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Samuil (also Samuel) ruled as Emperor (Tsar) of First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014, having prior to that co-ruled with Roman between 976 and 997. In practice, Samuel de facto ruled from 976 on, as Roman bestowed the command of the army and the actual authorities to the talented general. An energetic ruler, Samuil struggled to preserve his country's independence from the Byzantines. His rule was characterized by a constant state of war against the Byzantine Empire and its similarly ambitious ruler Basil II. During his reign, Bulgaria gained control of most of the Balkans with the exception of Thrace and southern Greece. He moved the capital from Skopje to Ohrid, which had been the cultural and military centre of southwestern Bulgaria since Boris I's rule, and also made the city the seat of the Bulgarian Patriarchate. Although Samuil's reign brought the end of the First Bulgarian Empire, he is regarded as a heroic ruler. Early life and the Comitopuli Samuil was the fourth and youngest son of Comita Nikola, most likely Count of Sredets (Sofia) and the Armenian princess Ripsimia. His father, who had close links with the royal court in Preslav, died in 970. In the same year the four brothers David, Moses, Aron and Samuil rebelled against the alliance of Boris II and John I Tzimiskes, in which they saw an attempt of the Byzantines to seize the power in Bulgaria without struggle. This apprehension was confirmed when Boris II was deceived by the Byzantines and forced to abdicate in Constantinople in 971. The triumphant Tzimiskes announced the annexation of Bulgaria but de facto he controlled only the northeastern parts of the country, including the capital Preslav and the seat of the patriarchate Drastar (Silistra). The lands to the west of the Iskar River remained under the control of the four Comitopuli (Kometopouloi, i.e., "the sons of the Count"), as the four brothers were called in Byzantine sources. In 973, they sent envoys to the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I in Quedlinburg in an attempt to secure the protection of their lands. The Byzantines seize the capital Preslav. The brothers ruled together in a specific tetrarchy. The eldest brother, David, governed the southernmost regions and lead the defence of one of the most dangerous border areas around Thessaloniki and Thessaly. The centres of his possessions were Prespa and Kastoria. The seat of the second brother was Strumitsa, which would be used a base for assaults to the Aegean coast and Serres. Aron ruled from Sredets, from where he was to stop enemy invasions on the main road from Adrianople to Belgrade, as well as to launch attacks towards Thrace. Samuil was responsible for the northwestern regions of the realm and his seat was the strong fortress of Vidin. He was also to organize the liberation of the conquered areas to the east and the reconquest of Preslav. Some records suggest that David played a major role in this tumultuous period of Bulgarian history. Even before the fall of Preslav, the Bulgarians defeated the Asian army of Byzantium under the eunuch Peter on the outskirts of Plovdiv in 970. Between 971 and 975, there were numerous skirmishes and minor battles and the Bulgarian detachments harassed the Byzantine possessions in the Balkans. The death of John I Tzimiskes on 11 January 976 unleashed bitter and bloody military actions: upon the news of his death, the Comitopuli launched an assault along the whole border. Only within the first weeks of the assault the two eldest brothers perished: David was killed by Vlach vagrants and Moses was fatally injured by a stone during the siege of Serres. The actions of the elder brothers to the south detained many Byzantine troops and eased the long-prepared liberation of northeastern Bulgaria which successfully took place under Samuil: the Byzantine commander was defeated and retreated to Crimea. Any Bulgarian nobles and officials who had not opposed the Byzantine conquest of the region were executed, and the war continued to the north of the Danube until the enemy was scattered and the Bulgarian rule to the north of the river restored. Death of Aron and gain of power After the serious defeats on the Balkan front, the Byzantine Empire descended into a civil war. The commander of the Asian army, Bardas Skleros, rebelled in Asia Minor and sent troops under his son Romanos in Thrace to besiege Constantinople. The new Emperor Basil II did not have enough manpower to fight against both the Bulgarians and the rebels and resorted to treason, conspiracy and complicated diplomatic plots. During the civil wars in the Byzantine Empire, the Bulgarians not only regained their positions on the Balkans, but advanced deep into enemy territory. The main target became Aron, whose lands were close to Thrace and it was easier to exert pressure on him. In addition, he had become the eldest living of the Comitopuli and was tempted by an alliance with the Byzantines and the opportunity to seize power in Bulgaria only for himself. The negotiations seemed possible because Basil II would spare no efforts and promises to distract a possible alliance between the Bulgarians and Skleros. Soon, the two sides reached an agreement and according to the medieval convention, Aron asked for the emperor's sister's hand. Basil II pretended to have agreed, but sent the wife of one of his officials with the bishop of Sevast but the deceit was uncovered and the bishop killed. Nonetheless, the negotiations proceeded and concluded in a peace agreement. The historian, Skylitzes, writes that Aron desired to take the power alone and that he "sympathized with the Romans". Samuil was made aware of the conspiracy and the conflict between the two brothers was inevitable. The quarrel broke out in the vicinity of Dupnitsa on 14 June 976 and ended with the total annihilation of Aron's kin. His son Ivan Vladislav was the only one who evaded death due to the vindication of Samuil's son Gavril Radomir. After his retribution, practically all power and authority in the state passed into Samuil's hands and the danger of internal conflicts was eliminated. Co-rule with Roman The Byzantine cavalry fighting in northern BulgariaThe frustration of the Byzantine plans to use Aron to cause instability in Bulgaria forced them to use their last remedy: to encourage the rightful heirs to the throne, Boris II and Roman, to oppose Samuil. Basil II hoped that they would win the support of the nobility and isolate Samuil or perhaps even start a Bulgarian civil war. In 977, Boris and Roman were allowed to escape from prison, but as they were passing through a forested area around the border, Boris II was shot dead by the Bulgarian guards who were misled by his Byzantine clothing. Roman, who was walking at some distance behind his brother, managed to identify himself to the patrol. Roman was taken to Vidin, where he was proclaimed Emperor of Bulgaria. Samuil became his first assistant and general and together they gathered an army and fought the Byzantines. There, Samuil was certain to eventually become Roman's successor, as the latter was castrated during his captivity[clarify] and could not have heirs. The new emperor also entrusted Samuil with the state affairs and was occupied with the church and religion. As the main efforts of Basil II were concentrated against the rebel Skleros, Samuil's armies easily launched attacks on the entire European possessions of the Byzantine Empire. He invaded not only Thrace and the area of Thessaloniki, but also Thessaly, Hellas and Peloponnese. Many Byzantine fortresses fell under Bulgarian rule. Samuil desired to seize the important fortress of Larissa, which controlled the key routes to Thessaly. Between 977 and 983, the area around the town was blocked. Starvation eventually forced the Byzantines to surrender. The population of the town was deported to the interior of the country and forced to enlist in the Bulgarian army. Basil II sent his forces in the region, but was defeated and after the conquest of Thessaly, Bulgaria won the battle with Byzantium for influence in the southwestern Balkans. From Larissa, Samuil took the relics of St Achillios, which were laid in a specially built church of the same name on an island in Lake Prespa. The major successes in the west raised justifiable fears in Constantinople, and after serious preparations, Basil II launched a campaign in the very centre of the Bulgarian Empire in order to distract Samuil from southern Greece. The Byzantine army passed through the mountains around Ihtiman and besieged Sofia in 986. For 20 days, the Byzantine assaults proved to be fruitless and even disastrous: several times, the Bulgarians came out of the city, slaughtering many enemy soldiers and capturing draught animals and horses. Eventually, the Bulgarian troops burned the siege equipment of the invaders. Defeated, Basil II had to withdraw to Thrace. However, on 17 August 986, while passing through the mountains, the Byzantine army was thoroughly routed at the Trajan's Gate Pass. This was a significant blow for Basil, who was one of the few to return in Constantinople; his personal treasure was captured by the victors. The Bulgarians defeat the Byzantines in the battle of Thessaloniki. After the defeat, the Byzantine Empire descended into a civil war after the rebellion of Bardas Phocas. Samuil seized that favourable opportunity 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 and Servia. In the south, the Bulgarians marched throughout Epirus, in the west they seized the area of modern Durrës on the Adriatic Sea. The defeat at SpercheiosIn 990, the civil war in Byzantium ended: in 989, Phocas had been killed and his followers had surrendered, and in the following year Basil II reached an agreement with Skleros. The Byzantines focused their attention on Bulgaria, and in 991 they counter-attacked. In the same year the Bulgarian army was defeated and Emperor Roman was captured while Samuil managed to escape. The Byzantines took the initiative and conquered some areas; however, in 995, the Arabs invaded Asia Minor and Basil II was forced to move many of his troops against this threat. Samuil quickly regained the lost lands and advanced southwards. In 996, he defeated the Byzntines in the battle of Thessaloniki, whose governor Gregorios perished in the fight, while his son Ashot was captured. Inspired by this success, the Bulgarians continued the campaign further to the south. They marched through Thessaly, overcame the defensive wall at the Thermopylae and entered Peloponnese, devastating everything on their way. The Byzantines recovered and an army under Nikephorus Uranos was sent after the Bulgarians. The two armies met near the flooded river of Spercheios. The Bulgarians did not expect that the Byzantines would find a ford, but this was exactly what they did; on 19 July 996, they surprised the unprepared Bulgarian army and routed it in the battle of Spercheios. Samuil himself was wounded in the arm and barely escaped captivity due to his inventiveness: he and his son allegedly pretended to be dead and after nightfall headed towards Bulgaria. His arm healed at an angle of 140° after to the long 400 km journey home. Rule as Emperor In 997, Emperor Roman died in captivity in Constantinople. With his death, the line of rulers started by Krum ended as Roman had no children. No legitimate heirs to the Bulgarian crown remained alive, and, due to the waging war with Byzantium, the throne could not be left vacant for a long time. The choice fell upon the person with closest relations to the deceased emperor and his long-standing military commander. Thus, in the same year Samuil was proclaimed Emperor of Bulgaria. The presbyter of Duklja also marked the event: "By that time among the Bulgarian people rose one Samuil, 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." The establishment of a new dynasty required international recognition. The constant war with the Byzantine Empire meant definitely that such recognition could not be received from Constantinople, so the only possible alternative was Rome. The act of recognition from the Pope would also mean a serious blow to the Byzantine positions in the Balkans, which was profitable for both sides, and Samuil possibly received his imperial crown from Pope Gregory V. War against the Serbs and betrothal of daughters In 998, Samuil launched a major campaign against the Serbian principality of Duklja to prevent an eventual alliance between prince Jovan Vladimir and the Byzantines. When the Bulgarian troops reached Dalmatia, the Serbian prince withdrew to the mountains along with his people. The Bulgarian emperor left part of the army at the foot of the mountains and led the remaining soldiers inland to besiege the Ulcinj fortress. Samuil wanted to avoid bloodshed and asked Jovan Vladimir to surrender. After the refusal of the prince, 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 sent into exile to Samuil's palaces in Prespa. After this success, the Bulgarian troops went through Dalmatia, advanced towards Kotor, took control of the town and set off to Dubrovnik. The attempts to seize that town remained unsuccessful and Samuil devastated the surrounding villages. The Bulgarian army continued its advance to the northwest up to Split, Trogir and Zadar; after that they marched to the northeast through Bosnia and Raška and returned home to Bulgaria. While Jovan Vladimir was spending time in captivity, Samuil's daughter Theodora Kosara fell in love with the prisoner and asked her father to allow her to marry him. Samuil gave his assent and Jovan Vladimir married the Bulgarian princess, after which he was sent back to his lands as a Bulgarian official along with his uncle Dragomir, who was a trusted man of Samuil. Meanwhile, Princess Miroslava lost her heart to another noble captive, Ashot, and threatened her father that she would commit suicide if not allowed to marry the Byzantine noble. Samuil conceded and appointed Ashot as governor of the important Drach Province, but later Ashot betrayed Samuil and persuaded his wife to board a ship and flee to Constantinople, where their treason was generously rewarded. At the same time, Samuil allied with the Kingdom of Hungary. The alliance was fastened with a marriage between Gavril Radomir, Samuil's eldest son and heir, and the daughter of the Hungarian Ruling Prince Géza. Advance of the Byzantines Since the beginning of the new millennium, the balance in Byzantine-Bulgarian relations turned in favour of the Byzantines. By that time, Basil II's army was stronger and by far outnumbered the Bulgarians. The Byzantine Emperor was firmly determined to conquer Bulgaria once and for all. He moved much of the battle-seasoned war potential from the eastern campaigns against the Arabs to the Balkans and Samuil was forced mainly to defend his country instead of attacking. In 1001, Basil II sent a large army under Thoedorokan and Nicephorus Xiphias to the north of the Balkan Mountains to seize the main Bulgarian fortress in the area. The Byzantine troops seized Preslav as well as Pliska and returned intact. Thus, north-eastern Bulgaria fell under Byzantine rule for a second time. In the next year, the Byzantines struck in the opposite direction. Basil II marched through Thessaloniki to the west to tear off Thessaly and the southernmost parts of the Bulgarian Empire. When the enemy armies reached the strong fortress of Veria, its commander Dobromir, who was married to one of Samuil's nieces, did not put up any resistance and voluntarily changed sides. Without a fight, Basil captured the fortress of Kolidron, but its commander Dimitar Tihon managed to pull back with his soldiers and joined Samuil. The next town, Servia, did not fall so easily. Its governor Nikulitsa organized the defence well and fought bravely until the Byzantines eventually penetrated the walls and the defenders had to surrender. Nikulitsa was taken to Constantinople and honoured with the high title of patricius, but he soon escaped and joined the Bulgarians who were trying to retake Servia. The siege was unsuccessful and he was captured again and imprisoned. Meanwhile, Basil II continued his campaign and seized many towns in Thessaly. He forced the Bulgarian population of the conquered areas to settle in the Voleron area between the Mesta and Maritsa rivers. In the end, he reached the important town of Edessa. The town stiffly resisted for weeks, but after a prolonged siege it was conquered. 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. The loyal Bulgarian noble could not bear that and made three unsuccessful attempts to flee to Bulgaria until he was executed. War with Hungary The Byzantine-Bulgarian conflict reached its highest tension in 1003 when Hungary became involved. Since the beginning of the 9th century, the Bulgarian territory stretched beyond the Carpathian Mountains as far as the Tisza river and the middle Danube. During the reign of Samuil, the governor of these northwestern parts of the realm was Duke Ahtum, the grandson of Duke Glad, who was defeated by the Hungarians in 930s. His seat was Vidin. Ahtum commanded a strong army and firmly defended the northwestern borders of the Empire. He also built many churches and monasteries through which he was spreading Christianity in Transylvania. After the marriage of Gavril Radomir to the daughter of the Hungarian ruler, Géza, the two strongest states in the Danube area established friendly relations. After the death of Géza, the throne of his son Stephen I was threatened by his rivals Gyula and Koppány, who were supported by the Bulgarians, and the relations between the two countries deteriorated. The first step in that direction was the dissolution of the marriage between Gavril Radomir and the Hungarian princess. Then, the Hungarians attacked Ahtum, who directly backed the pretenders for the Hungarian crown. In answer of the Bulgarian interference, Stephen I enrolled Hanadin, the right-hand man of Ahtum. When this conspiracy was uncovered, Hanadin, being under threat of custody, fled and returned to Bulgaria with Hungarian forces. At the same time, a strong Byzantine army besieged Vidin. This consumed many soldiers for the defence of the town, which was organized by Duke Ahtum. The Duke himself was occupied with the war to the north. Several months later his troops were defeated by the Hungarians and he perished in the battle. As a result of the war, Bulgarian influence to the northwest of the Danube diminished. Further Byzantine successes The first decade of the new millennium was abundant in constant bloody battles, sieges and skirmishes. This picture shows a Byzantine victory in that period.The Byzantines made use of the difficulties which the Bulgarians faced to the north. In 1003, a large army led by Basil II reached the walls of Vidin, northwestern Bulgaria's most important town. The siege lasted for eight whole months, but the invaders could not capture the fortress by force. The commanders of the town skilfully repulsed any attempt of the enemy to break its defence and managed to cope with the Greek fire. While Basil's forces were engaged in fighting there, Samuil struck in the opposite direction: on 15 August he attacked Adrianople, plundered the whole area and victoriously returned. The Byzantines persistently continued the siege and in the end the town was seized due to the betrayal of the local bishop. After his major success, Basil II decided to go back to Constantinople, but he feared an encounter with the Bulgarian army on the main road to his capital and chose another route. The Byzantines marched south through the Morava valley and reached one of the key Bulgarian cities, Skopje, in 1004. The Bulgarian army was camping on the opposite side of the Vardar River and Basil II attacked it and defeated Samuil in the same way as at Sprecheios. Thereupon, the Byzantines continued their way to the east and besieged the strong fortress of Pernik. Its governor Krakra was distinguished with his military skills and was not seduced by Basil's promises for a noble title and wealth. Krakra successfully defended the fortress and after the Byzantines suffered heavy losses, they were eventually forced to withdraw to Thrace. In the same year, Samuil undertook a march against Thessaloniki. He ambushed and captured its governor, Ioan Hald, but this success could not compensate for the losses which the Bulgarians had suffered in the past four years. The setbacks in the war inevitably had a demoralizing effect on some of Samuil's military commanders, especially among the captured Byzantine nobles. The governor of Drach, Ashot, established contacts with the local Byzantines and the influential Ioan Chrisilios, who was Samuil's father-in-law. He boarded one of the enemy ships which beleaguered the town and fled to Constantinople with his wife. In the meantime, Chrisilios surrendered Drach to the Byzantine chief Eustatios Daphnomil in 1005 and thus secured the title of patricius for his sons. Between 1006 and 1013, neither side achieved any significant success and there was no change in the balance of power. In 1006-1007, Basil II penetrated deep into Bulgarian territory and in 1009 Samuil's forces were defeated at Kreta to the east of Thessaloniki. The Byzantine emperor launched annual campaigns into Bulgarian territory, devastating and ravaging everything on his way. Although there was still no decisive battle, it was clear that the end of the Bulgarian resistance was imminent; the evidence for that was the fierceness and bitterness of the military engagements and the constant campaigns of both sides which devastated the Bulgarian and Byzantine lands. Disaster at Kleidion The outcome came in 1014. Samuil knew that the Byzantines usually used the valley of the Strumitsa River for their invasions in his realm. He decided to build a thick wooden wall in the gorges around the village of Klyuch (Kleidion, "key") to bar the way of the enemy. When Basil II set off for his next campaign in the summer of 1014, his army was stopped and the assaults against the wall were repulsed with heavy casualties. The Byzantines spent several days in futile attempts to break through the defence. Then, one of the Byzantine commanders, the governor of Plovdiv Nicephorus Xiphias, found a by-pass and on 29 July attacked the Bulgarians from the rear. Despite the desperate resistance and the personal bravery of Gavril Radomir, the Byzantines overwhelmed the Bulgarian army and captured around 14,000 soldiers. According other sources the captured Bulgarians ware 15,000. Basil II immediately sent forces under his favorite commander Theophylactus Botaniates to pursue the surviving Bulgarians, but they were defeated after an audacious counter-attack by Gavril Radomir, who personally killed Botaniates. After that, under the order of Basil II, the captured men were blinded; there was one left one-eyed to lead every one hundred blinded home. They were sent back to Samuil, who, at that sight, had a heart attack and died two days later, on 15 October 1014. This savagery gave the Byzantine emperor his byname Boulgaroktonos ("Bulgar-slayer"). Some historians theorize it was the death of his favorite commander that infuriated Basil II to blind the captured soldiers. The battle of Kleidon was a major military defeat with catastrophic political consequences. Emperor Samuil, whose name had become a symbol of the struggle for the independence of Bulgaria, died soon after the battle, and although his son and successor, Gavril Radomir, was a talented military leader, the previous power of the Bulgarian Empire could not be restored and Bulgaria was thoroughly conquered by the end of 1018, after many other bloody battles. Now that Samuil was dead, many of his subordinates surrendered to the Byzantines, including Krakra. In the deep north-northwest, the duke of Syrmia, Sermon, was deceived and killed by the Byzantines. After the conquest of Samuil's Empire most of the territory of his state was incorporated in the new theme Bulgaria. Family Samuil married Agatha, whose origin is unknown. They had five children: Garvrail Radomir, who was the eldest heir to the throne, and four daughters - Theodora Kosara, Miroslava, Katun Anastasiya and Agatha. Gavrail Radomir married twice, to Ilona of Hungary and Irina from Larisa; Kosara married the Prince of Duklya, Ivan Vladimir; Miroslava married the captured Byzantine noble Ashot and Katun Anastasiya married the Hungarian noble Vazul. After the fall of Bulgaria, the descendants of Samuil's kin assumed important positions in the Byzantine court after they were resettled and given lands in Asia Minor and Armenia. One of his granddaughters, Catherine, even bacame Empress of Byzantium. Another of Samuil's grandchildren, Peter II Delyan tried to restore the Bulgarian Empire after a major uprising in 1040-1041. Two other women of the dynasty became Byzantine Empresses, while many nobles were strategos and governors of different provinces. Grave In 1965, the Greek professor Nikolaos Mutsupulos uncovered the grave of Samuil on an island in Lake Prespa. The body of the emperor was discovered in the Church of St Achillios, which he had built for the relics of the saint of the same name. The coat of arms of the Comitopuli house, two perched parrots, was embroidered on his funeral garment. His mortal remains are currently kept in a secret location in Greece, but according to a recent agreement, they may be returned to Bulgaria and buried in the SS Forty Martyrs Church in Veliko Tarnovo by April 2007, where they shall rest along with the remains of two other emperors, Kaloyan and Michael Shishman. By means of reconstruction of the skull, the appearance of the 70-year-old Bulgarian ruler has been restored. He was sharp-faced man, bald-headed with white beard and moustache. Other theories In addition to the internationally established treatment of facts regarding Samuil's life and rule, there also exists a minority theory. Initially it was popularized by political reasons in Kingdom of Serbia and then further developed in Yugoslavia by D. Anastasijevic, G. Ostrogorrsky and others. In his book History of the Byzantine State Ostrogorsky wrote that all contemporaries and the people of Samuil's state believed it was a Bulgarian empire, but because of its different, westernmore placing it was another state. Anastasijevic claimed that the state Samuil ruled was in fact a separate Slavic Empire. It was founded as a result of an anti-Bulgarian rebellion of the Comitopuli, as opposed to a continuation of the Bulgarian state. Today this theory is only popular in the Republic of Macedonia, also to a lesser extent in Serbia (with modern scholars such as S. Pirivatric rejecting it). In Republic of Macedonia it is often changed to refer to a "Macedonian Slavic" or even only "Macedonian" Empire. This is despite the different location of the geographic area of Macedonia in the Middle Ages and the anachronism. Authoritative modern encyclopedias such as Encyclopædia Britannica and Encarta both consider Samuil a Bulgarian ruler, and the Columbia Encyclopedia clearly states that it was the Bulgarian Empire that crumbled under Byzantine attacks in 1018. Older issues such as the Great Soviet Encyclopedia also stated Samuil was Tsar of West Bulgaria. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William B.
