Samuel (also Samuil; bg, Самуил, ; mk, Самоил/Самуил, ;
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language.
Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...
: Самоилъ; died October 6, 1014) was 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 ...
(''
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
'') 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 Europ ...
from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 977 to 997, he was a
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
under
Roman I of Bulgaria
Roman ( bg, Роман; 930s–997) was emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 977 to 991, being in Byzantine captivity thereafter still claiming the title.
Reign
Roman was the second surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria by his marriage with Mari ...
, the second surviving son of Emperor
Peter I of Bulgaria
Peter I ( cu, Петръ А҃; bg, Петър I) (died 30 January 970) was emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 27 May 927 to 969. His seal reads ΙΠSVΟς·GRECIA·VΟΔΟ.
Early reign
Peter I was the son of Simeon I of Bulgaria by his second ma ...
, and co-ruled with him, as Roman bestowed upon him the command of the army and the effective royal authority. As Samuel struggled to preserve his country's independence from 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 ...
, his rule was characterized by constant warfare against the Byzantines and their equally ambitious ruler
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 ...
.
In his early years Samuel managed to inflict several major defeats on the Byzantines and to launch offensive campaigns into their territory.
In the late 10th century, the Bulgarian armies conquered the Serb principality of
Duklja
Duklja ( sh-Cyrl, Дукља; el, Διόκλεια, Diokleia; la, Dioclea) was a medieval South Slavic state which roughly encompassed the territories of modern-day southeastern Montenegro, from the Bay of Kotor in the west to the Bojana Ri ...
and led campaigns against the Kingdoms of
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
and
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
. But from 1001, he was forced mainly to defend the Empire against the superior Byzantine armies. Samuel died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
on 6 October 1014, two months after the catastrophic
battle of Kleidion
The Battle of Kleidion ( grc-gre, Κλειδίον; or Clidium, after the medieval name of the village of Klyuch, "(the) key"; also known as the Battle of Belasitsa) took place on July 29, 1014, between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian E ...
. His successors failed to organize a resistance, and in 1018, four years after Samuel's death, the country capitulated, ending the five decades-long
Byzantine–Bulgarian conflict.
Samuel was considered "invincible in power and unsurpassable in strength". Similar comments were made even in
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 (" ...
, where
John Kyriotes penned a poem offering a punning comparison between the Bulgarian Emperor and
Halley's comet
Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the o ...
, which appeared in 989.
During Samuel's reign, Bulgaria gained control of most of the
Balkans
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 ...
(with the notable exception of
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 t ...
) as far as southern
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. He moved the capital from
Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
to
Ohrid
Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...
,
which had been the cultural and military centre of southwestern Bulgaria since
Boris I
Boris I, also known as Boris-Mihail (Michael) and ''Bogoris'' ( cu, Борисъ А҃ / Борисъ-Михаилъ bg, Борис I / Борис-Михаил; died 2 May 907), was the ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire in 852–889. At ...
's rule, and made the city the seat of the
Bulgarian Patriarchate
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgarsk ...
. Because of this, his realm is sometimes called the ''
Western Bulgarian Empire
From ca. 970 until 1018, a series of conflicts between the First Bulgarian Empire, Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire led to the gradual reconquest of Bulgaria by the Byzantines, who thus re-established their control over the entire Balka ...
''. Samuel's energetic reign restored Bulgarian might on the Balkans, even though the Empire was disestablished after his death.
The rise of the Cometopuli
The Cometopuli
Samuel was the fourth and youngest son of
count Nicholas, a Bulgarian noble, who might have been the count of Sredets district (modern-day
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
), although other sources suggest that he was a regional count of Prespa district in the region of
Macedonia. His mother was Rhipsime of Armenia. The actual name of the dynasty is not known. ''Cometopuli'' is the nickname used by Byzantine historians which is translated as "sons of the count". The Cometopuli rose to power out of the disorder that occurred in the Bulgarian Empire from 966 to 971.
Rus' invasion and the deposition of Boris II
![The Chronicle of Ioannis Skylitzis Preslav Attacked](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/The_Chronicle_of_Ioannis_Skylitzis_Preslav_Attacked.jpg)
During the reign of
Emperor Peter I
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
, Bulgaria prospered in a long-lasting peace with Byzantium. This was secured by the marriage of Peter with the Byzantine princess
Maria Lakapina, granddaughter of Byzantine Emperor
Romanos I Lekapenos
Romanos I Lekapenos ( el, Ρωμανός Λεκαπηνός; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for the infant Constantine VII.
Origin
Romanos ...
. However, after Maria's death in 963, the truce had been shaken and it was at this time or later that Peter I sent his sons
Boris and
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
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 (" ...
as honorary hostages, to honor the new terms of the peace treaty. During these years the Byzantines and Bulgarians had entangled themselves in
a war
''A War'' () is a 2015 Danish war drama film written and directed by Tobias Lindholm, and starring Pilou Asbæk and Søren Malling. It tells the story of a Danish military company in Afghanistan that is fighting the Taliban while trying to pro ...
with
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
Prince
Sviatoslav, who invaded Bulgaria several times. After a defeat from Sviatoslav, Peter I suffered a stroke and abdicated his throne in 969 (he died the next year). Boris was allowed back to Bulgaria to take his father's throne, restore order and oppose Sviatoslav, but had little success. This was allegedly used by Nicholas and his sons, who were contemplating a revolt in 969.
The Rus' invaded Byzantine Thrace in 970, but suffered a defeat in the
Battle of Arcadiopolis. The new Byzantine Emperor
John Tzimiskes
John I Tzimiskes (; 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general, he strengthened the Empire and expanded its borders during his short reign.
Background
John I Tzimiskes ...
used this to his advantage. He quickly invaded Bulgaria the following year, defeated the Rus, and conquered the Bulgarian capital Preslav. Boris II of Bulgaria was ritually divested of his imperial insignia in a public ceremony in Constantinople and he and his brother
Roman of Bulgaria
Roman ( bg, Роман; 930s–997) was emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 977 to 991, being in Byzantine captivity thereafter still claiming the title.
Reign
Roman was the second surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria by his marriage with Mari ...
remained in captivity. Although the ceremony in 971 had been intended as a symbolic termination of the Bulgarian Empire, the Byzantines were unable to assert their control over the western provinces of Bulgaria. Count Nicholas, Samuel's father, who had close ties to the royal court in
Preslav
The modern Veliki Preslav or Great Preslav ( bg, Велики Преслав, ), former Preslav ( bg, link=no, Преслав; until 1993), is a city and the seat of government of the Veliki Preslav Municipality (Great Preslav Municipality, new B ...
, died in 970. In the same year
["They (the ]Cometopuli
The Kometopuli dynasty (Bulgarian: ,
Bulgarian; ; Byzantine Greek: , ) was the last royal dynasty in the First Bulgarian Empire, ruling from ca. 976 until the fall of Bulgaria under Byzantine rule in 1018. The most notable member of the dynasty ...
) make their first appearance under the government of Kekaumenos, the strategos of Larissa ... (980–983)": Adontz. "Samuel l'Armenien", 358. "the sons of the count" (the Cometopuli)
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
,
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
,
Aaron
According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...
and Samuel rebelled. The series of events are not clear due to contradicting sources, but it is sure that after 971 Samuel and his brothers were the ''de facto'' rulers of the western Bulgarian lands.
In 973, the Cometopuli (described by
Thietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar (also Dietmar or Dithmar; 25 July 9751 December 1018), Prince-Bishop of Merseburg from 1009 until his death, was an important chronicler recording the reigns of German kings and Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian (Saxon) dynasty. Two ...
simply as ''the Bulgarians'') sent envoys to the
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...
in
Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...
in an attempt to secure the protection of their lands.
[Delev, ''12. The decline of the First Bulgarian Empire'' ('' 12. Zalezat na Parvoto Balgarsko Tsarstvo'' ''12. Залезът на Първото българско царство'').] The brothers ruled together in a
tetrarchy
The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the '' augusti'', and their juniors colleagues and designated successors, the '' caesares' ...
.
[Bozhilov, Gyuzelev, 1999, pp. 314–315.] David ruled the southernmost regions and led the defense of one of the most dangerous border areas, around
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 Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
and
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
.
The centres of his possessions were
Prespa
Prespa ( mk, Преспа, sq, Prespa, el, Πρέσπα) is a region shared between North Macedonia, Albania and Greece. It shares the same name with the two Prespa lakes which are situated in the middle of the region. The largest town is Rese ...
and
Kastoria
Kastoria ( el, Καστοριά, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Gree ...
. Moses ruled from
Strumitsa
Strumica ( mk, Струмица, ) is the largest city[2002 census results](_blank)
in English and Macedon ...
,
which would be an outpost for attacks on the
Aegean coast and
Serres
Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki.
Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northe ...
. Aaron ruled from Sredets,
and was to defend the main road from
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, ...
to
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, and to attack
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 t ...
. Samuel ruled northwestern Bulgaria from the strong fortress of
Vidin
Vidin ( bg, Видин, ; Old Romanian: Diiu) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as o ...
. He was also to organize the liberation of the conquered areas to the east, including the old capital Preslav. Some records suggest that David played a major role in this tumultuous period of Bulgarian history.
War with Byzantium
![Tzimiskes returns](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Tzimiskes_returns.jpg)
After John I Tzimiskes died on 11 January 976, the Cometopuli launched an assault along the whole border. Within a few weeks, however, David was killed by
Vlach
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Eastern ...
vagrants and Moses was fatally injured by a stone during the siege of Serres. The brothers' actions to the south detained many Byzantine troops and eased Samuel's liberation of northeastern Bulgaria. A local
Bulgarian uprising broke there, led by two boyars — Petar and Boyan, who became allies of the Cometopuli and submitted to their rule. The Byzantine army was defeated and retreated to
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
. Any Bulgarian nobles and officials who had not opposed the Byzantine conquest of the region were executed, and the war continued north of the
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 ...
until the enemy was scattered and Bulgarian rule was restored.
After suffering these defeats in the Balkans, the Byzantine Empire descended into civil war. The commander of the Asian army,
Bardas Scleros, rebelled in
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
and sent troops under his son Romanus in Thrace to besiege Constantinople. The new Emperor
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 ...
did not have enough manpower to fight both the Bulgarians and the rebels and resorted to treason, conspiracy and complicated diplomatic plots. Basil II made many promises to the Bulgarians and Scleros to divert them from allying against him. Aaron, the eldest living Cometopulus, was tempted by an alliance with the Byzantines and the opportunity to seize power in Bulgaria for himself. He held land in Thrace, a region potentially subject to the Byzantine threat. Basil reached an agreement with Aaron, who asked to marry Basil's sister to seal it. Basil instead sent the wife of one of his officials with the bishop of Sebaste. However, the deceit was uncovered and the bishop was killed. Nonetheless, negotiations proceeded and concluded in a peace agreement. The historian Scylitzes wrote that Aaron wanted sole power and "sympathized with the Romans". Samuel learned of the conspiracy and the clash between the two brothers was inevitable. The quarrel broke out in the vicinity of
Dupnitsa
Dupnitsa, or Dupnica ( bg, Дупница (previously ), ), is a town in Western Bulgaria. It is at the foot of the highest mountains in the Balkan Peninsula – the Rila Mountains, and about south of the capital Sofia. Dupnitsa is the second la ...
on 14 June 976 and ended with the annihilation of Aaron's family. Only his son,
Ivan Vladislav
Ivan Vladislav ( cu, Їѡаннъ Владиславъ; bg, Иван/Йоан Владислав; died February 1018) ruled as emperor (tsar) of the First Bulgarian Empire from August or September 1015 to February 1018. The year of his birth is ...
, survived because Samuel's son
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 ...
pleaded on his behalf. From that moment on, practically all power and authority in the state were held by Samuel and the danger of an internal conflict was eliminated.
However, another theory suggests that Aaron participated in the
battle of the Gates of Trajan
The Battle of the Gates of Trajan ( bg, Битка край Траянови врати, grc-x-byzant, Μάχη στις Πύλες του Τραϊανού) was a battle between Byzantine and Bulgarian forces in the year 986.
It took place in ...
which took place ten years later. According to that theory Aaron was killed on 14 June 987 or 988.
Co-rule with Roman
After the Byzantine plan to use Aaron to cause instability in Bulgaria failed, they tried to encourage the rightful heirs to the throne,
Boris II
Boris II ( cu, Борисъ В҃; bg, Борис II; c. 931 – 977) was emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 969 to 977 (in Byzantine captivity from 971).
Boris II was the eldest surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria and Maria (renamed Eiren ...
and Roman, to oppose Samuel. Basil II hoped that they would win the support of the nobles and isolate Samuel or perhaps even start a Bulgarian civil war. Boris and Roman were sent back in 977 but while they were passing through a forest near the border, Boris was killed by Bulgarian guards who were misled by his Byzantine clothing. Roman, who was walking some distance behind, managed to identify himself to the guards.
Roman was taken to Vidin, where he was proclaimed Emperor of Bulgaria. Samuel became his first lieutenant and general and together they gathered an army and fought the Byzantines. During his captivity, Roman had been
castrated
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which an individual loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharmaceut ...
on the orders of John I Tzimiskes so that he would not have heirs. Thus Samuel was certain to eventually succeed Roman. The new emperor entrusted Samuel with the state administration and became occupied with church and religious affairs.
![Ambush and death of Gregorios Taronites by the Bulgarians](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Ambush_and_death_of_Gregorios_Taronites_by_the_Bulgarians.jpg)
As the main effort of Basil II was concentrated against the rebel Skleros, Samuel's armies attacked the European possessions of the Byzantine Empire. Samuel invaded not only Thrace and the area of
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 Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
, but also
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
,
Hellas and the
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
. Many Byzantine fortresses fell to the Bulgarians. Samuel wanted to seize the important fortress of
Larissa
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
, which controlled the key routes in Thessaly, and from 977 to 983 the town was blockaded. After starvation forced the Byzantines to surrender,
the population was deported to the interior of Bulgaria and the males were forced to enlist in the Bulgarian army.
Kekaumenos Kekaumenos ( el, Κεκαυμένος) is the family name of the otherwise unidentified Byzantine author of the '' Strategikon'', a manual on military and household affairs composed c. 1078. He was apparently of Georgian-Armenian origin and the gra ...
, '' Strategikon'' pp. 65–66 Although Basil II sent forces to the region, they were defeated. With this victory, Bulgaria had gained influence over most of the southwestern Balkans, although it did not occupy some of these territories. From Larissa, Samuel took the relics of
Saint Achilleios, which were laid in a specially built church of the same name on an island in
Lake Prespa
The Lake Prespa is located on the tripoint of North Macedonia, Albania, and Greece. It is a system of two lakes separated by an isthmus: the Great Prespa Lake, divided between the three countries, and the Little Prespa Lake, mostly within Greece ...
.
[Skylitzes, p. 436.]
The Bulgarian successes in the west raised fears in Constantinople, and after serious preparations, Basil II launched a campaign into the very centre of the Bulgarian Empire to distract Samuel from southern Greece. The Byzantine army passed through the mountains around
Ihtiman
Ihtiman ( bg, Ихтиман ) is a town in western Bulgaria, part of Sofia Province. It is located in the Ihtimanska Sredna Gora mountains and lies in a valley 48 km from Sofia and 95 km from Plovdiv, close to the Trakiya motorway.
For ...
and besieged Sredets in 986. The Byzantines assaulted the city for 20 days, but their attacks proved fruitless and costly: the Bulgarians came out of the city several times, killed many enemy soldiers and captured
draught animal
A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks instead of being slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for t ...
s and
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
s. Eventually, the Bulgarian troops burned the
siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...
equipment of the Byzantine army, forcing Basil II to withdraw to Thrace, but on 17 August 986, while passing through the mountains, the Byzantine army was ambushed and routed at the
Trajan's Gates Pass. This was a significant blow for Basil, who was one of the few to return to Constantinople; his personal treasure was captured by the victors.
After the defeat, the rebellion of
Bardas Phocas diverted the efforts of the Byzantine Empire into another civil war. Samuel seized the opportunity and began to exert pressure on Thessaloniki. Basil II sent a large army to the town and appointed a new governor,
Gregorios Taronites, but he was powerless to stop the Bulgarian advance. By 989, the Bulgarian troops had penetrated deep into Byzantine territory, and seized many fortresses, including such important cities as
Veria
Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of I ...
and
Servia. In the south, the Bulgarians marched throughout
Epirus
sq, Epiri rup, Epiru
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = Historical region
, image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...
and in the west they seized the area of modern
Durrës
Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...
(medieval Dyrrhachium or Drach) on the
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
.
In 989, Phocas was killed and his followers surrendered, and the following year Basil II reached an agreement with Skleros. The Byzantines focused their attention on Bulgaria, and counter-attacked in 991. The Bulgarian army was defeated and Roman was captured while Samuel managed to escape. The Byzantines conquered some areas; in 995, however, the
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
invaded Asia Minor and Basil II was forced to move many of his troops to combat this new threat. Samuel quickly regained the lost lands and advanced south. In 996, he defeated the Byzantines in the
battle of Thessaloniki. During the battle, Thessaloniki's governor, Gregorios, perished and his son
Ashot was captured. Elated by this success, the Bulgarians continued south. They marched through Thessaly, overcame the defensive wall at
Thermopylae
Thermopylae (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: (''Thermopylai'') , Demotic Greek (Greek): , (''Thermopyles'') ; "hot gates") is a place in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur ...
and entered the Peloponnese, devastating everything on their way.
![Byzantine army under the leadership of Nikephoros Uranos putting the Bulgarians to flight from the Chronicle of John Skylitzes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Byzantine_army_under_the_leadership_of_Nikephoros_Uranos_putting_the_Bulgarians_to_flight_from_the_Chronicle_of_John_Skylitzes.jpg)
As a response, a Byzantine army under Nikephorus Uranos was sent after the Bulgarians, who returned north to meet it. The two armies met near the flooded river of Spercheios. The Byzantines found a place to ford, and on the night of 19 July 996 they surprised the unprepared Bulgarian army and routed it in the
battle of Spercheios
The Battle of Spercheios ( bg, Битка при Сперхей, el, Μάχη του Σπερχειού) took place in 997 AD, on the shores of the Spercheios river near the city of Lamia in central Greece. It was fought between a Bulgarian army ...
. Samuel's arm was wounded and he barely escaped captivity; he and his son allegedly feigned death. After nightfall they headed for Bulgaria and walked home. Research of Samuel's grave suggests that the bone in his arm healed at an angle of 140° but remained crippled.
[Andreev, 1999, pp. 331–334.]
Emperor
In 997, Roman died in captivity in Constantinople, ending the line of rulers started by
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 ...
. Because of the war with Byzantium, it was dangerous to leave the throne vacant for long, and Samuel was chosen as the new Emperor of Bulgaria because he had the closest relations to the deceased emperor and was Roman's long-standing military commander. The presbyter of Duklja also marked the event: "By that time among the Bulgarian people rose one Samuel, who proclaimed himself emperor. He led a long war against the Byzantines and expelled them from the whole territory of Bulgaria, so that the Byzantines did not dare to approach it".
Constantinople would not recognize the new emperor, as for the Byzantines Boris II's abdication symbolized the official end of Bulgaria and Samuel was considered a mere rebel. Instead Samuel sought recognition from the
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
, which would be a serious blow to the position of the Byzantines in the Balkans and would weaken the influence of the
Patriarch of Constantinople
The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...
, thereby benefiting both the
See of Rome
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
and Bulgaria. Samuel possibly received his imperial crown from
Pope Gregory V
Pope Gregory V ( la, Gregorius V; c. 972 – 18 February 999), born Bruno of Carinthia, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 3 May 996 to his death. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was made pope by his cousin, Emperor Ott ...
.
War against Serbs and Croats
In 998, Samuel launched a major campaign against the
Duklja
Duklja ( sh-Cyrl, Дукља; el, Διόκλεια, Diokleia; la, Dioclea) was a medieval South Slavic state which roughly encompassed the territories of modern-day southeastern Montenegro, from the Bay of Kotor in the west to the Bojana Ri ...
to prevent an alliance between Prince
Jovan Vladimir
Jovan Vladimir or John Vladimir ( sr-cyr, Јован Владимир; c. 990 – 22 May 1016) was the ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbian principality of the time, from around 1000 to 1016. He ruled during the protracted war between ...
and the Byzantines. When the Bulgarian troops reached Duklja, the Serbian prince and his people withdrew to the mountains. Samuel left part of the army at the foot of the mountains and led the remaining soldiers to besiege the coastal fortress of
Ulcinj
Ulcinj ( cyrl, Улцињ, ; ) is a town on the southern coast of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 10,707 (2011), the majority being Albanians.
As one of the oldest settlements in the Adriatic coast ...
. In an effort to prevent bloodshed, he asked Jovan Vladimir to surrender. After the prince refused, some Serb nobles offered their services to the Bulgarians and, when it became clear that further resistance was fruitless, the Serbs surrendered. Jovan Vladimir was exiled to Samuel's palaces in
Prespa
Prespa ( mk, Преспа, sq, Prespa, el, Πρέσπα) is a region shared between North Macedonia, Albania and Greece. It shares the same name with the two Prespa lakes which are situated in the middle of the region. The largest town is Rese ...
.
![Wedding of Miroslava and Ashot Taronites](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Wedding_of_Miroslava_and_Ashot_Taronites.jpg)
The Bulgarian troops proceeded to pass through
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
, taking control of
Kotor
Kotor (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative c ...
and journeying to
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...
. Although they failed to take Dubrovnik, they devastated the surrounding villages. The Bulgarian army then attacked
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
in support of the rebel princes
Krešimir III and
Gojslav and advanced northwest as far as
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, enterta ...
,
Trogir
Trogir (; historically known as Traù (from Dalmatian, Venetian and Italian: ); la, Tragurium; Ancient Greek: Τραγύριον, ''Tragyrion'' or Τραγούριον, ''Tragourion'') is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in S ...
and
Zadar
Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...
, then northeast through
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...
and
Raška and returned to Bulgaria. This
Croato-Bulgarian War allowed Samuel to install vassal monarchs in Croatia.
Samuel's relative
Kosara
Kosara or Cossara ( Bulgarian and sr, Косара) was a Bulgarian noblewoman, related to Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria, who was married to Prince Jovan Vladimir of Duklja.
Origin and identity
The 11th-century Byzantine historian John Skylitzes c ...
fell in love with the captive Jovan Vladimir. The couple married after gaining Samuel's approval, and Jovan returned to his lands as a Bulgarian official along with his uncle Dragomir, whom Samuel trusted. Meanwhile, Princess
Miroslava fell in love with the Byzantine noble captive Ashot, son of
Gregorios Taronites, the dead governor of Thessaloniki, and threatened to commit suicide if she was not allowed to marry him. Samuel conceded and appointed Ashot governor of Dyrrhachium.
[Skylitzes, p. 451.] Samuel also sealed an alliance with the
Magyars
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic ...
when his eldest son and heir, Gavril Radomir, married the daughter of the Hungarian
Grand Prince
Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) ( la, magnus princeps; Greek: ''megas archon''; russian: великий князь, velikiy knyaz) is a title of nobility ranked in honour below emperor, equal of king or ...
Géza Géza is a Hungarian given name and may refer to any of the following:
* Benjamin Géza Affleck
* Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians
* Géza I of Hungary, King of Hungary
* Géza II of Hungary, King of Hungary
* Géza, son of Géza II of Hungar ...
.
Advance of the Byzantines
The beginning of the new
millennium
A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...
saw a turn in the course of Byzantine-Bulgarian warfare. Basil II had amassed an army larger and stronger than that of the Bulgarians: determined to definitively conquer Bulgaria, he moved much of the battle-seasoned military forces from the eastern campaigns against the Arabs to the Balkans and Samuel was forced to defend rather than attack.
In 1001, Basil II sent a large army under the patrician
Theodorokanos and
Nikephoros Xiphias
Nikephoros Xiphias ( el, Νικηφόρος Ξιφίας, ) was a Byzantine military commander during the reign of Emperor Basil II. He played a distinguished role in the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria, and was instrumental in the decisive Byzant ...
to the north of the
Balkan Mountains
The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border betw ...
to seize the main Bulgarian fortresses in the area. The Byzantine troops recaptured
Preslav
The modern Veliki Preslav or Great Preslav ( bg, Велики Преслав, ), former Preslav ( bg, link=no, Преслав; until 1993), is a city and the seat of government of the Veliki Preslav Municipality (Great Preslav Municipality, new B ...
and
Pliska
Pliska ( , cu, Пльсковъ, translit=Plĭskovŭ) was the first capital of the First Bulgarian Empire during the Middle Ages and is now a small town in Shumen Province, on the Ludogorie plateau of the Danubian Plain, 20 km northeast o ...
, putting north-eastern Bulgaria once again under Byzantine rule. The following year, they struck in the opposite direction, marching through Thessaloniki to tear off Thessaly and the southernmost parts of the Bulgarian Empire. Although the Bulgarian commander of the fortress of Veroia, Dobromir, was married to one of Samuel's nieces, he voluntarily surrendered the fort and joined the Byzantines. The Byzantines also captured the fortress of Kolidron without a fight, but its commander Dimitar Tihon managed to retreat with his soldiers and join Samuel.
The next town, Servia, did not fall so easily; its governor
Nikulitsa
Nikulitsa ( bg, Никулица) was a Bulgarian noble from Larissa and governor of Servia during the reign of Samuil (r. 997–1014)..
Biography
Nikulitsa received his name ("little Nicholas") because of his short height. In 1001, the Byzan ...
organized the defenders well. They fought until the Byzantines penetrated the walls and forced them to surrender. Nikulitsa was taken to Constantinople and given the high court title of patrician, but he soon escaped and rejoined the Bulgarians. He attempted to retake Servia, but the siege was unsuccessful and he was captured again and imprisoned.
Meanwhile, Basil II's campaign reconquered many towns in Thessaly. He forced the Bulgarian population of the conquered areas to resettle in the Voleron area between the
Mesta and
Maritsa
Maritsa or Maritza ( bg, Марица ), also known as Meriç ( tr, Meriç ) and Evros ( ell, Έβρος ), is a river that runs through the Balkans in Southeast Europe. With a length of ,[Edessa
Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...]
resisted for weeks but was conquered following a long siege. The population was moved to Voleron and its governor Dragshan was taken to Thessaloniki, where he was betrothed to the daughter of a local noble. Unwilling to be married to an enemy, Dragshan three times tried to flee to Bulgaria and was eventually executed.
War with Hungary
![First Bulgarian Empire (976-1018)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/First_Bulgarian_Empire_%28976-1018%29.png)
The Byzantine–Bulgarian conflict reached its apex in 1003, when Hungary became involved. Since the beginning of the 9th century, the Bulgarian territory had stretched beyond the
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...
as far as the
Tisza
The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders.
The Tisza be ...
River and the middle Danube. During the reign of Samuel, the governor of these northwestern parts was duke
Ahtum
Ajtony, Ahtum or Achtum ( hu, Ajtony, bg, Охтум, ro, Ahtum, sr, Ахтум) was an early-11th-century ruler in the territory now known as Banat in present Romania and Serbia. His primary source is the ''Long Life of Saint Gerard'', a 14t ...
, the grandson of duke
Glad, who had been defeated by the Hungarians in the 930s. Ahtum commanded a strong army and firmly defended the northwestern borders of the Empire. He also built many churches and monasteries through which he spread Christianity in
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
.
Although Gavril Radomir's marriage to the daughter of the Hungarian ruler had established friendly relations between the two strongest states of the Danube area, the relationship deteriorated after Géza's death. The Bulgarians supported Gyula and Koppány as rulers instead of Géza's son
Stephen I. As a result of this conflict, the marriage between Gavril Radomir and the Hungarian princess was dissolved. The Hungarians then attacked Ahtum, who had directly backed the pretenders for the Hungarian crown. Stephen I convinced Hanadin, Ahtum's right-hand man, to help in the attack. When the conspiracy was uncovered Hanadin fled and joined the Hungarian forces. At the same time, a strong Byzantine army besieged Vidin, Ahtum's seat. Although many soldiers were required to participate in the defense of the town, Ahtum was occupied with the war to the north. After several months he died in battle when his troops were defeated by the Hungarians. As a result of the war, Bulgarian influence to the northwest of the Danube diminished.
Further Byzantine successes
![Victory of the Byzantines over the Bulgarians from John Skylitzes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Victory_of_the_Byzantines_over_the_Bulgarians_from_John_Skylitzes.jpg)
The Byzantines took advantage of the Bulgarian troubles in the north. In 1003, Basil II led a large army to Vidin, northwestern Bulgaria's most important town. After an eight-month siege, the Byzantines ultimately captured the fortress,
[Skylitzes, p. 454.] allegedly due to betrayal by the local bishop. The commanders of the town had repulsed all previous attempts to break their defence, including the use of
Greek fire
Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Eastern Roman Empire beginning . Used to set fire to enemy ships, it consisted of a combustible compound emitted by a flame-throwing weapon. Some historians believe it could be ignited on contact w ...
.
[Prokić, p. 30.] While Basil's forces were engaged there, Samuel struck in the opposite direction: on 15 August he attacked
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, ...
and plundered the area.
Basil II decided to return to Constantinople afterwards, but, fearing an encounter with the Bulgarian army on the main road to his capital, he used an alternate route. The Byzantines marched south through the
Morava valley and reached a key Bulgarian city,
Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
, in 1004. The Bulgarian army was camping on the opposite side of the
Vardar River
The Vardar (; mk, , , ) or Axios () is the longest river in North Macedonia and the second longest river in Greece, in which it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . Th ...
. After finding a ford and crossing the river, Basil II attacked and
defeated
Defeated may refer to:
* "Defeated" (Breaking Benjamin song)
* "Defeated" (Anastacia song)
*"Defeated", a song by Snoop Dogg from the album ''Bible of Love''
*Defeated, Tennessee, an unincorporated community
*''The Defeated
''The Defeated'', al ...
Samuel's unsuspecting army, using the same tactics employed at
Spercheios
The Spercheios (, ''Sperkheiós''), also known as the Spercheus from its Latin name, is a river in Phthiotis in central Greece. It is long, and its drainage area is . It was worshipped as a god in the ancient Greek religion and appears in some c ...
. The Byzantines continued east and besieged the fortress of
Pernik
Pernik ( bg, Перник ) is a town in western Bulgaria (about south-west of Sofia) with a population of 70,285 . Pernik is the most populated town in western Bulgaria after Sofia. It is the main town of Pernik Province and lies on both banks ...
. Its governor,
Krakra
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 whose domain encompassed 36 fortresses in what is today sout ...
, was not seduced by Basil's promises of a noble title and wealth, and successfully defended the fortress. The Byzantines withdrew to Thrace after suffering heavy losses.
In the same year, Samuel undertook a march against Thessaloniki. His men ambushed and captured its governor, Ioannes Chaldus,
[ but this success could not compensate for the losses the Bulgarians had suffered in the past four years. The setbacks in the war demoralized some of Samuel's military commanders, especially the captured Byzantine nobles. Samuel's son-in-law Ashot, the governor of Dyrrhachium, made contact with the local Byzantines and the influential ]John Chryselios John Chryselios ( el, ) was a provincial magnate in late 10th-century Dyrrhachium, and the father-in-law of Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria ().
Biography
Bulgarian in origin, Chryselios was the "leading man" (''proteuon'') of Dyrrhachium. According to an ...
, Samuel's father-in-law. Ashot and his wife boarded one of the Byzantine ships that were beleaguering the town and fled to Constantinople. Meanwhile, Chryselios surrendered the city to the Byzantine commander Eustathios Daphnomeles
Eustathios Daphnomeles ( el, , early 11th century) was a Byzantine and patrician who distinguished himself in the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria. He ranks as one of the most prominent and successful generals in the thirty-year war between E ...
in 1005, securing the title of patrician for his sons.
In 1006–1007, Basil II penetrated deep into the Bulgarian-ruled lands and in 1009 Samuel's forces were defeated at Kreta, east of Thessaloniki.[Златарски, pp. 689–690.] During the next years, Basil launched annual campaigns into Bulgarian territory, devastating everything on his way.[Skylitzes, p. 457.] Although there was still no decisive battle, it was clear that the end of the Bulgarian resistance was drawing nearer; the evidence was the fierceness of the military engagements and the constant campaigns of both sides which devastated the Bulgarian and Byzantine realms.[
]
Disaster at Kleidion
In 1014, Samuel resolved to stop Basil before he could invade Bulgarian territory. Since the Byzantines usually used the valley of the Strumitsa River for their invasions into Bulgaria, Samuel built a thick wooden wall in the gorges around the village of Klyuch (also ''Kleidion'', "key") to bar the enemy's way.
When Basil II launched his next campaign in the summer of 1014, his army suffered heavy casualties during the assaults on the wall. Meanwhile, Samuel sent forces under his general Nestoritsa to attack Thessaloniki so as to distract Basil's forces away from this campaign. Nestoritsa was defeated near the city by its governor Botaniates, who later joined the main Byzantine army near Klyuch. After several days of continuous attempts to break through the wall, one Byzantine commander, the governor of Plovdiv Nicephorus Xiphias, found a by-pass and, on 29 July, attacked the Bulgarians from the rear. Despite the desperate resistance the Byzantines overwhelmed the Bulgarian army and captured around 14,000 soldiers, according to some sources even 15,000. Basil II immediately sent forces under his favourite commander Theophylactus Botaniates to pursue the surviving Bulgarians, but the Byzantines were defeated in an ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactics, military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbru ...
by Gavril Radomir, who personally killed Botaniates.
After the Battle of Kleidion, on the order of Basil II the captured Bulgarian soldiers were blinded; one of every 100 men was left one-eyed so as to lead the rest home. The blinded soldiers were sent back to Samuel who reportedly had a heart attack upon seeing them. He died two days later, on 6 October 1014. This savagery gave the Byzantine Emperor his byname ''Boulgaroktonos'' ("Bulgar-slayer" in ). Some historians theorize it was the death of his favourite commander that infuriated Basil II to blind the captured soldiers.
The battle of Kleidion had major political consequences. Although Samuel's son and successor, Gavril Radomir, was a talented military leader, he was murdered by his cousin Ivan Vladislav, who, ironically, owed his life to him. Unable to restore the Bulgarian Empire's previous power, Ivan Vladislav himself was killed while attacking Dyrrhachium. After that, the widowed empress Maria
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
* 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
* Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
and many Bulgarian governors, including Krakra, surrendered to the Byzantines. Presian
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 ...
, Ivan Vladislav's eldest son, fled with two of his brothers to Mount Tomorr
Tomorr is a mountain range in the region of Berat and Skrapar, in Albania. It reaches an elevation of above sea level at the Çuka e Partizanit, which is the highest peak in central Albania.
Mount Tomorr is one of Albania's biggest water-col ...
, before they too surrendered. Thus 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 ...
came to an end in 1018, only four years after Samuel's death. Most of its territory was incorporated within the new Theme of Bulgaria
The Theme of Bulgaria () was a province of the Byzantine Empire established by Emperor Basil II after the conquest of Bulgaria in 1018. Its capital was Scupi (or Skoupoi) and it was governed by a strategos. The local inhabitants were ''Bulgari ...
, with Skopje as its capital.
In the extreme northwest, the duke of 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 exce ...
, Sermon
A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...
, was the last remnant of the once mighty Empire. He was deceived and killed by the Byzantines in 1019.
Family, grave and legacy
Samuel's wife was called Agatha, and was the daughter of the magnate of Dyrrhachium John Chryselios John Chryselios ( el, ) was a provincial magnate in late 10th-century Dyrrhachium, and the father-in-law of Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria ().
Biography
Bulgarian in origin, Chryselios was the "leading man" (''proteuon'') of Dyrrhachium. According to an ...
. Only two of Samuel's and Agatha's children are definitely known by name: Samuel's heir Gavril Radomir and Miroslava. Two further, unnamed daughters, are mentioned after the Bulgarian surrender in 1018, while Samuel is also recorded as having had a bastard son. Another woman, Kosara
Kosara or Cossara ( Bulgarian and sr, Косара) was a Bulgarian noblewoman, related to Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria, who was married to Prince Jovan Vladimir of Duklja.
Origin and identity
The 11th-century Byzantine historian John Skylitzes c ...
, who was wedded to Jovan Vladimir
Jovan Vladimir or John Vladimir ( sr-cyr, Јован Владимир; c. 990 – 22 May 1016) was the ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbian principality of the time, from around 1000 to 1016. He ruled during the protracted war between ...
of Duklja
Duklja ( sh-Cyrl, Дукља; el, Διόκλεια, Diokleia; la, Dioclea) was a medieval South Slavic state which roughly encompassed the territories of modern-day southeastern Montenegro, from the Bay of Kotor in the west to the Bojana Ri ...
and was considered by earlier scholarship as Samuel's daughter, is now regarded to have been simply a relative, perhaps a niece of Agatha. Gavril Radomir married twice, to Ilona of Hungary and Irene from Larissa. Miroslava married the captured Byzantine noble Ashot Taronites
Ashot Taronites ( gr, Ἀσώτιος Ταρωνίτης, Asōtios Tarōnitēs; hy, Աշոտ, Ašot; ) was a Byzantine nobleman. Captured by the Bulgarians in 995, he was released in 996 and married to Miroslava, daughter of Tsar Samuel of Bulgar ...
.
After the fall of Bulgaria, Samuel's descendants assumed important positions in the Byzantine court after they were resettled and given lands in Asia Minor and Armenia. One of his granddaughters, Catherine, became empress of Byzantium. Another (supposed) grandchild, Peter II Delyan, led an attempt to restore the Bulgarian Empire after a major uprising in 10401041. Two other women of the dynasty became Byzantine empresses, while many nobles served in the army as strategos
''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...
or became governors of various provinces.
There is another version of Samuel's origin: the 11th-century historian Stepanos Asoghik
Stepanos Asoghik ( hy, Ստեփանոս Ասողիկ), also known as Stepanos Taronetsi ( hy, Ստեփանոս Տարոնեցի), was an Armenian historian of the 11th century. His dates are unknown but he came from Taron and earned the nickname ...
wrote that Samuel had only one brother, stating they were both Armenians from the district of Derjan, an Armenian land incorporated into the Byzantine Empire. They were sent to fight the Bulgarians in Macedonia but ended up joining them. This version is supported by the historian Nicholas Adontz
Nicholas Adontz (, ''Nikoghayos Adonts’'', also spelled Adonts; ; January 10, 1871 – January 27, 1942) was an Armenian historian, specialist of Byzantine and Armenian studies, and philologist. Yuzbashyan, Karen. s.v. Adonts', Nikoghayos G ...
, who analyzed the events and facts of the century and concluded that Samuel had only one brother, David. Asoghik's version is also supported by the historian Jordan Ivanov; furthermore, only one brother is mentioned on Samuel's Inscription.
The Arab historian Yahya of Antioch
Yahya of Antioch, full name Yaḥya ibn Saʿīd al-Anṭākī ( ar, يحيى بن سعيد الأنطاكي), was a Melkite, Melkite Christian physician and historian of the 11th century.
He was most likely born in Fatimid Egypt. He became a phys ...
claims that the son of Samuel, Gavril, was assassinated by the leader of the Bulgarians, son of Aaron, because Aaron belonged to the race that reigned over Bulgaria. Asoghik and Yahya clearly distinguish the race of Samuel from the one of Aaron or the race of the Cometopuli from the royal race. According to them, Moses and Aaron are not from the family of the Cometopuli. David and Samuel were of Armenian origin and Moses and Aaron were Armenian on their mother's side.
Samuel's grave was found in 1965 by Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
professor Nikolaos Moutsopoulos in the Church of St Achillios on the eponymous island in Lake Prespa
The Lake Prespa is located on the tripoint of North Macedonia, Albania, and Greece. It is a system of two lakes separated by an isthmus: the Great Prespa Lake, divided between the three countries, and the Little Prespa Lake, mostly within Greece ...
. Samuel had built the church for the relics of the saint of the same name. What is thought to have been the coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
of the House of Cometopuli, two perched parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoid ...
s, was embroidered on his funeral garment.
His remains are kept in the Museum of Byzantine Culture
The Museum of Byzantine Culture ( el, Μουσείο Βυζαντινού Πολιτισμού) is a museum in Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Greece, which opened in 1994.
History
To design the museum, a nationwide architectural competition was ...
in Thessaloniki, but according to a recent agreement, they may be returned to Bulgaria and buried in the SS. Forty Martyrs Church in Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province.
Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...
, to rest with the remains of Emperors Kaloyan and Michael Shishman
Michael Asen III ( bg, Михаил Асен III, ''Mihail Asen III'', commonly called Michael Shishman (Михаил Шишман, ''Mihail Šišman'')), ruled as tsar of Bulgaria from 1323 to 1330. The exact year of his birth is unknown but it w ...
.
Samuel's face was reconstructed to restore the appearance of the 70-year-old Bulgarian ruler. According to the reconstruction, he was a sharp-faced man, bald-headed, with a white beard and moustache.
Samuel is among the most renowned Bulgarian rulers. His military struggle with the Byzantine Empire is marked as an epic period of Bulgarian history. The great number of monuments and memorials in Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia, such as the ones in Petrich
Petrich ( bg, Петрич ) is a town in Blagoevgrad Province in southwestern Bulgaria, located in Sandanski–Petrich Valley at the foot of the Belasica Mountains in the Strumeshnitsa Valley. According to the 2021 census, the town has 26,778 ...
and Ohrid
Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...
, signify the trail this historical figure has left in the memory of the people. Four Bulgarian villages bear his name, as well as Samuel Point
Samuel Point (Nos Samuil \'nos sa-mu-'il\) is on the coast of Bransfield Strait forming the southwest side of the entrance to Brunow Bay on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The point is situated on the east side of ...
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 ...
, 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 ...
. Samuel is the main figure in at least three major Bulgarian novels by authors Dimitar Talev
Dimitar Talev ( bg, Димитър Талев) (1 September 1898 – 20 October 1966) was a Bulgarian writer, journalist, political prisoner, and member of the Bulgarian National Assembly.
Biography
Born in Prilep, in the Manastir Vilayet of t ...
, Anton Donchev
Anton Nikolov Donchev ( bg, Антон Николов Дончев, 14 September 1930 – 20 October 2022) was a Bulgarian writer of historical novels and screenwriter of Bulgarian historical drama films. In 2003 he was elected an academic at th ...
and Stefan Tsanev and also stars in the Greek novel "At the Times of the Bulgarian-Slayer" by Penelope Delta
Penelope Delta (; 1874, Alexandria, Khedivate of Egypt – 2 May 1941, Athens, Greece) was a Greek author. She is widely celebrated for her contributions to the field of children's literature. Her historical novels have been widely read and hav ...
, who closely follows the narrative flow of events as presented by St. Runciman. He is mentioned in the verse of Ivan Vazov
Ivan Minchov Vazov ( bg, Иван Минчов Вазов; – 22 September 1921) was a Bulgarian poet, novelist and playwright, often referred to as "the Patriarch of Bulgarian literature". He was born in Sopot, a town in the Rose Valley ...
, Pencho Slaveykov
Pencho Petkov Slaveykov ( bg, Пенчо Петков Славейков) (27 April 1866 O.S. – 10 June 1912 ( O.S. 28 May 1912)) was a noted Bulgarian poet and one of the participants in the Misal ("Thought") circle. He was the youngest son o ...
, and Atanas Dalchev
Atanas Hristov Dalchev (also written ''Dalčev''; bg, Атанас Далчев) (June 12, 1904 - January 17, 1978) was a Bulgarian poet, critic and translator. He was among the leading Bulgarian poets of the 1920s and 1930s. Dalchev was also a ...
as well.
Nomenclature
Overview
Samuel's empire had its heartlands in the modern region of Macedonia
Macedonia () is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time; however, it came to be defined as the modern geographical region by the mid 19th century. T ...
, west and southwest of the city of Ohrid, this earlier cultural center 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 Europ ...
. After the area was taken in 1913 after five centuries Ottoman rule by the Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...
, (later Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
), that has led to assertions by the nationalist-driven historiography there. Its main agenda was that Samuel's empire was a "Serbian"/"Macedonian Slavic" state, distinct from the Bulgarian Empire. In more recent times the same agenda has been maintained in the Republic of Macedonia, (now 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 ...
).
Practically Serbia did not exist at that time. It became independent under Časlav ca. 930, only to fall ca. 960 under Byzantine and later under Bulgarian rule. In fact that area was taken for the first time by Serbia centuries later, during the 1280s. Moreover, in Samuel's time Macedonia as a geographical term referred to part of the region of modern 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 t ...
. The "Macedonian" emperors of that period were Basil II, called "''Bulgar-Slayer''", and his 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 ...
relatives from the Macedonian dynasty
The Macedonian dynasty (Greek: Μακεδονική Δυναστεία) ruled the Byzantine Empire from 867 to 1056, following the Amorian dynasty. During this period, the Byzantine state reached its greatest extent since the Muslim conquests, ...
, originating from the territory of today's European Turkey
East Thrace or Eastern Thrace ( tr, Doğu Trakya or simply ''Trakya''; el, Ανατολική Θράκη, ''Anatoliki Thraki''; bg, Източна Тракия, ''Iztochna Trakiya''), also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the pa ...
. Most of the modern region of Macedonia was then a Bulgarian province known as Kutmichevitsa
Kutmichevitsa ( bg, Кутмичевица) was an administrative region of the Bulgarian Empire during 9th-11th cent., corresponding roughly with the northwestern part of the region of Macedonia and the southern part of Albania, broadly taken t ...
. The area was incorporated into the Byzantine Empire in 1018 as a new province called 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 ...
.
The very name of "Macedonia" for the modern region was revived only in the 19th century, after it had nearly disappeared during the five centuries of Ottoman rule. Until the early 20th century and beyond the majority of the Macedonian Slavs who had clear ethnic consciousness believed they were Bulgarians. The Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...
(1912–1913) and World War I (1914–1918) left the area divided mainly between Greece and Serbia (later Yugoslavia), which resulted in significant changes in its ethnic composition. The formerly leading Bulgarian community was reduced either by population exchanges or by change of communities' ethnic identity. The Macedonian Slavs were faced with the policy of forced Serbianisation
Serbianisation or Serbianization, also known as Serbification, and Serbisation or Serbization ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", srbizacija, србизација or sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=none, separator=" / ", posrbljavanje, посрбљавање; ...
.
Yugoslav agenda
20th-century Serbian and afterwards the Yugoslav historiography used the location of Samuel's state mainly on the territory of then Yugoslavia, to reject Bulgarian claims on the region. Thus, the Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n-born Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
n historian George Ostrogorsky
Georgiy Aleksandrovich Ostrogorskiy (russian: Георгий Александрович Острогорский; 19 January 1902 – 24 October 1976), known in Serbian as Georgije Aleksandrovič Ostrogorski ( sr-Cyrl, Георгије Алекс ...
distinguished Samuel's Empire from the Bulgarian Empire, referring to it as a "Macedonian Empire", although he recognised that Samuel's state was politically and ecclesiastically a direct descendant of the empire of Simeon I of Bulgaria
Tsar Simeon (also Symeon) I the Great ( cu, цѣсар҄ь Сѷмеѡ́нъ А҃ Вели́къ, cěsarĭ Sỳmeonŭ prĭvŭ Velikŭ bg, цар Симеон I Велики, Simeon I Veliki el, Συμεών Αʹ ὁ Μέγας, Sumeṓn prôto ...
and Peter I of Bulgaria
Peter I ( cu, Петръ А҃; bg, Петър I) (died 30 January 970) was emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 27 May 927 to 969. His seal reads ΙΠSVΟς·GRECIA·VΟΔΟ.
Early reign
Peter I was the son of Simeon I of Bulgaria by his second ma ...
, and it was regarded by Samuel and the Byzantines as being the Bulgarian Empire itself.[''History of the Byzantine State'' (Rutgers, 1969), p. 301-302.]
Some historians of the same school, such as the Serbian scholar Dragutin Anastasijević, even claimed that Samuel ruled a separate South Slavic, i.e. Serbian Empire in Macedonia, founded as result of an anti-Bulgarian rebellion.[Anastasiević, D. N. Hypothesis on Western Bulgaria (Hipoteza o Zapadnoj Bugarskoj, Хипотеза о Западноj Бугарскоj), Glasnik Skopskog nauchnog drushtva, b. III, Skopie, 1928.] The Serbs tried to popularize the ''Serbian past'' of that ''distinct state'' and its ''Serbian rulers''. The story continued in Communist Yugoslavia, where a separate Macedonian identity was formed and Samuel was depicted as a ''Macedonian Tsar''. After the breakup of Yugoslavia
The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
, these outdated theories have been rejected by authoritative Serbian historians from SANU
Sanu may refer to:
*Sanu, Iran, village in the Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran
*Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU), an academic institution in Serbia
*Sudan African National Union, a political party in Sudan
*South American native ungulate ...
as Srđan Pirivatrić and Tibor Živković Tibor Živković ( sr-cyr, Тибор Живковић; 11 March 1966 – 26 March 2013) was a reputable Serbian academic, historian and Byzantinist who specialised in the period of the Early Middle Ages.
Biography
Živković was born in Mostar, a ...
. Pirivatrić has stated, that incipient Bulgarian identity was available in Samuel's state, and it will rеmain in the area in the next centuries.
North Macedonia's view
These fringe theories
A fringe theory is an idea or a viewpoint which differs from the accepted scholarship of the time within its field. Fringe theories include the models and proposals of fringe science, as well as similar ideas in other areas of scholarship, such a ...
are still held mainly in North Macedonia, where the official state doctrine refers to an "Ethnic Macedonian" Empire, with Samuel being the first Tsar of the Macedonian Slavs.[An outline of Macedonian history from ancient times to 1991. Macedonian Embassy London. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.] However, this controversy is ahistorical, as it projects modern ethnic distinctions onto the past. There is no historical support for that assertion. Samuel and his successors considered their state Bulgarian. They were never called by their contemporaries "Macedonians", but simply ''Bulgarians'' and rarely '' Misians''. The last designation arose because then Bulgaria occupied traditionally the lands of the former Roman province of Moesia
Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...
. Despite these facts multiple examples of animosity between Bulgaria and North Macedonia have been registered, due to disputes over Samuil's ethnic affiliation and this issue is still highly sensitive.
Nevertheless, on a meeting in Sofia in June 2017, Prime Ministers Boyko Borisov
Boyko Metodiev Borisov ( bg, Бойко Методиев Борисов, ; born 13 June 1959) is a Bulgarian politician who served as the prime minister of Bulgaria from 2009 to 2013, 2014 to 2017, and 2017 to 2021, making him Bulgaria's secon ...
and Zoran Zaev
Zoran Zaev ( mk, Зоран Заев, ; born 8 October 1974) is a Macedonian economist and politician who served as prime minister of North Macedonia from May 2017 to January 2020, and again from August 2020 to January 2022.
Prior to entering ...
laid flowers at the monument of Tsar Samuil together, articulating optimism that the two countries can finally resolve their open issues by signing a long-delayed agreement on good-neighborly relations. The governments of Bulgaria and North Macedonia signed the friendship treaty in the same year, which was ratified by the two Parliaments in 2018. On its ground, a bilateral expert committee on historical issues was formed. In February 2019, at a meeting of the committee, involving Bulgarian and Macedonian scientists, the two sides agreed to propose to their governments that Tsar Samuel may be celebrated jointly. The Macedonian side also conceded, that he was Tsar of Bulgaria
The monarchs of Bulgaria ruled the country during three periods of Bulgaria's history as an independent country: from the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681 to the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria in 1018; from the Uprising of Asen ...
. Nevertheless in December 2020 North Macedonia's part from the joint committee withdrew from this decision. According to its view, Tsar Samuel had to be portrayed in one way in North Macedonia's textbooks, and in another during joint commemorations.
In August 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia published official recommendations of the Joint Historical Commission operating between the two countries. There, the governments in Sofia and Skopje are offered a joint commemoration of Samuel, who, according to the commission, was the ruler of a large medieval state, which the majority of modern historical scholarship considers to be the Bulgarian empire itself, centered in the territory of today's North Macedonia.[Пробив в историческата комисия: Цар Самуил е владетел на българско царство]
Dir.bg. 15.08.2022
See also
* Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars
* Bulgarian-Hungarian Wars
* Croatian-Bulgarian Wars
*Medieval Bulgarian Army
The medieval Bulgarian army was the primary military body of the First and the Second Bulgarian Empires, and some Puppet states of the former, like the Despotate of Dobruja. During the first decades after the foundation of the country, the army c ...
*Cometopuli dynasty
The Kometopuli dynasty ( Bulgarian: ,
Bulgarian; ; Byzantine Greek: , ) was the last royal dynasty in the First Bulgarian Empire, ruling from ca. 976 until the fall of Bulgaria under Byzantine rule in 1018. The most notable member of the dyn ...
*Bitola inscription
The Bitola inscription is a stone inscription from the First Bulgarian Empire written in the Old Church Slavonic language in the Cyrillic alphabet. Currently, it is located at the Institute and Museum of Bitola, North Macedonia among the permanent ...
*Samuil's Inscription
Samuil's Inscription represents the content found on the tombstone of Samuel of Bulgaria's parents, erected in 992/3. This inscription, which was made by the order of Tsar Samuel, mentions the names of his parents and of his brother David.
Curr ...
* Armenians in Bulgaria
Armenians ( bg, арменци, ''armentsi'') are the fifth largest minority, after Russians, in Bulgaria, numbering 6,552 according to the 2011 census, down from 10,832 in 2001, while Armenian organizations estimate up to 80,000. Armenians have ...
Footnotes
:1. ''Bulgarian'' ъ'' can be transliterated ''a'', ''u'', or sometimes ''â'', as in ''български'', ''balgarski'' (as below) or ''bulgarski''.
:2. The work of Vasil Zlatarski, ''History of the Bulgarian state in the Middle Ages'' has three editions. The first edition is from 1927 published in Sofia; the second edition is from 1971 and can be found her
in Bulgarian; the third edition is from 1994 published in Sofia,
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* David Marshall Lang, Lang, David Marshal, ''The Bulgarians: from pagan times to the Ottoman conquest''. Boulder, Colo. : Westview Press, 1976.
*
* Ostrogorsky, George, ''History of the Byzantine State''. tr. (from the German) by Joan Hussey, rev. ed., Rutgers Univ. Press, 1969.
*Pavlov P.
Samuil and the Bulgarian epopee (in Bulgarian)
SofiaVeliko Tarnovo, 2002
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Яхъя Антиохийский, Летопись 1–6
7–17
Отрывок из Иоанна Скилицы о битве у горы Беласица
Detailed list of Bulgarian rulers (PDF)
*Catherine Holmes,
''
* Naum Kayche
On Unifying Around Our Common History – Tsar Samuil Erga Omnes
respublica.edu.mk, 7. april 2021
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel Of Bulgaria
1014 deaths
Rulers in medieval Macedonia
Ohrid
Bulgarian Christians
Eastern Orthodox monarchs
Bulgarian people of Armenian descent
10th-century Bulgarian emperors
11th-century Bulgarian emperors
Cometopuli dynasty
Bulgarian people of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars
Burials at the Church of St Achillios (Lake Prespa)