ORTA GREKÇE ETKİSİNDEKİ BİR ESKİ BULGAR YAZITINDA ASKERÎ TEŞKİLAT ÜZERİNE DİKKATLER: HAN KURUM II
ON THE MILITARY ORGANIZATION WITHIN AN OLD BULGARIAN INSCRIPTION UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF MIDDLE GREEK: KHAN KURUM II

Summary/Abstract: This study analyzes the hierarchical structure and battle order of the Old Bulgarian military organization in light of an Old Bulgarian inscription preserved in the Varna Archaeological Museum inventory (Inv. No. III 934) and dated to approximately 813. In this study, the inscription in question will be referred to as Han Kurum II. The inscription contains valuable data recording the strategic division of labor and chain of command of the army during the ongoing wars with the Eastern Roman Empire. The focal point of the article is the reconstruction of the army's wing arrangement, explained by the Altai-origin concept of “sarak” mentioned in the text. Philological examinations reveal that the army was structured according to a tripartite system seen in traditional Steppe states: center, right (east), and left (west). In the inscription, the command of the right wing, considered hierarchically superior, is assigned to the “Ichurgu Bıl(gh)ä”, and the command of the left wing to the “Bıl(gh)äKavkhan”; subordinate generals with the rank of “Strategos” are assigned under the command of both wing commanders. This arrangement demonstrates that the Old Bulgarians preserved the Altai tradition of basing orientation on the east (right), yet reveals the extent to which their military leadership was influenced by the established military terminology and bureaucratic practices of the Eastern Roman Empire in operational processes. Furthermore, it documents the pragmatic relationship the Old Bulgarian administrative mechanism established with Middle Greek, the lingua franca of the period, in diplomatic language, while preserving its own original terminology. The study demonstrates that the document in question is a significant source embodying the tactical scheme and tripartite command system of the Old Bulgarian army.

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