228 THE RACES OF THE DANUBE. [xi. 



the " ogre " of our nursery stones is supposed to be 

 a corruption. But the achievements of the Bulgars, 

 as a distinct race, were hardly of enough consequence 

 to keep them always in one's memory. Though they 

 gave the name Bulgaria to the Roman province of 

 Lower Mcesia, they were soon absorbed among the 

 Slavs, and quite lost their Tataric speech. And so, 

 while Bulgaria played a prominent part in medieval 

 history, it figures only as a portion of the Slavonic 

 world. Yet to this day, it is said, the inhabitants of 

 Bulgaria exhibit, in their high cheek-bones, flat face, 

 and sunken eyes, as well as in their curious attire, 

 the characteristics of the Tatar race. In the seventh 

 century Bulgaria was overrun by the Avars, but after 

 these nomads were expelled the Bulgarian power 

 developed rapidly, and was even extended back over 

 Bessarabia and all Southern Russia as far as the Sea 

 of Azof. These eastern conquests were not long 

 retained, but on the other hand the semi-independent 

 kingdom between the Danube and the Balkan Moun- 

 tains became more and more formidable in its rivalry 

 with the imperial government at Constantinople. In 

 long and obstinate warfare the Bulgarians overcame 

 the Serbs, and by the beginning of the tenth century 

 they controlled nearly the whole peninsula from the 

 Black Sea to the Adriatic. At this epoch their king- 



