The Third Bulgarian Empire was formed in 2093 when nationalists in Bulgaria overthrew the government and appointed a sympathetic civil servant as king, who became Tsar Ivan III.

This coincided with a wave of aggressive, anti-western nationalism in the Balkans, which led to similar movements succeeding in Croatia. Combined with existing nationalist sentiments in Hungary and Serbia, it became clear that history was in motion once more.

The new government immediately called for a meeting between the Croatian, Serbian and Hungarian governments who all had irredentist claims on their neighbours. Albania would join as a co-belligerent in exchange for a border arrangement with Serbia. Soliciting Russian and Turkish support for the dismemberment of Romania, Greece, Bosnia and Macedonia, this new alliance, the Third Balkan League, sparked the Third Balkan war of 2094.

After a brief but bloody war, Bulgaria and her allies had managed to achieve their territorial goals, signing the Treaty of Skopje in 2095. The provisions resulted in the  carving up Macedonia and Bosnia wholesale while also ceding land from Romania and Greece to the victorious Third Balkan League. Russia used the distraction as a chance to invade the Baltic states while Turkey secured Cyprus, the Caucasus and the Aegean islands. Not wanting a repeat of 1913, Bulgaria, Croatia and Albania immediately turned their arms on Serbia, with Romania and Hungary joining in as well.

Now, Bulgaria has almost reached its true borders of 1878.  But the work is not yet complete. What should be total victory is in fact bittersweet. Greece and Romania, wounded but mostly intact, swear revenge as American arms pour in. Turkey eyes up western Thrace and Kurdzhali. Serbian nationalists howl about betrayal and demand blood. Such is life in the Balkans.

No matter what, the Bulgarian people have endured. And they will continue to endure until the world itself ends.