Bulgaria, Republic, Balgarska Moneten Dvor mint, Sofia, 1992 AD.,
10 Leva (30 mm / 8,97 g), copper-nickel, 9,00 g. theor. mint weight, mintage ? , axes medal alignment ↑↑ (0°), reeded edge,
Obv.: • РЕПУБΛИКР• / БЪΛГÐРИЯ , Madara Horseman monument (horseman and lion) within circle and legend.
Rev.: 10 ΛЕВР/ 1992 , small symbols flanking big value number (fish left, sun right), denomination and date below.
KM 205 .
Year / Mintage
1992 / ?
The Madara Rider or Madara Horseman (Bulgarian: МадарÑки конник, Madarski konnik) is an early medieval large rock relief carved on the Madara Plateau east of Shumen in northeastern Bulgaria, near the village of Madara. The monument is dated to about 710 AD and has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979.
The relief depicts a majestic horseman 23 m (75 ft) above ground level in an almost vertical 100 m (328 ft)-high cliff. The horseman, facing right, is thrusting a spear into a lion lying at his horse's feet. An eagle is flying in front of the horseman and a dog is running after him. The scene symbolically depicts a military triumph. The monument was created during the rule of the Bulgar Khan Tervel, and is probably a portrayal of the khan himself and a work of the Bulgars, a nomadic tribe of warriors which settled in northeastern Bulgaria at the end of the 7th century AD and after merging with the local Slavs gave origin to the modern Bulgarians. Other theories connect the relief with the ancient Thracians, claiming it portrays a Thracian god.