Samuel of Bulgaria
Tsar of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 1014 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Samuel (also Samoil[2] or Samuil; Bulgarian: Самуил, pronounced [sɐmuˈiɫ]; Macedonian: Самоил/Самуил,[3][4] pronounced [samɔˈiɫ/sɐmuˈiɫ]; Old Church Slavonic: Самоилъ; died 6 October 1014) was the Tsar (Emperor) of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014.[5] From 977 to 997, he was a general under Roman I of Bulgaria,[6] the second surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria, and co-ruled with him, as Roman bestowed upon him the command of the army and the effective royal authority.[7] As Samuel struggled to preserve his country's independence from the Byzantine Empire, his rule was characterized by constant warfare against the Byzantines and their equally ambitious ruler Basil II.
Samuel | |
---|---|
Tsar of Bulgaria | |
Reign | 997 – 6 October 1014 |
Predecessor | Roman |
Successor | Gavril Radomir |
Died | 6 October 1014 Prespa,[1] First Bulgarian Empire |
Spouses | Agatha |
Issue | Gavril Radomir Miroslava |
Dynasty | Cometopuli |
Father | Nicholas |
Mother | Ripsimia of Armenia |
Religion | Bulgarian Orthodox |
In his early years, Samuel managed to inflict several major defeats on the Byzantines and to launch offensive campaigns into their territory.[8] In the late 10th century, the Bulgarian armies conquered the Serb principality of Duklja[9] and led campaigns against the Kingdoms of Croatia and Hungary. But from 1001, he was forced mainly to defend the Empire against the superior Byzantine armies. Samuel died of a heart attack on 6 October 1014, two months after the catastrophic battle of Kleidion. 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.[10]
Samuel was considered "invincible in power and unsurpassable in strength".[11][12] Similar comments were made even in Constantinople, where John Kyriotes penned a poem offering a punning comparison between the Bulgarian Emperor and Halley's comet, which appeared in 989.[13][14] During Samuel's reign, Bulgaria gained control of most of the Balkans (with the notable exception of Thrace) as far as southern Greece. He moved the capital from Skopje to Ohrid,[8][15] which had been the cultural and military centre of southwestern Bulgaria since Boris I's rule,[16] and made the city the seat of the Bulgarian Patriarchate. Because of this, his realm is sometimes called the Western Bulgarian Empire.[17][18] Samuel's energetic reign restored Bulgarian might on the Balkans, even though the Empire was disestablished after his death.