State Builders from the Steppe by Eric D. Halsey

State Builders From the Steppe explores how the Proto-Bulgarians were able to build both an empire and an identity amidst the turmoil of the Balkans in the Early Middle Ages. From creating the Cyrillic Alphabet and crowning the first ever Tsar to defeating the first Arab invasion of Europe and nearly conquering the last vestiges of the Roman Empire, the history of the First Bulgarian Empire is equally fascinating and dramatic.

"This book makes the history of the first Bulgarian state far more accessible and engaging for the average reader, capturing both the dramatic rise and fall alongside the ways in which its history reverberates in our world even a millennium later. A must-read for anyone hoping to understand Bulgaria or just the Early Middle Ages in general."

- Panos Sophoulis, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Russian Language and Literature and Slavic Studies at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and author of "Byzantium and Bulgaria, 775-831."