Kubrat

Who is Kubrat?

Kubrat or Kurt was a Bulgar ruler credited with establishing the confederation of Old Great Bulgaria in 632. He is said to have achieved this by conquering the Avars and uniting all the Bulgar tribes under one rule.

The name Kubrat is first mentioned by Patriarch Nikephoros I of Constantinople, in his Short History in the 9th century. However the word first appears in the Orkhon inscriptions of the Gökturks and literally means "founding". According to the nomadic tradition almost every king was given a title which summarized his accomplishments or stressed a major one, such as Ilterish Khagan for the king who united the Gökturks for a second time. The title for the founding king would be Kubrat Khagan, which would mean "The Founding King", which he was.

In the Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans Kubrat is mentioned as Kurt of the Dulo clan. A later legend would describe him as a descendant of Attila the Hun. Some historians conclude that his maternal line was of the Ermy clan, because his maternal uncle Organa was possibly of that clan. In Hungarian history, the Great Prince of the onogurs Árpád Almos, was from the Kubrat streaming, founding the Hungarian empire in Europe.