ew alphabet known as Cyrillic. This new
alphabet soon replaced Latin and Greek as the only form of writing, and
on its base a new Slavic literature and culture grew up.

When Bulgaria adopted Christianity from Byzantium, it also adopted
Byzantium's territorial ambitions. Under Tsar Simeon (A.D. 893-927), a
period known as the Golden Age, Bulgaria extended its territories from
the Black Sea in the east to the southern Carpathian Mountains in the
north, to the Sava River in the west, and to Macedonia in the southwest.
It was in this period that Bulgaria reached the peak of its territorial
expansion, penetrating deep into the Byzantine Empire. Macedonia and
Albania became Bulgaria's new frontiers; in 924 Serbia fell under
Bulgarian rule. With these victories Simeon claimed the title tsar of
all the Bulgarians and the Greeks.

With the territorial expansion came a domestic flourishing in the arts
and an increase in trade. The arts and architecture of the period were
significant for their beauty and vitality. Preslav, then the capital
city, became the center of culture. Crafts, such as goldsmithing,
pottery, stonemasonry, and blacksmithing grew, and shops sprang up
everywhere. At the same time literature flourished, and education and
scholarship took on a new importance. Knowledge of Slavic literature
became widespread, and writers treated such varied topics as religion,
grammar, logic, and patriotism.

By the end of the tenth century A.D., however, the First Bulgarian
Kingdom was beginning to decline. Internally, the local population was
weary from continual warring and from the oppression of feudalism. The
boyars continued to struggle against the king and his council for their
own autonomy. Because of the internal weakness of the country,
Bulgaria's neighbors began to encroach on her borders. The Magyars
(Hungarians) attacked from the northwest, seizing territory north of the
Danube River. The Byzantines in 967 formed an alliance with the prince
of Kiev in Russia and, because of this alliance, succeeded in invading
Bulgaria repeatedly.

In the late tenth century there was a brief revival of Bulgarian power
under Samuel, when the Bulgarians succeeded in liberating the
northeastern sector of the country from Byzantine control and captured
southern Macedonia. But the revival was short lived. The Byzantine
emperor, Basil II, was determined to regain his lost land and once again
recaptured the northeastern sector. In 1014 B