Kingdom of Bulgaria

The Kingdom of Bulgaria () was established as an independent state when the Principality of Bulgaria, an Ottoman vassal, officially proclaimed itself independent on October 5, 1908 (September 22 <small>O.S.</small>). This move also formalised the annexation of the Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia, which had been under the control of Principality of Bulgaria since 1885. In 1946, the monarchy was abolished, its final Tsar was sent into exile and the Kingdom was replaced by a People's Republic. Although rarely, it is sometimes referred to as the Third Bulgarian Empire, as in the Middle Ages the term Tsardom meant an Empire. However, the Third Bulgarian state was internationally recognized as a Kingdom.

The Balkan Wars

Despite the establishment of a Bulgarian state in 1878, and the subsequent Bulgarian control over Eastern Rumelia in 1885 there was still a substantial Bulgarian population in the Balkans living under Ottoman rule, particularly in Macedonia. To complicate matters, Serbia and Greece too made claims over parts of Macedonia, while Serbia, as a Slavic nation, also considered Macedonian Slavs as belonging to the Serbian nation. Thus began a three-sided struggle for control of these areas which lasted until World War I. In 1903, there was a Bulgarian insurrection in Ottoman Macedonia and war seemed likely. In 1908, Ferdinand used the struggles among the Great Powers to declare Bulgaria an...
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