As some of you may know, I'm from Bulgaria.
It's a small country tucked away in the Balkans surrounded by Greece, Turkey, Romania and Serbia. A very pretty place, with fertile land, strategically located on trade routes between Europe and the Middle East. This region of the world has never been at peace. The country has some very bloody history as a result of frequent invasions...
This scene depicts the battle between Khan Krum and the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros. The title of Khan in old Bulgaria is the equivalent of a king or a war-lord. The original Bulgars who conquered the land and created the coutnry were very profficient horse riders and fighters. But by the early 800s the country had been invaded and mostly subjugated by the Byzantine Empire.
For those who haven't heard the story about Nikephoros I recommend some searches on the topic. The Emperor Nikephoros had ravaged the country after an uprising, murdering children in various towns, and committed all sorts of atrocities. He got ambushed on the way back to his throne by Khan Krum who actually made a cup out of his skull after murdering him. Yup, Bulgaria was pretty hardcore back then...
This drawing was actually done for a friend who needed art for his album cover. I don't know why he requested me to draw this scene for them... but when the request came it it was obvious I would not be able to do it well, so I contacted some other artists for their work. I rarely draw horses and these ill begotten animals have entirely too many joints in the legs. I also rarely draw scenes with more than a couple of characters in them so this is by far the most elaborate scene I've ever attempted in my art. I decided to give it a shot and this is it... I spent a lot of time on it, it's not very good, but I did learn some things in the process. May we all drink from cups made from the skulls of our enemies!
