Ferdinand's intention to turn the Kingdom of Bulgaria into the Bulgarian Empire had long been an open secret. People around the world were all guessing when this newborn empire would be established.
No one doubted that this great ruler of his generation could establish the Bulgarian Empire. Of course, whether it would gain outside recognition was another matter entirely.
Historically, Bulgaria had established an empire before, but it had merely been a regional hegemon on the Balkan Peninsula and had not received broad recognition.
This was extremely unfavorable news for Ferdinand. One misstep, and he would become the heir to that Bulgarian Empire, making the one he founded the Third Bulgarian Empire. That would be utterly humiliating.
After all, he was the greatest monarch in Bulgarian history. If he were inheriting the crown of the Roman Empire, that would be one thing—but a regional crown was not something Ferdinand wanted.
What he wanted was not merely a title. If it were only a matter of nominal status, how much real difference was there between a king and an emperor?
His true goal was to establish the legitimacy of Bulgaria's sovereignty over all its current territories. On this point, Ferdinand could only start over from scratch.
No matter how thick-skinned he was or how diligently he dug through history, he could never find any legal basis for Bulgaria's claim to land in Africa. It could not even be linked to the Middle East.
Since the legal justification of "since ancient times" would not work, Ferdinand could only establish a new legal basis.
That was actual occupation. So long as the people on these lands were all Bulgarians, Bulgaria could likewise possess legitimate sovereignty over those regions!
Before that, the banner of the Bulgarian Empire had to be raised first. Otherwise, there