Shumen is the tenth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and economic capital of Shumen Province. The city was first mentioned a…Shumen is the tenth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and economic capital of Shumen Province. The city was first mentioned as Šimeonis in 1153 by the Arab traveler Idrisi. The name is probably from Bulgarian shuma '.' Some believe Konstantin Jireček that it comes from the name of the Bulgarian emperor Simeon the Great. In the following periods, the city was mentioned with variants, such as Şumena, Şumna, Şumular, Sumunum, Şumnu, and Şumen. The eleventh edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica lists it as Shumla, similar to the way it lists Pleven as Plevna. In Turkish, it is known as Şumnu.