Participants in the Second Bulgarian Legion (1867-1868). Vasil Levski is the third from the left on the first row

The Bulgarian Legion (Bulgarian: Българска легия, Balgarska legiya) was the name of two military bands formed by Bulgarian volunteers and revolutionary workers in the Serbian capital of Belgrade in the second part of the 19th century. Their ultimate goal was the liberation of the Bulgarian people from the Ottoman rule through coordinated actions with the neighbouring Balkan countries. Vasil Levski (Bulgarian: Васил Левски, also transliterated as Vassil Levski), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (Васил Иванов Кунчев) was a Bulgarian revolutionary, ideologist, strategist and theoretician of the Bulgarian national revolution and leader of the struggle for liberation from Ottoman rule. ... Motto: none Anthem: Bože pravde (English: God of Justice) Capital (and largest city) Belgrade Serbian, cyrillic script1 Government Republic  - Prime Minister Vojislav KoÅ¡tunica  - President Boris Tadić Establishment    - Formation 814   - First Serbian Uprising 1804   - Internationally recognized July 13, 1878   - Kingdom of SCS created December 1, 1918   - SCG dissolved June... Belgrade (Serbian: Београд or Beograd  ) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... In Bulgarian historiography, the term Liberation of Bulgaria is used to denote the events of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 that led to the establishment of a Bulgarian state with the Treaty of San Stefano of 3 March 1878. ... // Early centuries of Ottoman rule Organisation of Ottoman Bulgaria The Ottomans reorganised the Bulgarian territories as the Beyerlik of Rumili, ruled by a Beylerbey at Sofia. ... Balkan peninsula with northwest border Isonzo-Krka-Sava The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe a region of southeastern Europe. ...

First Bulgarian Legion

The First Bulgarian Legion (Първа българска легия) was established in 1862 by Georgi Sava Rakovski in agreement with the Serbian government. According to the initial plan, in case of war between Serbia and the Ottoman Empire, the Legion would cross the border and enter the Bulgarian lands, where it would instigate an uprising among the population. Better known as a revolutionary, Georgi Sava Rakovski (1821, Kotel – 1867, Bucharest) also contributed to the 19th-century Bulgarian literary world. ... Motto: دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem: Ottoman imperial anthem At the height of its power (1683) Capital Söğüt (1299-1326) Bursa (1326-1365) Edirne (1365-1453) Constantinople (Istanbul) (1453-1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 Osman I  - 1918–1922 Mehmed VI...

In order to sustain direct contact with the Serbian government, the so-called Provisional Bulgarian Command was established on the initiative of Rakovski. 600 young people responded to his appeal to create the Legion, many of them emigrants and refugees in Romania. Among them were Vasil Levski, Stefan Karadzha, Vasil Drumev and other figures that later came into national prominence. Vasil Levski (Bulgarian: Васил Левски, also transliterated as Vassil Levski), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (Васил Иванов Кунчев) was a Bulgarian revolutionary, ideologist, strategist and theoretician of the Bulgarian national revolution and leader of the struggle for liberation from Ottoman rule. ... Stefan Karadzha (Bulgarian: ) (11 May 1840 - 31 July 1868), born Stefan Todorov Dimov (Bulgarian: ), was a Bulgarian national hero, a revolutionary from the national liberation movement and a rebellion leader. ... Vasil Nikolov Drumev (ca. ...

The support of the Legion was entirely taken care of by the Serbian government. The members had to go through some military training so as to be able to participate in the future uprising. However, at the request of the Serbian authorities due to pressure from the Ottoman Empire, the Legion was disbanded on 21 September 1862 and the participants were expelled from Belgrade. September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Second Bulgarian Legion

The Second Bulgarian Legion (Втора българска легия) was founded in 1867, as relations between Serbia and the Ottoman Empire once again worsened and the Serbian authorities began preparing for war. This was used by the Band of Virtues (Добродетелна дружина), who concluded an agreement with Serbia to establish a Bulgarian military school in Belgrade to instruct military leaders for a future uprising in Bulgaria.

This time the expenditures were paid by Russia, the volunteers being trained by Serbian officers. The surviving rebels from the bands of Panayot Hitov and Filip Totyu joined the Legion, as well as young people from Bulgarian and the Bulgarian diaspora in Romania. Look up Diaspora in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

However, since the expected war between the two countries never broke out due to the Ottoman authorities' engagement with the suppresion of the Great Cretan Uprising and reluctance to further complicate its relations with Serbia. Meanwhile the government of Jovan Ristić, which opted for reconciliation with the Ottomans, came into office in Serbia. The Second Bulgarian Legion became redundant to the Serbians as a result of this. It was disbanded in April 1868 despite the opposition of the Russian diplomats, its members being expelled from Serbia. Jovan Ristić, or Ristitch (1831-1899) was a Serbian statesman born at Kragujevac in 1831. ...

Historical experience

The experience of the two Legions showed the Bulgarian revolutionaries that the formation of an insurectionary centre to manage the Bulgarian liberational movement from the outside and particularly the binding of the national revolution's task with the politics of other states would always be exposed to danger. Nevertheless, the Legions were an excellent school that prepared a large number of the future Bulgarian revolutionary leaders.