This is a wonderfully documented idea of the Bulgarians themselves of their ships, in which they sailed and traded across seas and rivers.
The reconstruction of the Bulgarian state after its temporary dependence on Byzantium by the brothers Tsar Petar (1185 1197) and Tsar Assen (1186 1195/6). And its stabilization under the rule of Tsar Kaloyan (1196 1207) reach their peak at the time of Tsar Yoan Assen II (1218 1241) when Bulgaria was bordered by three seas the Black, the Aegean and the Adriatic.
A French historian wrote about Yoan Assen II:
“…Assen built 25 (twenty five) galleys… war ships, which appeared in the Black Sea on the Bulgarian side…”
The reason of above was the participation of the Bulgarian fleet, together with the Greek one, in the battle of Constantinople in 1235. These and other ships were made at a big yard at the estuary of Kamchya River, i.e. near the east part of the Balkan Range, which is extremely rich in timber (oak wood) for shipbuilding.
Independent Bulgarian ruler
In the second half of the 14th century, the independent Bulgarian ruler in the northeast, Despot Dobrotitsa, whose name has been given to the region (called Dobrudzha even today), carried out a very active maritime policy. His capital was Kaliakra an excellent base and an “admiralty” fortress harbor.
In 1367, the Black Sea fortress harbors of Kavama, Karvuna (Balchik), Kastritsi (north of Kranevo), Varna, Galata, Rosito, Vicha, Kozyak (near Obzor) and Emona were within the borders of his state. He was declared a Despot by Tsar Yoan Alexandar (1331 1371) in 1369 and obtained the Danube fort of Drustar. Dobrotitsa undertook a sea campaign to Trapezund (present Trabzon in Turkey) on the Black Sea with me the intention of enthroning his son in law there.
He minted his own coins on which the name of the capital, Kaliakra, was written. This powerful ruler was allied to the Venetians and carried out pirate attacks against the Genovese ships in the Black Sea. The Genoa archives are full of information on the pirate attacks of Dobrotitsa`s ships. As late as 1387 his son beneficial peace treaty for trade with Genoa. The Ottoman invasion, however, hampered the fast development of that powerful Bulgarian sea state.
There were more than twenty Bulgarian ports along Lower Danube in the 12th— 14th centuries stretching from Florentin (near Vidin) down to the river delta. In that period, the most important were Bdin, Oryahovo, Nicopol and Holavnik on the opposite bank, Svishtov, Novgrad and Pirgos, Ruse, and Gyurgevo on the north bank, Tutrakan, Drustar and Ostrova.
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