BULGARLAR VE İRAN TOPLUMSAL-KÜLTÜREL COĞRAFYASI: BİR BAĞLANTININ YENİDEN İNŞASI
BULGAR(IAN)S AND THE SOCIAL-CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY OF IRAN: RECONSTRUCTION OF THE CONNECTION

Summary/Abstract: The article is the first known sociological study to take a holistic view of the Bulgars' connections with the social-cultural geography of Iran between the years 632-2021. The aim is to examine the historical and current relations between the Bulgars and the Iranian geography by keeping the Bulgarian variable in the center. Within the scope of the article, the term Bulgars refers to three Bulgar communities: Black Sea Bulgars (the first Bulgar state), European Bulgar(ian)s (Bulgaria) and Asian Bulgars (Tatarstan). The name Iran has been officially used in international relations since 1935, but the term Iran is often added when referring to previous periods of the country for the sake of clarity in the article. The method and technique of the study consists of the multi-layered analysis of the primary data obtained in Ukraine, Bulgaria, Russia and Iran between the years 2010-2021 and the secondary data (including archaeological data) obtained from monitoring both historical and current processes within the framework of historical sociology. Five main conclusions reached: 1. From the first Bulgar state established in 632 in the north of the Black Sea to the present day, there has been a continuous, intensifying interaction between the Bulgar(ian)s and Iran, albeit with certain interruptions, mostly in the form of exchange and solidarity. The influence of Persian culture, one of the elements of Iran, spread primarily among the elite in all three Bulgar communities. 2. The relations between the European Bulgar(ian)s and Iran initially started as political-military relations, and today they reach the search for a common ethnicity and race. This search of the Bulgarians in Bulgaria is the most original relationship established with Iran in the Balkans today. 3. The relations between the Asian Bulgars and Iran initially started as commercial relations, and today they intensify as cultural-diplomatic relations. 4. Bulgaria has relations with both the ruling and opposition circles in Iran, while Tatarstan has relations with the government in Iran. 5. In the near future, relations between Bulgaria, Tatarstan and Iran may turn from bilateral to tripartite relations under the leadership of Bulgaria and Iran.

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