Bibliogr. s. 25-27

In the 12th-14th century the Bulgarian Tsardom was one of the largest and most prosperous states in the European Southeast. The Bulgarian culture reached its climax and a showing example, that could be seen even today, is the image of sebastocrator Kaloyan and his wife Desislava in the Boyana church near Sofia. The Ottoman invasion ended the existence of the Medieval Bulgarian state - the famous Bulgarian historian Ivan Tyutyundzhiev defined it as follows: "The Ottoman invasion cut off the hand of the Boyana painter." The article explores the struggle of the Bulgarians against the Turkish invasion from the middle of the 14th century to the middle of the 15th century. The main points related to these crucial times are marked. Different hypotheses and theories about the stages of the conquering of the Bulgarian lands are dealt upon.