site.btaToday's Observances: October 8

On this date in Bulgarian history:

927: Byzantine Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos and Bulgarian Tsar Peter I conclude a peace treaty, under which the Byzantine Empire formally recognizes the Bulgarian ruler's title of tsar (equivalent to emperor) and undertakes to pay an annual tribute to the Bulgarians, while the Patriarchate of Constantinople recognizes the autocephalous status of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and acknowledges it as a patriarchate. On the same day in Constantinople, Tsar Peter I is solemnly married to Romanos's granddaughter, Princess Maria (renamed Irene, i.e. "peace", to signify the new era in Bulgarian-Byzantine relations).

1879: Slovenian linguist Anton Bezensek invents the Bulgarian shorthand system.

1944: The Bulgarian 1st Army starts combat operations against Nazi Germany in Yugoslavia.

1960: Diplomatic relations established with Cuba.

1999: The Gabrovo-Sevlievo fibre-optic trunk line (Central Bulgaria) is commissioned.

2003: The US House of Representatives adopts a resolution marking the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Bulgaria.

2003: The BTA National Press Club is inaugurated at the news agency's headquarters in Sofia.