Everything about The Madara Rider totally explained
The
Madara Rider or
Madara Horseman (
Madarski konnik) is an
early medieval large rock
relief carved on the Madara Plateau east of
Shumen in northeastern
Bulgaria, near the village of Madara.
Monument
The relief depicts a majestic horseman 23
m above ground level in an almost vertical 100-metre-high cliff. The horseman, facing right, is thrusting a spear into a lion lying at his horse's feet. An eagle is flying in front of the horseman and a dog is running after him. The scene symbolically depicts a military triumph.
The monument is dated back to circa
710 AD and has been on the
UNESCO World Heritage List since
1979. The dating means the monument was created during the rule of
Bulgar Khan
Tervel, and supports the thesis that it's a portrayal of the khan himself and a work of the Bulgars, a nomadic tribe of warriors which settled in northeastern Bulgaria at the end of the 7th century AD and after merging with the local
Slavs gave origin to the modern
Bulgarians. Other theories connect the relief with the ancient
Thracians, claiming it portrays a Thracian god.
Inscriptions
Three partially preserved texts in
Medieval Greek, carved in the rock, can be found around the image of the rider. They bear important information regarding the history of Bulgaria in the period. According to Professor
Veselin Beshevliev and his book
Protobulgarians, the oldest inscription is the work of
Tervel (695-721 AD), thus the relief has also been created during his rule. The other inscriptions refer to the khans
Krum (796-814 AD) and
Omurtag (814-831 AD) and were most likely carved on their order.
The texts of the inscriptions after Professor Veselin Beshevliev (translated from Bulgarian publication Веселин Бешевлиев, "Първобългарски надписи", Издателство на Българската академия на науките, София, 1979, стр. 94):
inscription Ic
[...] of Bulgars [...] and came to Tervel. My uncles in Thessaloniki region didn't credit to the slit-nosed Emperor and returned to Kisinas [...] his one [...] through treaty the ruler Tervel gave to the Emperor [...] 5 thousand [...] the Emperor together with me won well.
inscription II a and b
[...] gold coins [...] he gave [...] gold coins the ruler [...] soldiers [...] the ruler [...] the Greeks [..] what I gave to you every year, I'm going to give you, because you helped me [...] every year we're going to give you and the Emperor sent to the ruler [...] and begged the ruler Kroumesis [...] the ruler [...] when distributed the gold coins [...] they began [...] gave from [...] the ruler Kroumesis gifted [...] this lake [...] you did [...] the ruler [...] broke the treaties [...] war [...] at that time [...] name [...]
inscription III
[...] was fed [...] broke and from the God Omourtag ruler [...] sent [...] help me [...]Further Information
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