The name of Preslav is of
Slavic origin; apparently it was initially founded and functioned as a Slavic settlement until its fortification at the beginning of the ninth century. The proximity to the then Bulgarian capital of
Pliska led to the fast development and expansion of Preslav during the reign of the Khans
Krum and
Omurtag. By the time of the coronation of Archon
Boris I in 852, Preslav had turned into an important strategic military centre and was the seat of the
Ichirgu-boil. A number of churches were built in the city after the conversion of the
Bulgarians to Christianity in 864. The pagan revolt of the
Pliska nobility led by Prince
Vladimir in 892 was decisive for the future destiny of the city. In 893 Vladimir was dethroned and during the
Council of Preslav Boris I appointed
Simeon the Great as his successor and decided to move the capital of the state from the still somewhat pagan Pliska to Preslav. In the following 80 years the city developed rapidly, turning into a centre not only of Bulgarian politics and diplomacy, but also of Slavic culture, literature and fine arts. A chronicler mentioned that it took Simeon 28 years to establish and build up his new capital. Archeological excavations have, however, proved that the city continued to develop also during the 930s and 940s and reached the peak in its growth and magnificence in the middle of the rule of Emperor
Peter I of Bulgaria. In view of the impressive town planning, the vital economy and the grandeur of buildings like the
Round Church and the Royal Palace, Preslav was a true rival of the largest and most important city centres in the western hemisphere. Culturally, it was the centre of the
Preslav Literary School which was founded in Pliska in 886 and was moved to Preslav along with the rest of the court in 893. The greatest Bulgarian writers from the
Old Bulgarian period worked in Preslav, among them
John Exarch,
Constantine of Preslav,
Chernorizets Hrabar. It was probably around the Preslav Literary School that the
Cyrillic script developed in the tenth century. The city also had large ceramic workshops which produced art ceramics, glazed tiles, as well as ceramic icons and
iconostases. The city's fortune underwent a dramatic downturn at the end of the 960s, when it was
occupied by Kievan Prince
Sviatoslav. The ensuing war between Rus' and Byzantines left the city burnt and ravaged by the army of
Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimisces. The conquerors took away the treasury, the Bulgarian
Tsar's regalia and a large part of the library of Simeon. Although Tzimisces renamed the city
Ioannoupolis after himself, this name doesn't seem to have caught on in the long term even in Greek, as
Anna Komnene mentions Preslav under the hellenised name
Megale Peristhlaba in her
Alexiad. Although the city did not lose its importance in the next three hundred years, the neighbouring outskirts and the big monasteries became desolate, the economy lost its vitality and significance. Preslav regained some of its importance in Bulgarian politics during the first years of the joint rule of the founders of the
Second Bulgarian Empire,
Peter IV of Bulgaria and
Ivan Asen I. Apparently, Ivan Asen ruled from the centre of the uprising,
Tarnovgrad, whereas his brother and co-ruler Theodore Peter resided in Preslav as a symbol of the renewed statehood of Bulgaria. The strategic advantages of Tarnovgrad were, however, decisive in the long run and the significance of Preslav waned in the course of the 13th century. The
Tatar raids during the 1270s drove away the last citizens of Preslav, along with the protothroned bishop of the city. Some of the surviving refugees built up a village of the same name only two kilometres north from the fortress where the contemporary town of Veliki Preslav is now situated.
Preslav Crag on
Livingston Island in the
South Shetland Islands,
Antarctica is named after Preslav. ==Population==