 In 1878, there were 5,300 Armenians in the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia, and this number increased by almost 20,000 after the Hamidian massacres.At the time of the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) the Armenians in Bulgaria numbered about 35,000.During this time the legendary Armenian national hero, Andranik Ozanian participated in the Balkan Wars in the Bulgarian army, alongside general Garegin Nzhdeh (another national hero) as a commander of Armenian auxiliary troops.