With stamps there is often a reason to remind of something long ago. In 1942 Bulgaria was trying to get away from it’s alliance with Germany that was seeing Sophia bombed and allies fighting fellow Slavs in Russia. A good time to remember 800 AD Bulgar Khan Tervel who did great favors for Byzantium only to have them turn on them. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
The stone carving on the stamp dates from 800AD. There are debates whether it is in the Hellenic or Persian style but most believe it depicts Bulgarian Khan Tervel. The carving still exists. There is no doubt the stamp depicting the carving was in the Slavic style.
Todays stamp is issue A219, a 30 Slotinki stamp issued by Bulgaria on October 21 1942. It was a 14 stamp issue in various denominations that depicted glorious events from the past. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether used or unused.
Bulgaria was in a delicate position in World War II. They were forced to sign an alliance with Germany under threat of invasion. This gave them an immediate benefit of land lost years before in the Balkan wars. See https://the-philatelist.com/2019/08/05/bulgaria-1913-that-brief-moment-when-the-balkan-wars-looked-good-for-bulgaria/ . However Germany then canceled the non aggression pact with Stalin and invaded fellow Slavic nation Russia. Bulgaria refused to send troops to fight with the Germans complaining of threats from Turkey. They were lucky they didn’t. The Romanian and Hungarian armies paid a terrible price for going along. Bulgaria paid a price as well. Britain and the USA began bombing and the Soviets attacked Bulgarian shipping in the Black Sea. When Romania changed sides in 1944, Bulgaria tried for neutrality and indeed had never declared war on the Soviets. The Soviets still invaded and the Bulgarian army was ordered not to resist. Bulgaria’s child Czar Simeon II was sent into exile and Prime Minister Dobri Bozhilov had a show trial and was executed in 1945. The Bulgarian Supreme Court vacated the Death Sentence, but not till 1996 when it was a little late. The Soviets did not treat the now in power Bulgarian communists much better, see https://the-philatelist.com/2019/06/04/bulgaria-1950-now-that-he-is-dead-we-can-forgive-kolarov-his-passivity/ .
Tervel was the Khan,(ruler of the horde), of Bulgaria from around 700 AD to 720. It is believed that he was the first Bulgar leader to be Christened in the Orthadox Christian Church. When Byzantine Emperor Justinian was deposed and in exile, he came to Tervel and got the use of Bulgar horsemen soldiers to attack Constantinople and return to power. Justinian then gave Bulgaria some territory in Thrace and the title of Ceaser to Tervel. Tervel was the only foreigner to receive that Byzantine title. The honeymoon, as with the Germans, did not last and soon Byzantium was attacking Bulgaria to get the given land back. Byzantium was defeated in this effort at the Battle of Anchialus in 708.
Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast the mountainside stone carver. Statues come and go, but mountainside stone carvings just go on and on. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.