Simon I (the Great) §³§Ú§Þ§Ö§à§ß I is also translated: Simeon I (ca. 864-May 27, 927) Bulgarian Khan and Tsar (reigned 893 - 927). The third son of Boris Khan I, succeeded his brother Vladimir in 893. His reign was the most powerful period for the First Bulgarian Empire.

The emperor loves books as much as life, and works as hard as a bee to seek new works from all over the world. He also recruits talents from all over the world to write books and essays. People say that he is the reincarnation of Ptolemy ¢Ù, is it true or not-scholars praise the Great Simon

The Bogars were originally a member of the Turkic tribes in Central Asia. They came to Eastern Europe during the world migration of nations in the 4th and 5th centuries, and finally found their promised land in the beautiful Balkans. Starting in the 7th century AD, the Bogars began the struggle to establish an independent state. Their main opponent was the Byzantine Empire. During this process, the Bogars established alliances with the surrounding Slavs and gradually integrated into one. The Bogars lived a settled life, accepted Slavic living habits, cultural customs, and adopted Slavic language. In fact, they were already a Slavic nation.

After fighting hard, in 681 AD, the Bogars finally forced the Byzantine Empire to recognize them as an independent country, which was the first Bulgarian Kingdom. The country lasted for more than 300 years, reaching its heyday in the era of Simon the Great. As the earliest nation to be established in Eastern Europe, the long-term continuation of this country has had a huge impact on all aspects of ethnicity, language, religion, and culture in Eastern Europe. At the same time, through long-term exchanges and confrontation with the Byzantine Empire, Bulgaria has become an influential force in the world. One of the checks and balances.

Speaking of Simon the Great, we must also start with his father, Archduke Boris (reigned from 852 to 888). During the Boris era, Bulgaria had become a major power in the Balkans and a strong enemy of the Byzantine Empire, expanding its territory to Serbia, Croatia and other places. But it is still chaotic in terms of ideology and beliefs. Boris was determined to unify the thoughts of his people with the Greek Orthodox Church, a branch of Christianity that represented the most advanced culture of the time. He invited several disciples of the famous brothers Cyril and Methodius to seek refuge and preach in Bulgaria, but this aroused dissatisfaction among some stubborn aristocrats in the country. Boris never wavered in his determination to promote Greek Orthodoxy. During his reign, he suppressed several major aristocratic rebellions under the banner of restoring old beliefs. Even after he abdicated, he returned from the monastery to suppress the aristocratic rebellion again.

Speaking of Cyril and the Medod brothers, there is another major contribution. After years of hard work, they created a set of letters for the Slavic language, namely the "Siril alphabet", allowing the Slavic nation to have its own writing for the first time and translated many important classics into Slavic. However, they and their disciples were persecuted by the authorities in Moravia. At the invitation of Boris, their disciples took refuge in Bulgaria. While spreading Greek Orthodoxy in Bulgaria, they also made Bulgaria a center for the spread of Slavic writing and culture.

The Boris era was an era of fierce struggle between the old and new forces of religion and culture. After Simon the Great ascended to the throne, he continued to implement his father's policy of treating the Siril brothers and their disciples well, promoting Greek Orthodoxy, and promoting Slavic script culture, and backed this with his unprecedented prestige. This has a profound impact on the cultural development of Bulgaria and even the entire Slavic region.

Simon I, the son of Boris, was sent to the Byzantine capital as a hostage when he was a child. This special experience enabled him to be influenced by the most advanced culture of the time since childhood. He was full of identity with Byzantine culture and full of ambition for Byzantine political status, which can be seen from his later actions.

In 893, Simon succeeded the throne of Grand Duke of Bulgaria. The following year, he started war with Byzantium and won the first battle on his throne. The extravagant Byzantine emperor Leo VI refused to resist and formed an alliance with the Magyars in the north of Bulgaria in an attempt to attack Bulgaria from the north and south. However, he was defeated by Simon, and Leo VI had to seek peace in 897 and bow his head to Simon.

This was the first stage of Simon's Byzantine Offensive, the main purpose of which was to compete for trade rights and sphere of influence. In 912, with the death of Leo VI, disputes broke out within Byzantium over the succession of the throne. Simon's "Byzantine Offensive" had a clearer goal-to seize the most dazzling throne in the world.

After the death of Leo VI, his brother Alexander disinherited his nephew Constantine, but within a year he followed his brother to report to God. Constantine VII, who was only 7 years old, succeeded to the throne and was regent by Archbishop Nicholas. Simone took advantage of the fact that the Byzantines were still under suspicion to call himself the Roman Emperor (the official name of Byzantines at that time was still the Eastern Roman Empire) and marched into Constantinople. In the panic within Byzantium, two factions were divided. One faction led by Prince Regent Nicholas advocated a compromise, promising that Constantine VII would marry Simon's daughter as queen, and that the two countries would marry and form an alliance in exchange for Simon's withdrawal. However, hardliners within Byzantium were very dissatisfied. They launched a palace coup, launched Queen Mother Zoya as regent, and withdrew their promise to Simon. Simon was furious and declared war on Byzantium again. At his peak, Simon gave full play to his military genius and successfully attacked successively, seizing Macedonia, Thessali, and Albania. In the famous Battle of the Achero River in 917, he severely injured the Byzantium army and penetrated into the heart of Byzantium, shocking Constantinople several times overnight. The Byzantines also resorted to their usual trick of "using barbarians to defeat barbarians" and instigated the Pechenaeg to attack Bulgaria from the rear, leaving Simon attacked from the front and back. The war turned into a protracted war.

In 919, a coup d'état occurred within Byzantium. Naval Commander Roman sent Empress Dowager Zoya to a monastery, and then married his daughter to the little emperor, claiming to be the co-governing emperor. Roman is the more determined resister. Simon attacked Constantinople four times from 919 to 924, but Constantinople, the strongest fortress in the Middle Ages, had ruined the achievements of countless heroes and continued to maintain its unbreakable golden body before Simon's powerful army. In 924, Simon and Roman signed a peace treaty. The following year, Simon proclaimed himself the "Emperor of the Romans and the Bulgarians" in his own territory. Roman ostensibly protested but actually acquiesced in the existence of the emperor. In 924, Bulgaria also destroyed Serbia, which was allied with Byzantium.

In addition to war, another thing that Simon spent his life was building the new capital of Preslav. It took 28 years from the year Simon ascended the throne. This is a city that combines Greek style and Slavic style. People at the time described it as saying,"When you arrive at the outer city, you will have your eyes open and you will not know where you are going. If you enter the city gate... you will have doubts and enter a dream."¡»

Simon the Great's cultural achievement was to make Bulgaria the center of Slavic writing and culture at that time. He fostered a "Preslav School", and at his behest, scholars compiled three major volumes of reading materials, the first volume being translations of the works of Byzantine writers, the second volume being doctrines, and the third volume being codes. Simon is described in the book as a scholar-type emperor who "loves books like life, works as hard as a bee to seek new books from all over the world, and recruits talents from all over the world to write books and write speeches."

In the dust and soil of the 30-year war with Byzantium, although Simon did not complete his dream of ascending to Constantinople, he obviously overpowered the eldest empire militarily and dominated the entire Balkan Peninsula, becoming a world power at that time. The prosperity of Preslav's city and academic prosperity also announced to the world that he was no longer a barbarian monarch. Although the First Kingdom of Bulgaria declined shortly after his death, the historical legacy he left will never disappear. No matter how many centuries Bulgaria has been subjugated, reviving the empire of Simon the Great will always be the dream of the Bulgarian people. Simon the Great ranks 83rd in this ranking.

Comments: The prosperity of the country during the time of Simon the Great was not only an achievement of the Bulgarian people, but also marked the phased achievements of the early Eastern European countries. Accepting the influence of advanced Byzantine culture in the Orthodox Church and other aspects, but also developing Slavic script culture with its own characteristics, this has been the development trend in many regions of Eastern Europe since then. Bulgaria, which first became strong, set an example for the Eastern European nation states that will soon emerge like bamboo shoots after rain.

¢Ù refers to Ptolemy II, king of the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt (reigned from 282 to 246 BC), who is famous for his protection and reward of literature and art.