Serbs in Bulgaria  The Serbs are a small community in Bulgaria, most of whom are immigrants. Many of them are athletes and businessmen who have expatriated to Bulgaria in the last two decades. During the Byzantine rule in Bulgaria, the Serbs invaded Byzantine territory in 1149. Emperor Manuel I Komnenos (1143–1180) forced the rebellious Serbs to vassalage (1150–52) and settled some Serbian PoWs around Sofia. The village Brakevtsi was settled by Serbs in late Ottoman times, after the local Bulgarian population had emigrated to Bessarabia. In the 1880 Bulgarian census, in which native language was registered, 1,894 Serbs were counted with the following Districts having a notable number of Serbian-speakers:  In 1999, an organization of "Bulgarian Serbs" was formed, but broke up soon after that. In 2010 an Association of the Serbs in Bulgaria was set up.