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Kubrat (; ) was the ruler of the Onogurs–Bulgars, credited with establishing the confederation of Old Great Bulgaria in 632.Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1250, Florin Curta, Cambridge University Press, 2006, , p. 78. His name derived from the Turkic languages words qobrat — "to gather", or qurt, i.e. "wolf".
Bulgars were Turkic nomadic people, who participated in the 5th-century Hunnic confederation. Upon Attila's death, the tribes that later formed the Bulgars had retreated east into the Black Sea-Caspian Steppe. The western Bulgar tribes joined the Avar Khaganate, while the eastern Bulgars came under the Western Turkic Khaganate by the end of the 6th century.
Theophanes the Confessor called him "king of the Onogundur Huns". Patriarch Nikephoros I (758–828) called Kubrat "lord of the Onuğundur" and "ruler of the Onuğundur–Bulğars". John of Nikiu ( 696) called him "chief of the Huns". D. Hupchick identified Kubrat as "Onogur", P. Golden as "Oğuro-Bulğar", H. J. Kim as "Bulgar Hunnic/Hunnic Bulgar". According to H. J. Kim the Onogundur/Onogur were evidently part of the Bulgar confederation.
Whether he was a child or a young adult during his time in Constantinople is unclear. The exact time of this event is also unknown but probably coincided with the reign of Emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641). His or Organa's conversion to Christianity is placed circa 619 AD. It seems that young Kubrat was part of the pre-planned coalition, initiated by Heraclius or Organa, against the Sasanian–Avar alliance. This coincides with other alliances by Heraclius with steppe peoples, all in the interest of saving Constantinople.
Kubrat, in 635, according to Nikephoros I, "ruler of the Onogurs–Bulğars, successfully revolted against the Pannonian Avars and concluded a treaty with Heraclius". The state Old Great Bulgaria (Magna Bulgaria) was formed. Kubrat died "when Konstantinos was in the West", somewhere during the reign of Constans II (641–668).
According to Nikephoros I, Kubrat instructed his five sons (Batbayan, Kotrag, Asparukh, two others unmentioned are considered to be Kuber and Alcek) to "never separate their place of dwelling from one another, so that by being in concordance with one another, their power might thrive". However, the loose tribal union broke up under internal tensions and especially Khazars pressure from the East.
Kubrat is mentioned in the Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans, according which his birth is given the sign of the ox ( shegor vechem) in the Bulgar calendar. It also says his rule was 60 years. Presuming lifespan is meant, this would place his death in 653 or 665 AD. Thus, the date of Kubrat's death according historical and archaeological sources is placed between 650 and 665 AD. Correspondingly his birth could have been between 590 and 615 if Somogyi's theory is correct.
Kubrat was portrayed by Vasil Mihaylov in the 1981 Bulgarian movie Aszparuh, directed by Ludmil Staikov. Khan Asparuh (1981) Full Cast & Crew - IMDB
The tamga (signature) of Kubrat is used as part of the logo of the Bulgarian Nationalist Morality, Unity, Honour political party.
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