Kuber, (also Kouber or Kuver), was a
Bulgar leader who, according to the ''
Miracles of Saint Demetrius
The ''Miracles of Saint Demetrius'' ( la, Miracula Sancti Demetrii) is a 7th-century collection of homilies, written in Greek, accounting the miracles performed by the patron saint of Thessalonica, Saint Demetrius. It is a unique work for the ...
'', liberated a mixed Bulgar and
Byzantine Christian population in the 670s, whose ancestors had been transferred from the
Eastern Roman 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 Constantino ...
to the
Syrmia
Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exc ...
region in
Pannonia
Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now west ...
by the
Avars 60 years earlier.
[Curta][Fine] According to a scholarly theory, he was a son of
Kubrat
Kubrat ( el, Κοβρᾶτος, Kούβρατος; bg, Кубрат ) was the ruler of the Onogur–Bulgars, credited with establishing the confederation of Old Great Bulgaria in ca. 632. His name derived from the Turkic words ''qobrat'' — ...
, brother of Khan
Asparukh and member of the
Dulo clan.
Origins
According to the Byzantine scholar,
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 ...
, Kubrat's (unnamed) fourth son, who left the
Pontic steppes after his father's death around 642, became "the subject of the of the
Avars in Avar Pannonia and remained there with his army". According to a scholarly theory, first proposed by the Bulgarian historian
Vasil Zlatarski, Kuber was the fourth son of
Kubrat
Kubrat ( el, Κοβρᾶτος, Kούβρατος; bg, Кубрат ) was the ruler of the Onogur–Bulgars, credited with establishing the confederation of Old Great Bulgaria in ca. 632. His name derived from the Turkic words ''qobrat'' — ...
, the Christian ruler of the
Onogur Bulgars
The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as noma ...
in the steppes north of the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
. Kuber's story is continued in the second book of the ''
Miracles of Saint Demetrius
The ''Miracles of Saint Demetrius'' ( la, Miracula Sancti Demetrii) is a 7th-century collection of homilies, written in Greek, accounting the miracles performed by the patron saint of Thessalonica, Saint Demetrius. It is a unique work for the ...
''. The book is a hagiographic work, written in
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
in the 680s or 690s. Denis Sinor wrote "The Avar Kaghan entrusted Kuber and his suite with the governing of the descendants of the Christian Byzantine prisoners of war, carried off sixty years ago, who were living mixed with Avars and Bulghars north of the Danube, not far from the former province of Pannonia Sirmiensis." Nevertheless, Kuber's people soon liberated the POWs and led them south to the region of modern
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
. The American historian
John Van Antwerp Fine, Jr. writes that, if Zlatarski's theory is correct, Kuber was named for his father, because Kuber and Kubrat are most probably two Greek versions of the same
Bulgar name. However, others suggest Kuber is but a reference to Asparukh's own
Kubiar
The Kabars ( el, Κάβαροι), also known as Qavars (Qabars) or Khavars were Khazar rebels who joined the Magyar confederation possibly in the 9th century as well as the Rus' Khaganate.
Sources
The Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII is the ...
branch of Kubrat's
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 in ...
where "Kubi-ar" may mean "fair haired". Finally, Croatian researchers have proposed that Kubrat of Onoguria's five sons correspond to the five brothers from
White Croatia who took Avaria in
677, whereby Kuber would be Chrobatos (Χρωβάτος).
In Avar Pannonia
![Kuver en](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Kuver_en.png)
Kuber was the ruler of a mixed population in the
Avar Khaganate
The Pannonian Avars () were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in chronicles of Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai ( el, Βαρχονίτες, Varchonítes), or Pseudo-Avars ...
, including the descendants of the prisoners of war whom the Avars had captured in the
Balkan Peninsula
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
and settled around
Sirmium
Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous provice of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyria ...
. He was made governor by the khagan. Historian Samuel Szádeczky-Kardosswho accepts Kuber's identification as Kubrat's son and thus a scion of the royal
Dulo clanwrites that Kuber became governor of that region, because the Khagan wanted to separate him from his Bulgar subjects who had followed him from the Pontic steppes. Kuber's subjects called themselves ''Sermesianoi'', but the Byzantines regarded them "Bulgars". They preserved their Christian traditions, although their ancestors had been taken to the Avar Khaganate about 60 years before Kuber's appointment.
The ''Sermesianoi'' did not cease to dream of their return to their ancestors' homes. Taking advantage of his subjects' feelings, Kuber rose up in open rebellion against the Khagan "in our times", according to the ''
Miracles of Saint Demetrius
The ''Miracles of Saint Demetrius'' ( la, Miracula Sancti Demetrii) is a 7th-century collection of homilies, written in Greek, accounting the miracles performed by the patron saint of Thessalonica, Saint Demetrius. It is a unique work for the ...
''. Modern historians say that Kuber's rebellion occurred in the 670s or early 680s. Around 70,000 ''Sermesianoi'' joined him and departed for 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 ...
. The khagan attempted to hinder their migration, but they routed the Avars in five or six battles and crossed the river
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
.
In Byzantine Macedonia
![Bulgaria of Kuber](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Bulgaria_of_Kuber.gif)
Kuber and his people moved as far as the region of Thessaloniki. He decided to settle together with the ''Sermesianoi'' in a plain and sent his envoy to the Byzantine Emperor, whom the ''Miracles of Saint Demetrios'' did not name, to request his permission. The emperor gave his consent and ordered the nearby Slavic tribe of the
Dragovites to supply Kuber and his people with food. However, Kuber's people still wanted to go back to their ancestral homes and started to disperse. Fearing of the decline of his power base, Kuber asked the emperor to forbid the ''Sermesianoi'' to leave the plain and to confirm Kuber's position as their ruler. His request seems to have been rejected, because he attempted to seize Thessaloniki, taking advantage of a civil war in the city. However,
Saint Demetrius
Saint Demetrius (or Demetrios) of Thessaloniki, Thessalonica ( el, Ἅγιος Δημήτριος τῆς Θεσσαλονίκης, (); bg, Димитър Солунски (); mk, Свети Димитрија Солунски (); ro, Sfântu ...
unmasked Kuber's agents who tried to open the gates of Thessaloniki, hindering him from entering the city, according to the saint's hagiography.
There is no more information of Kuber's life. Some modern historiansincluding Zlatarski and Cankova-Petkovasay that he established a state in Macedonia which existed in parallel with
Khan Asparukh's
Bulgarian Empire. They also write that the Byzantine Emperor
Justinian II
Justinian II ( la, Iustinianus; gr, Ἰουστινιανός, Ioustinianós; 668/69 – 4 November 711), nicknamed "the Slit-Nosed" ( la, Rhinotmetus; gr, ὁ Ῥινότμητος, ho Rhinótmētos), was the last Eastern Roman emperor of the H ...
who had subjugated the Slavic tribes around Thessaloniki was ambushed and defeated by the Bulgars from Kuber's state on his 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 (" ...
in 689. Asparukh's son,
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 ...
, cooperated with his "uncles in the region of Thessaloniki" against the Byzantine Emperor
Justinian II
Justinian II ( la, Iustinianus; gr, Ἰουστινιανός, Ioustinianós; 668/69 – 4 November 711), nicknamed "the Slit-Nosed" ( la, Rhinotmetus; gr, ὁ Ῥινότμητος, ho Rhinótmētos), was the last Eastern Roman emperor of the H ...
, according to the inscription on 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 ...
. The Macedonian archaeologist
Ivan Mikulčić
Ivan Mikulčić ( Croatian: Ivan Luka Mikulčić; Macedonian: Иван Микулчиќ) was a prominent archaeologist from North Macedonia.
Biography
Mikulcic was born on March 25, 1936, in the then Kingdom of Yugoslavia in the Srem town of I ...
, who attributes the treasures found at
Vrap
Vrap (it means 'running' in Albanian) is a village in the former municipality of Baldushk in Tirana County, Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Tirana
Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and ...
and
Ersekë
Ersekë ( sq-definite, Erseka), is a town and a former municipality in southeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision and the seat of the municipality Kolonjë, Korçë, Kolonjë. Founded in the 17th century, Ers ...
to Kuber's people, says that archaeological findings confirm their presence in
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
and eastern
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
.
Honour
Kuber Peak in
Tangra Mountains
Tangra Mountains (in Bulgarian ''Тангра планина'', 'Tangra planina' \'tan-gra pla-ni-'na\) () form the principal mountain range of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The range had been nameless until 20 ...
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 Kuber.
Kuber Peak.
SCAR Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
The Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica (CGA) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is the authoritative international gazetteer containing all Antarctic toponyms published in national gazetteers, plus basic information about t ...
.
References
Sources
Primary sources
*''The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor: Byzantine and Near Eastern History, AD 284–813'' (Translated with Introduction and Commentary by Cyril Mango and Roger Scott with the assistance of Geoffrey Greatrex) (2006). Oxford University Press. .
Secondary sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{commons category, Kuber
Dulo clan
7th century in Serbia
Rulers in medieval Macedonia
History of Syrmia
Medieval history of Vojvodina
7th-century Bulgarian people
Kutmichevitsa
History of North Macedonia