Krakra of Pernik ( bg, Кракра Пернишки, ''Krakra Pernishki''), also known as Krakra Voevoda or simply Krakra, was an 11th-century feudal lord in 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 Europ ...

whose domain encompassed 36 fortresses in what is today southwestern

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 ...

, with his capital at Pernik. He is known for heroically resisting

Byzantine 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 ...

sieges on multiple occasions as the Byzantines overran the Bulgarian Empire. Krakra was a "man remarkable in military affairs" and a high-ranking

bolyarin A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were se ...

, possibly governor of the Sredets comitatus, under the

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

Samuil Samuel (also Samuil; bg, Самуил, ; mk, Самоил/Самуил, ; Old Church Slavonic: Самоилъ; died October 6, 1014) was the Tsar (''Emperor'') of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 977 to 997, he was a ...

Gavril Radomir Gavril Radomir ( bg, Гаврил Радомир; el, Γαβριὴλ Ρωμανός, Gavriil Romanos; anglicized as "Gabriel Radomir"; died 1015) was the emperor (tsar) of the First Bulgarian Empire from October 1014 to August or September 101 ...

and Ivan Vladislav. His name appears in the historical annals in connection to a Byzantine military campaign in the Bulgarian lands in 1003 when Samuil's army was crushed at the Vardar and the Byzantines captured Skopje. As

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...

's forces headed to seize

Sredets : ''Sredets is also a medieval name of Sofia. For the district in Sofia, see Sredets, Sofia.'' Sredets ( bg, Средец ) is a town in Burgas Province in southeastern Bulgaria. It is located near Lake Mandrensko and the northern slopes of Stran ...

, however, in 1004 they came up against Krakra's well-defended fortress of Pernik, and the emperor was forced to return to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

after sustaining heavy losses. In 1016, another campaign by Basil II was stopped by Krakra at Pernik after an unsuccessful 88-day Byzantine siege. As the Byzantine-Bulgarian conflict continued, Krakra and Ivan Vladislav looked for Pecheneg support for a large-scale Bulgarian campaign against the Byzantines and initially persuaded the Pechenegs to collaborate in the winter of 1016–1017. However, the Byzantine governor of Dorystolon learned about the plan and notified Basil II. Upon hearing this, the Pechenegs declined to take part, effectively ruining the Bulgarian plans. Following the death of Ivan Vladislav at Dyrrhachium in early 1018, Basil II entered the Bulgarian territory in March 1018 without meeting any resistance. At

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 borders, ...

, Krakra and 35 other bolyari's envoys met with him and after negotiating generous concessions from Basil II, including creating Theme Bulgaria and a separate Bulgarian archbishop chose to join the Eastern Roman Empire.Pravoslavieto.com: Цар Самуил и "Българската епопея" Иван Владислав - "Самодържец Български"
/ref> Basil II met with Krakra personally in Serres and awarded him the title of ''

patrikios The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...

''.

Honour

Krakra Bluff 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 ...

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 Krakra.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krakra of Pernik Medieval Bulgarian nobility 10th-century births 11th-century deaths 10th-century Bulgarian people 11th-century Bulgarian people Pernik People from Pernik Patricii Bulgarian people of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars Medieval Bulgarian military personnel