Bulgaria under the yoke
In 1396 Bulgaria fell under the domination of the Ottoman
Turks. As a result of their invasion many mosques were built,
the Arabic alphabet was introduced for official. The Bulgarians
suffered heavy taxes, duties and the so-called blood tax.
Blood tax required that a boy from the family be taken and
be converted into the Islam religion and was train for a
janissar-warrior with no knowledge of parents and fatherlands.
These janissars as well as the Turkish civil army-the bashibozuk
were the real ruthless masters in command in the country.
These were very hard times for the Bulgarian nation.
The freedom-loving spirit of the Bulgarian people
The Bulgarian population started to organize self-defense
movements. First appeared the hajduti (outlaw rebels) who
protected the Orthodox Christian population. They united
in cheti (detachments), which later on grew into organized
movement for the liberation of Bulgaria. The New Bulgarian
National Revival began in the middle of the 18 th century.
The struggle for independent church and freedom of religious
belonging, the publishing of books, and later the Bulgarian
press release, the establishment of Bulgarian secular school
and the Bulgarian language and culture were some of the
steps taken towards the revival of the nation. The writing
of the History of the Bulgarian People by Father Paisii
of Hilendar marks an important moment in our history. In
1862 Georgi Sava Rakovski organized the First Bulgarian
Armed Legion in Belgrad. A key figure among the revolutionaries
was Vasil Levski. The Bulgarian people worship him and consider
him to be a saint. The April Uprising from 1876 was a turning
point in the movement for the national liberation.