site.btaToday's Observances: August 17

The world:

- National Day of Gabon: Independence Day (1960);

- National Day of Indonesia: Independence Day (1945).

On this date in Bulgarian history:

986: Bulgarian army, led by Tsar Samuil, defeats invading Byzantine troops of Emperor Basil II in Battle of Trajan's Gates (mountain pass in Ihtiman Sredna Gora Range, 70 km east of Sofia). Byzantine army is routed, and emperor barely escapes. This is worst defeat suffered by Basi II during his campaign to conquer Bulgaria.

1891: Ground broken for Bulgaria's oldest and largest coal-mining operation, Pernik State Mines (closed down on October 26, 1997).

2001: First All-Bulgarian Convention in Mala Pereshchepina takes place. Mala Pereshchepina is village in Poltava Oblast, Ukraine, where Khan Kubrat, who established confederation of Old Great Bulgaria ca. 635 AD, is believed to have been buried on this site.