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Bulgarian Fortresses - The inner city Veliki Preslav {W.I.P} v. 0.5

"If some wanderer, peasant or a poor man stands in front of the walls of the capital, he is amazed. And as he steps through the gatehouse he is mesmerized. As he enters he sees chains of buildings decorated with stone and wood. Further when he enters the palace and sees the tall churches and tall buildings made beautiful from the outside with not only stones and wood but with paint and from the inside with marble, copper, silver and gold. He doesn't know what to compare them to, as he has never seen such grandeur, not only in his land but in other lands as well. And if he is lucky enough to see the Knyaz dressed in his tunic adorned with gems and golden necklace and bracelets, velvet belt and a golden sword hanging on his hip and on both of his sides the Bolyars too with golden necklaces. When he returns to his land and they ask him what did he see, he will say :" I don't know how to tell - only with your own eyes you could enjoy such beauty..."

~ "Hexameron" by John the Exarch X-th century AD.

Historical information:

The name of Preslav is of Slavic origin; apparently it was initially founded and functioned as a Slavic settlement until its fortification at the beginning of the 9th century. The proximity to the then Bulgarian capital of Pliska led to the fast development and expansion of Preslav during the reign of the Khans Krum and Omurtag. By the time of the coronation of Khan Boris I in 852, Preslav had turned into an important strategic military centre and was the seat of the Ichirgu-boi the second man after the Khan himself l. Boris I chistianised Bulgaria in 864 A.D uniting Slavs, Bulgars and Greeks living in his lands under a common religion governed by the newly founded Bulgarian Church. The old Capital Pliska was badly damaged in a battle by the Byznatine Emperor Nikephoros in 811 A.D. Although Nikephoros was killed in the following battle Pliska never recovered. Furthermore Pliska was the site of a pagan revolt led by none other than Kynaz Boris I's son - Prince Vladimir in 892 . This revolt was decisive for the future destiny of the city. In 893 Vladimir was dethroned and during the Council of Preslav Boris I appointed Simeon the Great as his successor and decided to move the capital of the state from the still somewhat pagan Pliska to Preslav. In the following 80 years the city developed rapidly, turning into a centre not only of Bulgarian politics and diplomacy, but also of Slavic culture, literature and fine arts. A chronicler mentioned that it took Simeon 28 years to establish and build up his new capital. Archeological excavations have, however, proved that the city continued to develop also during the 930s and 940s and reached the peak in its growth and magnificence in the middle of the rule of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria.

In view of the impressive town planning, the vital economy and the grandeur of buildings like the Round Church and the Royal Palace, Preslav was a true rival of the largest and most important city centres in the western hemisphere. Culturally, it was the centre of the Preslav Literary School which was founded in Pliska in 886 and was moved to Preslav along with the rest of the court in 893. The greatest Bulgarian writers from the Old Bulgarian period worked in Preslav, among them John Exarch, Constantine of Preslav, Chernorizets Hrabar. It was probably around the Preslav Literary School that the Cyrillic script developed in the 10th century. The city also had large ceramic workshops which produced art ceramics, glazed tiles, as well as ceramic icons and iconostases.

The city's fortune underwent a dramatic downturn at the end of the 960s, when it was occupied by Kievan Prince Sviatoslav. The ensuing war between Rus' and Byzantines left the city burnt and ravaged by the army of Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimisces. The conquerors took away the treasury, the Bulgarian Tsar's regalia and a large part of the library of Simeon. Although the city did not lose its importance in the next three hundred years, the neighbouring outskirts and the big monasteries became desolate, the economy lost its vitality and significance.

Preslav regained some of its importance in Bulgarian politics during the first years of the joint rule of the founders of the Second Bulgarian Empire, Peter IV of Bulgaria and Ivan Asen I. Apparently, Ivan Asen ruled from the centre of the uprising, Tarnovgrad, whereas his brother and co-ruler Theodore Peter resided in Preslav as a symbol of the renewed statehood of Bulgaria. The strategic advantages of Tarnovgrad were, however, decisive in the long run and the significance of Preslav waned in the course of the 13th century. The Tatar raids during the 1270s drove away the last citizens of Preslav, along with the protothroned bishop of the city. Some of the surviving refugees built up a village of the same name only two kilometres north from the fortress where the contemporary town of Veliki Preslav is now situated..

Author's note:

This is the second Bulgarian capital of Preslav this is a Work in progress. I've done only the "palace section" of the inner city which is about 2/3 of the whole inner city.

Things to be done in future version:
1 - Retrace the walls to make them closer to reality the current ones are more or less placeholders
2- Decorate
3- Refine the terrain.
4- Build the outter wall.
Disclaimer:

There are almost 4000 catalogued fortresses on the territory of Bulgaria. The oldest one is actually the oldest discovered walled town in Europe, the newest one is from the middle of the 19th century. Out of the 4000 fortresses only around 2000 have visible remains and only one medieval fortress is completely preserved. This is an ongoing project to recreate the lost fortresses of Bulgaria based on research plans and modern reconstructions.

The term "castle" does not exist in Bulgaria as it does in the west. Castles as known in the west are virtually non-existent, the majority of the fortifications were not used as housings of Lords (Bolyars, Sebastokrators and so on) and had a very specific military purpose. There are of course exceptions, notably Tsepina, Cherven's castle, and Asen's castle in Trapezitza Citadel in the capital of Turnovgrad. hence all of the "castles" I will be publishing are in fact "fortresses". Military fortresses however did include a sort of a dojnon, or as they are called here - "Habitable-defensive structure" which usually housed the quarters of the Lord in case of a visit or a siege.


Any feedback is welcome.

You can use the fortress in roleplaying servers or whatever you want as long as you give credit where it's due.
You can improve it, expand on it, as long as you again give credit where it's due