Greek language

John I Tzimiskes (Greek: Ἰωάννης ὁ Τζιμισκής, romanized: Iōánnēs ho Tzimiskēs; born John Kourkouas c. 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general who married into the influential Skleros family, he strengthened and expanded the Byzantine Empire to include Thrace and Syria by warring with the Rus' under Sviatoslav I and the Fatimids respectively.

40°51′19″N 20°58′58″E / 40.855222°N 20.982750°E / 40.855222; 20.982750

Prespa (Macedonian: Преспа, Greek: Πρέσπα, Albanian: Prespë) is a region shared between North Macedonia, Greece and Albania. It shares the same name with the two Prespa lakes which are situated in the middle of the region. The largest town is Resen in North Macedonia with 9,000 inhabitants.

Constantine IV (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος, romanized: Kōnstantīnos, lit. 'Constantinus'); c. 650 – 10 July 685), called the Younger (Greek: ὁ νέος, romanized: ho Néos) and often incorrectly the Bearded (Greek: Πωγωνᾶτος, romanized: Pōgōnãtos) out of confusion with his father, was Byzantine emperor from 668 to 685. His reign saw the first serious check to nearly 50 years of uninterrupted Arab expansion, most notably his successful defence of Constantinople, and the temporary stabilization of the Byzantine Empire after decades of war, defeats, and civil strife. His calling of the Sixth Ecumenical Council saw the end of the monothelitism controversy in the Byzantine Empire; for this, he is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, with his feast day on September 3.

The Pannonian Avars (/ˈævɑːrz/ AV-arz) were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri (modern Russian: обры, Obry) in the chronicles of the Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai (Greek: Βαρχονῖται, romanized: Varchonitai), or Pseudo-Avars in Byzantine sources, and the Apar (Old Turkic: 𐰯𐰺) to the Göktürks. They established the Avar Khaganate, which spanned the Pannonian Basin and considerable areas of Central and Eastern Europe from the late-6th to the early-9th centuries.

The name "Pannonian Avars" (after Pannonia in the upper Danube basin where they eventually settled) is used to distinguish them from the Avars of the Caucasus, a separate people with whom the Pannonian Avars may or may not have had links. Although the name Avar first appeared in the mid-5th century, the Pannonian Avars entered the historical scene in the mid-6th century, on the Pontic–Caspian steppe as a people who wished to escape the rule of the Göktürks. They are probably best known for their invasions and destruction in the Avar–Byzantine wars from 568 to 626 and for their influence on the Slavic migrations to the Balkans.

The Treaty of Bucharest (Romanian: Tratatul de la București; Serbian: Букурештански мир; Bulgarian: Букурещки договор; Greek: Συνθήκη του Βουκουρεστίου) was concluded on 10 August 1913, by the delegates of Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece. The Treaty was concluded in the aftermath of the Second Balkan War and amended the previous Treaty of London, which ended the First Balkan War. About one month later, the Bulgarians signed a separate border treaty (the Treaty of Constantinople) with the Ottomans, who had regained some territory west of the Enos-Midia Line during the second war.

The Serdi were a Celtic tribe inhabiting Thrace. They were located around Serdica (Bulgarian: Сердика, romanized: Serdika; Latin: Ulpia Serdica; Greek: Σαρδική o Σαρδῶν πόλις, romanized: Sardike o Sardon polis), now Sofia in Bulgaria, which reflects their ethnonym. They would have established themselves in this area during the Celtic migrations at the end of the 4th century BC, though there is no evidence of their existence before the 1st century BC. Serdi are among traditional tribal names reported into the Roman era. They were gradually Thracianized over the centuries but retained their Celtic character in material culture up to a late date. According to other sources they may have been simply of Thracian origin; according to others they may have been of mixed Thraco-Celtic origin.

Krum (Greek: Κροῦμος/Kroumos), often referred to as Krum the Fearsome (Greek: Krum Strashni) (c. mid 8th century – 13 April 814) 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 Dniester and from Odrin to the Tatra Mountains. His able and energetic rule brought law and order to Bulgaria and developed the rudiments of state organization.

Melnik (Bulgarian: Мелник [ˈmɛɫnik], Greek: Μελένικο, Meleniko) is a town in Blagoevgrad Province, Southwestern Bulgaria, in the Southwestern Pirin Mountains, about 440 m above sea level. The town is an architectural reserve and 96 of its buildings are cultural monuments. With a population of 385, it is the smallest town in Bulgaria, retaining its town status today for historical reasons. It is situated on the foothills of the Pirin mountain range and is overlooked by the Melnik Earth Pyramids.

Northern Thrace or North Thrace (Bulgarian: Северна Тракия, Severna Trakiya; Turkish: Kuzey Trakya; Greek: Βόρεια Θράκη), also called Bulgarian Thrace, constitutes the northern and largest part of the historical region of Thrace. It is located in Southern Bulgaria and includes the territory south of the Balkan Mountains and east of the Mesta River, bordering Western Thrace and East Thrace in the south, and the Black Sea in the east. It encompasses Sredna Gora, the Upper Thracian Plain, and 90% of the Rhodopes.

The climate ranges from subtropical to transitional continental and mountainous. The highest temperature recorded in Bulgaria occurred here: it was 45.2 °C (113.4 °F; 318.3 K) at Sadovo in 1916. The main rivers of the region are the Maritsa and its tributaries. Notable cities include Plovdiv, Burgas, Stara Zagora, Sliven, Haskovo, Yambol, Pazardzhik, Asenovgrad, Kardzhali, Dimitrovgrad, Kazanlak and Smolyan. Northern Thrace has an area of 42,073 km.