The settlement of the territory, which is currently owned by the inhabitants of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Chuvash Republic, began about 100,000 years ago, in the Paleolithic era. At the end of the 9th century and at the beginning of the 10th century, the first feudal state arose here - the Volga Bulgaria. For quite a long time it was the only developed state in the territory of the extreme East of Europe. Presumably, the Bulgars were the earliest Turkic group, which in the process of the Great Migration of Peoples was among those who advanced to Europe.
Persian and Arab geographers Volga Bulgaria was considered the most northern Muslim country in the world. The date of the adoption of Islam in this country is considered to be 922. It was then that the caliph of Baghdad sent a group of the future embassy to the city of Bolgar, which included the builders and preachers of Islam. Due to the fact that the powerful neighbor
Khazar Khaganate constantly pressed the state
, the king of Bulgaria Almush was forced to convert to Islam and become a loyal subject of the caliph Bogdad. Thus, he was able to strengthen the defense of his country, becoming an ally of the Arab caliphate. But there were also Bulgars who refused to accept Islam. This group, led by Prince Vyrag, separated. This gave an impetus to the emergence of the Chuvash nation. Subsequently, the people adopted Christianity and became the only Orthodox Turkic people.
During the period of its development, the Volga Bulgaria achieved a lot. According to a written source of that period, this state was called the country of thousands of cities. The largest cities were considered Bilyar and Bulgar, which in their area and population surpassed such cities of that time as London, Kiev, Paris, Novgorod. So, for example, the Bulgar was three times larger than Paris. In its central part towered the royal palace and the Cathedral Mosque. Already at that time, baths with tap water were built in the city. The residential buildings had heating and sewerage. In addition to the above, the state was also called the country of reason. And these are not empty words. Such sciences as medicine, history, astronomy, and mathematics have achieved great development here.
The Volga Bulgaria reached its peak during the reign of Emir Gabdulla Chelbir. During this period, the Bulgars were quite strong in military art. This is confirmed by the fact that the Volga Bulgars are the only people who could defeat Genghis Khan's troops in 1223. After this, the Mongols 13 years unsuccessfully stormed the Bulgarian state. Only in 1229, having gathered all their forces near the Yaik (Ural) river, the Mongols were able to defeat the Bulgars and Polovtsy and began to rapidly move through the state, and in 1936 it was completely ruined. Part of the Bulgars fled and found protection from the great Vladimir prince.
Already in 1240, the Bulgarian state became part of the Golden Horde. For a long time there were massive uprisings of the Bulgars. According to Khudyakov MG, the end of hopes for the return of the former state was put by the sacking of the capital - the city of Bulgar - and the relocation of the cultural and political center to Kazan. The Kazan Khanate is now firmly entrenched in these lands. The remaining indigenous people had to adapt to the new authorities. Gradually, the creation of mixed families of the Bulgars-Tatars took place, however, all newborn children were considered Tatars. So to say, there was an “eradication” of such a nation as the Bulgars, and the emergence of a new one — the Volga Tatars.
As for the Bulgarian language, it simply died. Many scholars have tried to find in the modern Tatar language at least a few words close to the Bulgarian origin. However, it is necessary to take into account yet another nationality - the Chuvashs. If you recall, then this is exactly the part of the Turkic group that did not accept Islam and separated. They speak the archaic Turkic language, which is not similar to any other language. And when comparing the ancient annals of the Volga Bulgars and the Chuvash language, you can find many identical words. In a word, the Chuvash language is as close as possible to Bulgarian.