Bulgars

Thought to have been originally a Turkic people of Central Asia, the Bulgars moved west by the mid-7th century AD to found a state on the lower-middle Volga river. The group subsequently split into two, the Western Bulgars giving their name to present-day Bulgaria, where they assimilated with the land's earlier Slavic settlers after subjugating the country in 680. The Eastern Bulgars (sometimes Bolgari) remained a powerful force in the Volga region, eventually merging with local Tatar peoples.