Bulgaria

(bul-ga're-ah.) [Anc. Masia Inferior.] Ap. of European Turkey, bet. Lat.42° 8' and 44° 10° N., and Lon. 22° 14' and 29° 36′ E.; b. N. by Wall a chia and Be arabia, W. by Servia, S. by Roumelia, and E. by the Black Sea. Area, abt. 30,000 sq. m. Surf. The country is in general mountainous, particularly in the S., where it is shut in by the Balkan range. The Danube is the principal r. Prod. Chiefly pastoral and agricultural. B. are of Slavonic origin, speak a Servian dialect, and nominally belong to the Greek Church. Chief Towns. Sophia (the C.), Widdin, Shumla, Varna, Silistria, Rustchuk. P. 3,000,000. B., in 1878, under the Berlin Treaty, was granted an autonomic administration under Christian government, subject to Turkey. [s. 123]