ULITSA Khan Asparuh in central Sofia got its name in 1892. Perhaps because it got it from the founder of the state of Bulgaria, it is one of a minority of Sofia streets never to have been renamed.

Khan Asparuh was one of the five sons of Khan Kubrat, ruler of the state of the Bulgars on the River Volga - Great Bulgaria. When Kubrat's state fell apart under the assaults of the Khazar tribes his sons separated and scattered.

Asparuh's horsemen headed to the south to the lands of the mighty Byzantine Empire. The young chief and his horde sought to establish the permanent unified state that Great Bulgaria had failed to become. Asparuh realised that it was in union with the Slavic tribes south of the Danube that they would succeed in achieving their mission.

For about a century the Slavic tribes had been roaming the Byzantine lands, their burning and destruction paving the way for the founding of the future state. Their closeness to the Byzantine strongholds posed a serious threat to the empire. They set up large tribal alliances, among which the seven Slavic tribes and the Severians, who inhabited the lands between the Danube and the Balkan Mountains, were the most powerful. They were just a step away from statehood.

At the end of the 670s Asparoukh made an alliance with the Slavic tribes to fight against Byzantium. In 680 he defeated the Byzantine army and swiftly moved from the Danubian delta down to the Balkan range. And thus Asparukh founded a state of Slavs and Bulgars, binding his tribe with the tribal alliance of the seven Slavic tribes and the Severians.

In 681 Khan Asparukh invaded Thrace, seizing fortresses and towns. As the Byzantines were unable to stop him, Emperor Constantine IV Pogonatus was compelled to ask for peace and during the same year eventually recognized the new state to which he was to pay annual tribute. Pliska, a town situated in what is now northern Bulgaria, was made the first capital of the newly established state. The Slavs and the Bulgars retained their self-government and the territorial autonomy of their tribes. According to historical documents, from the end of the seventh to the beginning of the 10th century the new state was referred to as a Slav-Bulgar state.

The ruler of the state, the khan, was in charge of foreign political affairs and was commander of the army in times of war. The defence of the state was divided between the Slavs and the Bulgars. The Slavs defended the north-western border to the Carpathians against frequent attacks by the Avar tribes. To the east the Black Sea coast was the natural borderline.

The Bulgars undertook the defence of the northern borders against the Khazar invasions, far beyond the Danube. The southern border along the ridge of the Balkan range all the way to the Timok river was guarded against the Byzantine threat by the combined efforts of Bulgars and Slavs. The Thracians who had inhabited these lands before the invasion of Slavs and Bulgars were also incorporated into the new state.

Being a daring leader who embodied the skills of politician and statesman, diplomat and warrior, khan Asparukh kept an ardent watch over the alliance and severely punished any violation of it. The first ruler of Bulgaria died in 700 in one of the many battles in defence of the new state.