Comitopuli dynasty
Encyclopedia
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
, ruling from ca. 976 until the fall of Bulgaria under Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
rule in 1018. The most notable member of the dynasty, tsar Samuel is famous for successfully resisting Byzantine conquest for more than 40 years.
Origin and members
The actual name of the dynasty is not known. “Cometopuli” is merely the nickname which is used by Byzantine historians to address rulers from the dynasty as its founder, boyar Nikola, was a comes (governor, cognate to "count"; Byzantine Greek Κóμης, from the Latin; Bulgarian Комита Komita) probably of the region of Sredetz (the present-day capital of Bulgaria, SofiaSofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
). According to some sources the dynasty was of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n origin. In 969 AD and following the Russian conquest of northeastern Bulgaria
Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria
Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria refers to a conflict beginning in 967/968 and ending in 971, carried out in the eastern Balkans and involving the Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, and the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines instigated the Rus' ruler Sviatoslav to attack Bulgaria, leading to the collapse of the...
, count Nikola assumed control of the Bulgarian lands west of the Iskar
Iskar
The Iskar is, with a length of 368 km, the longest river that runs solely in Bulgaria, and a tributary of the Danube.The Iskar is formed by three rivers, the Cherni Iskar, Beli Iskar and Levi Iskar , with the source being accepted to be the Prav Iskar, a tributary of the Cherni Iskar...
. By the time of the Byzantine conquest of Preslav
Preslav
Preslav was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire from 893 to 972 and one of the most important cities of medieval Southeastern Europe. The ruins of the city are situated in modern northeastern Bulgaria, some 20 kilometres southwest of the regional capital of Shumen, and are currently a...
and the dethronement of Tsar Boris II
Boris II of Bulgaria
Boris II was emperor of Bulgaria from 969 to 977 .-Reign:Boris II was the eldest surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria and Maria Lakapena, a granddaughter of Emperor Romanos I Lakapenos of Byzantium...
in 972, Nikola had been killed and the rule assumed by his four sons, David, Aaron
Aron of Bulgaria
Aron was a Bulgarian noble, brother of Emperor Samuil of Bulgaria and third son of Comita Nikola, Duke of Sofia. After the fall of the eastern parts of the country under Byzantine occupation in 971, he and his three brothers David, Moses and Samuil continued the resistance to the west...
, Moses, and Samuil
Samuil of Bulgaria
Samuel was the Emperor of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 980 to 997, he was a general under Roman I of Bulgaria, 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...
. David led the defence of southwestern Bulgaria and resided in Prespa, Moses of southeastern Bulgaria residing in Strumica
Strumica
Strumica is the largest city in eastern Macedonia, near the Novo Selo-Petrich border crossing with Bulgaria. About 100,000 people live in the region surrounding the city. The city is named after the Strumica River which runs through it...
, Aaron ruled over the region of Sredetz, whereas Samuel was in charge of northern Bulgaria with the town of Bdin (Vidin
Vidin
Vidin is a port town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Serbia and Romania, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin...
).
Both David and Moses lost their lives early – David was murdered by wandering Vlachs, whereas Moses died during the siege of Serres
Serres
Serres is a city in Greece, seat of the Serres prefecture.Serres may also refer to:Places:* Serres, Germany, a part of Wiernsheim in Baden-WürttembergIn France:* Serres, Aude in the Aude département...
. A conflict broke out between Samuil and Aaron as the latter grew more and more pro-Byzantine and on June 14, 976 Aaron was executed near Dupnitza. Later the same year, the dethroned Boris II
Boris II of Bulgaria
Boris II was emperor of Bulgaria from 969 to 977 .-Reign:Boris II was the eldest surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria and Maria Lakapena, a granddaughter of Emperor Romanos I Lakapenos of Byzantium...
and his brother, Roman, managed to escape from captivity in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and reached the borders of Bulgaria. Boris II was, however, killed by mistake by the border guards. As a result, it was Roman who was crowned as Bulgarian Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
although real power and the control of the army lay in the hands of Samuel. It was not until the death of Roman in 997 that Samuel (Samuil) was officially crowned as Tsar in the absence of any other direct heirs to the throne. After the death of Samuel in 1014, the crown passed on to his son, Gavril Radomir (1014 – 1015). In 1015, he was murdered by his first cousin and son of Aaron, Ivan Vladislav. With his own death in 1018 the First Bulgarian Empire
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
came to an end. An attempt at restoration of Bulgarian independence was made some 20 years later by Peter (II) Delyan (1040-1041), son of Gavril Radomir. He, aided by his cousin Alusian
Alusian of Bulgaria
Alusian was a Bulgarian and Byzantine noble who ruled as emperor of Bulgaria for a short time in 1041.-Life:Alusian was the second son of Emperor Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria by his wife Maria...
organised an uprising and managed to push away the Byzantines from Ohrid for a short period, but was eventually betrayed by Alusian. Alusian's heirs were given noble titles and land in the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
.
Family tree
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. Оne of his granddaughters, Catherine, became empress of Byzantium. Another grandchild, Peter II Delyan, led an attempt to restore the Bulgarian Empire after a major uprising in 10401041Bulgarian uprising against the Byzantine Empire (1040-1041)
The Uprising of Peter Delyan , which took place in 1040-1041, was a major Bulgarian rebellion against the Byzantine Empire. It was the largest and best-organised attempt to restore the former Bulgarian Empire until the rebellion of Ivan Asen I and Petar IV in 1185.-Prerequisites for the...
. Two other women of the dynasty became Byzantine empresses, while many nobles served in the army as strategos
Strategos
Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
or became governors of various provinces.
Nomenclature
There has been a debate among historians, in which some view the empire during the reign of the Cometopuli as a separate entity from the First Bulgarian Empire. The Byzantinologist George OstrogorskyGeorge Ostrogorsky
George Alexandrovič Ostrogorsky was a Russian-born Yugoslavian historian and Byzantinist who acquired worldwide reputations in Byzantine studies.-Biography:...
discusses the issue and concludes that to its creators and to the Byzantines it was simply Bulgarian kingdom, but for various geographical, political and religious factors he labels their state Macedonian Empire. Dimitri Obolensky
Dimitri Obolensky
Sir Dimitri Obolensky was born Prince Dmitriy Dmitrievich Obolensky to Prince Dimitri Alexandrovich Obolensky and Countess Maria Shuvalov . He was descended from Rurik, Igor, Svyatoslav, St Vladimir of Kiev, St Michael of Chernigov, and Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov...
, another Byzantinologist, refers to Samuil's state as an "independend empire of Western Bulgaria" that originated in Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
. The Cometopuli kept the title "Emperor of Bulgarians", but some aspects that appeared during their reign, made their state differ from the Bulgarian empire. Some other authors also distinguish it as a Western Bulgarian Empire, but most of the scholars see the dynasty as a direct continuation of the First Bulgarian Empire. However in the Republic of Macedonia the official state historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
refers to it as "Slavic Macedonian", or even "ethnic Macedonian" Empire.
Literature
- Степанос Таронеци-Асохик (Asoghik, Stepanos T., 10th - 11th c.). Всеобщая история Степаноса Таронского - Асохика по прoзванию, писателя ХІ столетия. Перевод с армянскoго и объяснения Н.Эминым. Москва, Типография Лазаревского института восточных языков. 1864. ХVІІІ, 335 стр.
- Asoghik (Stepanos de Taron). L'histoire universelle, Paris, 1859. Translation in German, Leipzig, 1907.
- Stepanos, Tarōnetsi (Stepanos Asoghik Taronetsi, 10th-11th c.) Tiezerakan patmutyun, Erevan, 2000.
- Adontz, Nikoghayos. Samuel l'Armenien, Roi des Bulgares. Bruxelles, Palais des academies, 1938.
- Adontz, Nicolas. Etudes Armeno-Byzantines. Livraria Bertrand. Lisbonne, 1965.
- Lang, David M. The Bulgarians, London, 1976.
- Lang, David M. The Armenians. A People in Exile. London, 1981.
- Ostrogorsky, GeorgeGeorge OstrogorskyGeorge Alexandrovič Ostrogorsky was a Russian-born Yugoslavian historian and Byzantinist who acquired worldwide reputations in Byzantine studies.-Biography:...
, History of the Byzantine State. tr. (from the German) by Joan Hussey, rev. ed., Rutgers Univ. Press, 1969. - Dimitry Obolensky, "The Bogomils: A study in Balkan Neo-Manicheism", Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
1948
See also
- Samuil of BulgariaSamuil of BulgariaSamuel was the Emperor of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 980 to 997, he was a general under Roman I of Bulgaria, 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...
- Bitola InscriptionBitola inscriptionThe Bitola inscription is a medieval stone inscription written in Old Church Slavonic. It was found in 1956 during the demolition of an old Ottoman mosque in the town of Bitola, Republic of Macedonia and it is now kept at the Institute and Museum of Bitola epigraphic monument as "a marble slab with...
- Samuil's InscriptionSamuil's InscriptionThe image on the right represents the content found on the tombstone of Samuel of Bulgaria's parents cited by several historians such as, F. Uspenskiĭ, Ĭor. Ivanov, and N. Adontz. Тhe letters that appear in brackets are faded away, and have been reconstructed...
- History of BulgariaHistory of BulgariaThe history of Bulgaria spans from the first settlements on the lands of modern Bulgaria to its formation as a nation-state and includes the history of the Bulgarian people and their origin. The first traces of human presence on what is today Bulgaria date from 44,000 BC...