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First attested in Latin in 354, the name of the Bulgars has long been viewed as deriving from the Turkic word "bulga," to mix or to become mixed. However, more recent studies have revived the idea that the Bulgars were etymologically "trouble-makers" or "rebels." Some scholars emphasize the association of Bulgars with Buluoji, a name that appears in Chinese in reference to a tribal confederation of Xiongnu origin but with some Iranian admixture first mentioned in the early 500s on the northern frontier of the territory under the control of the Tuoba Wei emperor. In Europe, the Bulgars appear slightly earlier (late fifth century), either as enemies of the Ostrogoths or as allies of the Gepids. From this some have drawn the erroneous conclusion that there had been Bulgars in Attila's empire and that, unlike the Huns, they had remained in Pannonia until the arrival of the Avars in the late 500s. But no source referring to Bulgars ca. 500 speaks of them as native to either the Carpathian Basin or the Balkan region. They were certainly perceived as intruders from the world of the steppe, when in 499 they first crossed the Danube and ravaged Thrace. Florin CurtaSource:
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