotitsa and Ivanko in the Principality of Karvuna in the late 14th century. The Bulgarian fleet took part in successful actions against the Genoese and the Turks with its range reaching

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

and Trebizond. The main

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 ...

n shipyard was situated in the mouth of the Kamchia river due to the abundance of wood and was burned down when the Turks overran the country.

Military actions

Too little is known for the battles and quests of the Navy and the Coast Guard. In 812 Khan

Krum Krum (, ), often referred to as Krum the Fearsome () was the Khan of Bulgaria from sometime between 796 and 803 until his death in 814. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper a ...

used ships to seize several Byzantine fortresses in the Southern Black Sea Coast, most notably

Nesebar Nesebar (often transcribed as Nessebar and sometimes as Nesebur, , pronounced ) is an ancient city and one of the major seaside resorts on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, located in Burgas Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous ...

. Images of these ships have been found depicted on the walls of

Pliska Pliska ( , ) was the first capital of the First Bulgarian Empire during the Middle Ages and is now List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, a small town in Shumen Province, on the Ludogorie plateau of the Danubian Plain (Bulgaria), Danubian Plain, 20 ...

and

Preslav The modern Veliki Preslav or Great Preslav (, ), former Preslav (; until 1993), is a city and the seat of government of the Veliki Preslav Municipality (Great Preslav Municipality, new Bulgarian: ''obshtina''), which in turn is part of Shumen P ...

. In 1235 Ivan Asen II sent 25 large galleys to help the Nicean emperor in the siege of Constantinople. In the beginning of 1257 the

Latin Empire The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzantin ...

hired a fleet of 10 Venetian galleys and on 14 June they captured Nessebar after a short siege but could not achieve anything more.Bulgarie, Venise et l'Empire latin de Constantinople au milieu du XIIIe siecle, 1975, No4 In the late 14th century Dobrotitsa used the Navy to put his cousin on the Trebizond throne and later lead a war against Genoa which lasted to 1387 when his son Ivanco settled a favourable peace. In 1366

Amadeus VI of Savoy Amadeus VI (4 January 1334 – 1 March 1383), nicknamed the Green Count () was Count of Savoy from 1343 to 1383. He was the eldest son of Aymon, Count of Savoy, and Yolande Palaeologina of Montferrat. Though he began his rule under a regency, ...

lost several ships during the siege of

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...

Ship design

During the First Empire the ships designed for both sea and river sailing. They had small draught and good maritime qualities. The ships had very high bows and sterns, 10-15 paddles on each board and one mast. The battle ships had a battering ram in their front. During the Second Empire the shipbuilding traditions were continued and sophisticated. Many of the new ships had no paddles and this new type was a specific Bulgarian design: it combined features from

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

(triangular sails) and

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

ships (helm was used instead of stern paddles for better navigation). The ships were 25–30 meters long and 6–7 meters wide and had one or two masts.

References

Footnotes

{{Bulgarian Empire

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

Bulgarian Navy Disbanded navies Naval warfare of the Middle Ages