Two Titles of the First Bulgarian Empire: Etymology and Usage

In the proposed publication two terms of the First Bulgarian Empire are examined. They reached us through a Greek source: καναηρτχτηνος и βοιλα. The first mention of the term καναηρτχτηνος meaning „heir to the throne“ was by Constantine VII Porphirogene tosinhisessay De Ceremoniis, styled as κανάρτικείνος. Attempts to interpret and translate this phrase have been made by W. Tomašek, J. Mikkola, G. Fehér, V. Beševliev etc. However, these have not led to a decisive conclusion as the phrase in De Ceremoniis does not convey the original Danube Bulgarian title. At the beginning of the 21st century, newly discovered lead seals from the First Bulgarian Empire gave the opportunity to clarify the term. On them it is found in the forms καναηρτχθην, κανεηρτχθην and καναηρτθην. From this we can restore the text in Danube Bulgarian language as follows: κανα/κανε is the title of the ruler, corresponding to the Old Turkic qan, qaγan. ηρτ is the old Turkic verb basis er-, ir- „to be“ (something, somewhere etc.) in causative. In this formit means „must be“. θην corresponds to Old Turkic teŋ „equal, equivalent“.The phrase in its entirety becomes „qan airt θin“and can be translated from Danube Bulgarian as „must be equal to the qan“. The second term, βοιλα, is a title, signifying belonging to the main nobility in the First Bulgarian Empire. The present publication shows that, in addition to this function, the term also serves as an adjective meaning “great“ or “supreme“ in word combinations such asβοηλα καυχανος, βουηλα ζοαπαν, κανα βοιλα κολοβρον etc.