保加尔人（Bulgars）是从公元二世纪起，在欧洲不同地区定居的游牧民族，分散生活欧洲的东部和东南部地区，为巴尔卡尔人与保加利亚人、楚瓦什人、塔塔尔族的先祖，为突厥人的一支（另一说法是来自帕米尔，与塔吉克斯坦人有关的东伊朗人），使用鄂尔浑文书写他们的保加尔语(他们可能受匈人统治接受突厥语)，与今天的伏尔加鞑靼人（中国的塔塔尔族大多为伏尔加鞑靼）及楚瓦什人有联系（这支在伏尔加河中游建国）。

今天的保加利亚人已经斯拉夫化，他们的语言属于斯拉夫语族。他们本来住在南俄，有自己汗国（古大保加利亚），因受阿拉伯人与可萨人攻击，分三支迁移。一支随阿斯巴鲁赫南迁至多瑙河下游小斯基提亚建国，另一支随巴颜北迁至伏尔加河中游创建伏尔加保加利亚。

The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari; Proto-Bulgarians) were semi-nomadic warrior tribes of Turkic extraction who flourished in the Pontic-Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. Emerging as nomadic equestrians in the Volga-Ural region, according to some researchers their roots can be traced to Central Asia. During their westward migration across the Eurasian steppe the Bulgars absorbed other ethnic groups and cultural influences, including Hunnic, Iranian and Indo-European. Modern genetic research on Central Asian Turkic people and ethnic groups related to the Bulgars points to an affiliation with western Eurasian and European populations. The Bulgars spoke a Turkic language, i.e. Bulgar language of Oghuric branch. They preserved military titles, organization and customs of Eurasian steppes, as well as pagan shamanism and belief in the sky deity Tangra.