Varna, Bulgaria in the context of "Rousse"

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 to the south, Serbia and North Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north. It covers a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi) and is the tenth largest within the European Union and the sixteenth-largest country in Europe by area. Sofia is the nation's capital and largest city; other major cities include Burgas, Plovdiv, and Varna.

One of the earliest societies in the lands of modern-day Bulgaria was the Karanovo culture (6,500 BC). In the 6th to 3rd century BC, the region was a battleground for ancient Thracians, Persians, Celts, and Macedonians; stability came when the Roman Empire conquered the region in AD 45. After the Roman state splintered, tribal invasions in the region resumed. Around the 6th century, these territories were settled by the early Slavs. The Bulgars, led by Asparuh, attacked from the lands of Old Great Bulgaria and permanently invaded the Balkans in the late 7th century. They established the First Bulgarian Empire, victoriously recognised by treaty in 681 AD by the Byzantine Empire. It dominated most of the Balkans and significantly influenced Slavic cultures by developing the Cyrillic script. Under the rule of the Krum's dynasty, the country rose to the status of a mighty empire and great power. The First Bulgarian Empire lasted until the early 11th century, when Byzantine emperor Basil II conquered and dismantled it. A successful Bulgarian revolt in 1185 established a Second Bulgarian Empire, which reached its apex under Ivan Asen II (1218–1241). After numerous exhausting wars and feudal strife, the empire disintegrated and in 1396 fell under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries.

The Black Sea is a marginal sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The Black Sea is supplied by major rivers, principally the Danube, Dnieper and Dniester. Consequently, while six countries have a coastline on the sea, its drainage basin includes parts of 24 countries in Europe.

The Black Sea, not including the Sea of Azov, covers 436,400 km (168,500 sq mi), has a maximum depth of 2,212 m (7,257 ft), and a volume of 547,000 km (131,000 cu mi).Most of its coasts ascend rapidly.These rises are the Pontic Mountains to the south, bar the southwest-facing peninsulas, the Caucasus Mountains to the east, and the Crimean Mountains to the mid-north.In the west, the coast is generally small floodplains below foothills such as the Strandzha; Cape Emine, a dwindling of the east end of the Balkan Mountains; and the Dobruja Plateau considerably farther north. The longest east–west extent is about 1,175 km (730 mi). Important cities along the coast include (clockwise from the Bosporus) the northern suburbs of Istanbul, Burgas, Varna, Constanța, Odesa, Yalta, Kerch, Yevpatoria, Sevastopol, Novorossiysk, Sochi, Poti, Batumi, Rize, Trabzon, Ordu, Simferopol, Samsun and Zonguldak.

Burgas (Bulgarian: Бургас, pronounced [burˈɡas] ), sometimes transliterated as Bourgas, is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the fourth-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna, with a population of 210,646 inhabitants, while 226,137 live in its urban area. It is the capital of Burgas Province and an important industrial, transport, cultural and tourist centre.

The city is surrounded by the Burgas Lakes and located at the westernmost point of the Black Sea, at the large Burgas Bay. LUKOIL Neftochim Burgas is the largest oil refinery in southeastern Europe and the largest industrial enterprise. The Port of Burgas is the second largest port in Bulgaria, and Burgas Airport is the second most important in the country. Burgas is the centre of the Bulgarian fishing and fish processing industry.

Cape Emine (Bulgarian: Нос Емине [ˈnɔs ˈɛminɛ]) is a headland located at the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is located 79 kilometres (49 mi) south of Varna, 55 km (34 mi) north of Burgas and 14 km (9 mi) south of Obzor. It forms the tip of Stara Planina. Cape Emine is said to be Bulgaria's stormiest cape.

In the Middle Ages, there was a fortress called Emona on Cape Emine. Its name was derived from Aemon, the ancient name for Stara Planina. Nowadays, only some ruins of the fortress are left. There are also remnants of a monastery and a lighthouse. The village of Emona is located nearby.

Northern Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Северна България, romanized: Severna Bylgarija), also called Moesia (Bulgarian: Мизия, Mizija) is the northern half of Bulgaria, located to the north of the main ridge of the Balkan Mountains which conventionally separates the country into a northern and a southern part. Besides the Balkan Mountains, Northern Bulgaria borders the Timok River and Serbia to the west, the Danube River and Romania to the north, and the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast to the east.

Geographically, the region's terrain is relatively uniform, dominated by the hilly Danubian Plain, with some low plateaus to the east. Northern Bulgaria covers an area of 48,596 square kilometres and has a population of 2,674,347 according to the 2011 census (36% of Bulgaria's entire population), with a population density of 55 people per km². The three largest cities are Varna, Rousse and Pleven.

The Gulf of Varna (Bulgarian: Варненски залив, Varnenski zaliv) is a gulf on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. The length of the gulf is 3 kilometres (1.9 mi). Its maximum width is 8 kilometres (5.0 mi), and its depth ranges from 10 to 18 metres (33 to 59 ft). The Port of Varna and the major city of Varna are located on the gulf.

The siege of Silistria, or siege of Silistra, was a key engagement in the Crimean War, fought from 11 May to 23 June 1854 between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire in present-day Bulgaria. The Russian army, numbering up to 90,000 men with 266 guns, attempted to capture the Danubian fortress of Silistria as part of a broader strategy to outflank Ottoman defences and pre-empt an expected Allied landing at Varna. The garrison, 12,000 to 18,000 Ottoman troops and Egyptian auxiliaries, was bolstered by British military advisers and successfully withstood a six-week siege.

The operation was shaped by diplomatic and regional tensions. Russia hoped for a general Balkan uprising and misjudged the likelihood of Austrian or Serbian neutrality. Austria, concerned that a Russian advance might provoke unrest among its own Serb population, mobilised 280,000 troops along the Danube and warned Russia against crossing the river. At the same time, Anglo-French troops began arriving in Varna, and a joint Austrian–Ottoman convention granted Austria the right to occupy the Danubian Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia.

The Despotate of Dobruja or Principality of Karvuna (Bulgarian: Добруджанско деспотство or Карвунско княжество; Romanian: Despotatul Dobrogei or Țara Cărvunei) was a 14th-century quasi-independent Bulgarian polity in the region of modern Dobruja, that split off from the Second Bulgarian Empire under the influence of the Byzantine Empire. The Despotate of Dobruja existed from 1356 to 1411.

The principality's name is derived from the fortress of Karvuna (present-day Balchik, not to be confused with Karnava/Kavarna), mentioned in Bulgarian and Byzantine documents and Italian portolans of the 14th century as its first capital, and located between Varna and Cape Kaliakra.