Kormesiy or Kormesii ( bg, Кормесий) was a ruler (khan) of Danubian Bulgaria in the first half of the 8th century. Western chronicles name Kormesiy "the third ruler over the Danube Bulgars", and he is sometimes considered the direct successor of

Tervel Khan Tervel ( bg, Тервел) also called ''Tarvel'', or ''Terval'', or ''Terbelis'' in some Byzantine sources, was the khan of Bulgaria during the First Bulgarian Empire at the beginning of the 8th century. In 705 Emperor Justinian II named ...

. The '' Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans'' (''Imennik'') contains traces of two damaged records between the entries for Tervel and

Sevar Sevar ( bg, Севар) was a ruler of Bulgaria in the 8th century. The Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans states that Sevar belonged to the Dulo clan and ruled for 15 years. According to the chronology developed by Moskov, Sevar would have reigne ...

, and the second of these lost names is generally taken to be that of Kormesiy. According to the ''Imennik'', Kormesiy would have reigned for 28 years and was a descendant of the royal

Dulo clan The Dulo clan was a ruling dynasty of the Bulgars. The origins of the Bulgars and Dulo clan are not known precisely, and there are many theories about their origin. It is generally considered that they – or at least the elite caste – were i ...

. According to the chronology developed by Moskov, Kormesiy would have reigned 715–721, and the longer period reflected in the ''Imennik'' would have indicated the duration of his life or would have included a period of association with his predecessors. Other chronologies date the reign of Kormesiy to 721–738 but cannot be reconciled with the data of the ''Imennik''. Kormesiy is encountered in relation to the events surrounding the

peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...

between Bulgaria and the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

between 715 and 717 – the chronology has to be argued from the names of the Emperor and patriarch involved – for which our only source is the Byzantine chronicler

Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking u ...

. According to Theophanes, the treaty was signed by Kormesiy as ruler of the Bulgars. This comes at odds with the way the same writer implies, elsewhere in the chronicle, that Tervel was still Bulgaria's ruler as late as 718/719. One or the other of Theophanes's statements must then be wrong. Otherwise it would have to be assumed that Kormesiy shared the throne with Tervel and signed the treaty as his co-ruler. The name of Kormesiy was also read by some scholars in the inscriptions around the

Madara Rider The Madara Rider or Madara Horseman ( bg, Мадарски конник, ''Madarski konnik'') is an early medieval large rock relief carved on the Madara Plateau east of Shumen in northeastern Bulgaria, near the village of Madara. The monument i ...

monument. The surviving part of the text would thus speak of an annual gold tribute that Kormesiy received from the

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 le ...

: in other words, the peace treaty would have been re-established during his rule. The end of the inscription mentions a worsening of Bulgarian relations with the

. However, this inscription could possibly be referring to the later Bulgarian rulers

Kormisosh Kormisosh ( bg, Кормисош) was a ruler of Bulgaria during the 8th century. The Namelist of Bulgarian Rulers states that he belonged to the Ukil (or Vokil) clan and ruled for 17 years. According to the chronology developed by Moskov, Kormi ...

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 ...

. Kormesiy is not mentioned in any other historical context. The fact that there is no record of wars between

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 Macedon ...

and the

during his reign, however, implies that he sustained the peace between the two countries.

Kormesiy Peak Kormesiy Peak ( bg, връх Кормесий, vrah Kormesiy, ) is a rocky peak rising to 235 m in the southeast extremity of Breznik Heights on Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Situated on the southeast coast of the ...

Greenwich Island Greenwich Island (variant historical names ''Sartorius Island'', ''Berezina Island'') is an island long and from (average ) wide, lying between Robert Island and Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands. Surface area . The name Greenwic ...

in 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 195 ...

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 contine ...

is named after Kormesiy.

References

Sources

* Mosko Moskov, ''Imennik na bălgarskite hanove (novo tălkuvane)'', Sofia 1988. * Jordan Andreev, Ivan Lazarov, Plamen Pavlov, ''Koj koj e v srednovekovna Bălgarija'', Sofia 1999. * (primary source), Bahši Iman, ''Džagfar Tarihy'', vol. III, Orenburg 1997.
„Канасубиги” е „княз”, а не „хан ” или „кан”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kormesiy Of Bulgaria Monarchs of the Bulgars 8th-century Bulgarian monarchs 738 deaths Year of birth unknown Dulo clan Khans