Isbul ( bg, Исбул) (
fl.
''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...
820s–830s) was the ''
kavhan'', or first minister, of the
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Eur ...
during the reigns of
Omurtag,
Malamir and
Presian I
Presian ( bg, Пресиян, Персиян, Пресиан) was the khan of Bulgaria in 836–852. He ruled during an extensive expansion in Macedonia.
Origin
The composite picture of the Byzantine sources indicates that Presian I was the son o ...
. Appointed to the ''kavhan'' office under Omurtag, Isbul was a
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
or co-ruler of the underage Malamir and his successor Presian.
Under Malamir and Presian, Isbul headed Bulgaria's successful campaigns against the
Byzantines in southern
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...
and
Macedonia, which led to a significant territorial expansion of the Bulgarian realm. As a co-ruler of Malamir, Isbul also financed the construction of a water conduit in the capital
Pliska. As second-in-command, Isbul held enormous power and wealth, and was unusually often mentioned beside the name of the ruler in inscriptions. Due to his merits, Isbul has been described as an architect of medieval Bulgarian statehood by historians.
Biography
The office of the ''kavhan'' was a hereditary title in the First Bulgarian Empire, monopolised by the members of the tentatively known "Kavhan family".
[Андреев (1999), p. 175] In order to accede to that position, Isbul must have belonged to the Kavhan family, which is indirectly evidenced by his
Bulgar name.
[Fine, p. 109] Historian Plamen Pavlov theorises that Isbul may have begun his career under the ruler
Krum
Krum ( bg, Крум, el, Κροῦμος/Kroumos), often referred to as Krum the Fearsome ( bg, Крум Страшни) was the Khan of Bulgaria from sometime between 796 and 803 until his death in 814. During his reign the Bulgarian territor ...
(r. 803–814), and by the time of Krum's son Omurtag (r. 815–831), Isbul was already an influential noble. As he is referred to as a ''kavhan'' and regent of the next ruler, Malamir (r. 831–836), it is conjectured that he had been appointed to the office at some point during Omurtag's rule.
[Бакалов]
The earliest record of Isbul is the stone
epigraph known as the Malamir Chronicle, which states that Malamir "ruled together with ''kavhan'' Isbul".
Malamir was the youngest son of Omurtag and must have been considered too young to rule by himself, so that a regent had to be appointed.
Omurtag specified Malamir as his heir because his eldest son,
Enravota
Saint Enravota ( bg, Свети Енравота) or Voin (Воин, "warrior") or Boyan (Боян) was the eldest son of Omurtag of Bulgaria and the first Bulgarian Christian martyr, as well as the earliest Bulgarian saint to be canonized.
B ...
, was a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
.
[Андреев (2004), p. 66] The
Byzantines hoped to take advantage of Bulgaria's instability at the time, caused by the presence of the underage Malamir on the throne, and broke the long-lasting peace established with the
Byzantine–Bulgarian Treaty of 815, which they had initially reaffirmed upon Malamir's accession. In 836,
Isbul was in charge of the Bulgarian forces which repulsed the Byzantine invasion and proceeded to raid into Byzantine territory.
[Curta, p. 165]
As part of this campaign, Isbul and Malamir captured the
Thracian
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...
fortresses of Probaton (near
Adrianople
Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis ( Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian border ...
) and
Bourzidon.
[Бешевлиев, p. 77] After conquering these two fortresses, the Bulgarian troops reached
Philippopolis. As the defence forces of the city had fled, Isbul and Malamir entered negotiations with the population in order to persuade them to cede the fortress.
[Ziemann, p. 337] Pavlov is of the opinion that the war ended with a continuation of the peace of 815. He believes that
Byzantine Emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as ...
Theophilos (r. 829–842) was forced to make concessions to Bulgaria, which may have included the incorporation of Philippopolis and its close surroundings into the Bulgarian Empire.
During his time as co-ruler and ''kavhan'' of Malamir, Isbul financed the construction of a
water conduit (
aqueduct) or
fountain
A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect.
Fountains were ori ...
in
Pliska,
which he donated to Malamir.
That construction was the occasion for a great feast, which the ruler organised,
and for gifts to the nobility,
all of it testifying to Isbul's affluence.
In the source about the construction, Isbul is hailed alongside Malamir: "May God let the God-appointed ruler live a hundred years together with the ''kavhan'' Isbul". Normally, such blessings were only directed at the ruler, and this is the only case from the First Bulgarian Empire which references another person.
The inscription also mentions Isbul's old age at the time.
[Бешевлиев, p. 35]
After the surprise death of Malamir in 836, the Bulgarian throne passed to Presian I (836–852), who too was likely underage.
[Андреев (2004), p. 69] As evidenced by the
Presian Inscription from
Philippi
Philippi (; grc-gre, Φίλιπποι, ''Philippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides ( grc-gre, Κρηνῖδες, ''Krenides'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colo ...
, Isbul retained his position as ''kavhan'' and his decisive influence in the Bulgarian court. In 837, the
Slavic tribe of the
Smolyani
The Smolyani ( bg, смоляни; in Byzantine sources ''Smolenoi'' or ''Smoleanoi'') were a medieval Slavic tribe that settled in the Rhodope Mountains, the valley of the Mesta River and the region around Blagoevgrad Province, possibly in the 7 ...
(''Smolenoi''), who inhabited the lower
Nestos (Mesta) River and
Western Thrace
Western Thrace or West Thrace ( el, �υτικήΘράκη, '' ytikíThráki'' ; tr, Batı Trakya; bg, Западна/Беломорска Тракия, ''Zapadna/Belomorska Trakiya''), also known as Greek Thrace, is a geographic and historica ...
near
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
, rose against their Byzantine rulers.
The inscription of Philippi mentions large-scale Bulgarian activity in the lands of the Smolyani. The Bulgarian forces were led by Isbul, as well as the ''
ichirgu-boil'' (commander of the capital garrison) and the head priest.
[Ziemann, p. 339][Андреев (1999), p. 176] As the inscription is damaged, it is unclear who Presian and Isbul supported in that conflict.
[Ziemann, p. 340][Бешевлиев, p. 85] However, during this campaign the Bulgarian army conquered most of Macedonia including Philippi, where the inscription was found.
[Андреев (1999), p. 318] From that point on, Isbul disappears from the sources, and there is no information about the date and circumstances of his death.
Assessment and legacy
In his biography of Isbul, Pavlov underlines his "extraordinary merits for the development of the Bulgarian state"
and describes him as "one of the architects of medieval Bulgarian statehood during the years of its rise".
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n historian Florin Curta emphasises the similarity of Isbul's role to that of 8th-century
Mayors of the Palace in the
Frankish lands under the
Merovingian dynasty
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
.
Isbul Point
Isbul Point ( bg, нос Исбул, ‘Nos Isbul’ \'nos is-'bul\) is a narrow rocky point projecting 600 m from the coast of Ray Promontory into Svishtov Cove in the northwest extremity of Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South She ...
on
Livingston Island
Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60 ...
of the
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...
,
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
, was named in honour of ''kavhan'' Isbul by the
Antarctic Place-names Commission
The Antarctic Place-names Commission was established by the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute in 1994, and since 2001 has been a body affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria.
The Commission approves Bulgarian place names in ...
of
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
.
Isbul also features as a character in Aleksandar Raychev's
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
''Khan Asparuh'', which debuted at the
Ruse Opera House in 1981. In the opera, however, Isbul is erroneously described as the ''kavhan'' of the first Bulgarian ruler,
Asparuh.
References
Sources
*
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*
*
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* {{cite book, last=Бешевлиев, first=Веселин, authorlink=Veselin Beshevliev, title=Прабългарски епиграфски паметници, trans-title=Bulgar Epigraphic Records, year=1981, publisher=Издателство на Отечествения фронт, location=София, language=Bulgarian, oclc=8554080
Medieval Bulgarian nobility
9th-century Bulgarian people
8th-century births
9th-century deaths
Regents of Bulgaria
Bulgarian people of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars
Medieval Bulgarian military personnel