The Empire Of Samoil And After

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At the end of January 969, immediately after the death of Tsar Petar, the four sons of the Komitadji Nikola--David, Moysey, Aron and Samuil--began an uprising against Bulgarian authorities. Taking advantage of a Russian invasion by Prince Svyatoslav which preoccupied the Byzantines and Bulgarians, they quickly succeeded in overwhelming all opposition in the region. The young Komitadjis, whose territory was far distant from the Russo-Byzantine conflict, remained neutral despite attempts by both sides to sway them. In the summer of 971 near the Danube River, Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimisces delivered a decisive blow to Svyatoslav, and incorporated the Bulgarian empire into Byzantium following the victory.
For two years the Macedonian state of the four brothers had been independent of Byzantium. With the Tzimisces' victory over Svyatoslav and the extension of Byzantine borders as far as Dalmatia, the Macedonian state could be subordinated to the supreme authority of Constantinople in 971, and Bulgaria and Serbia were transformed into Byzantine provinces. By 976, the Komitopulis made several attempts to gain international recognition; there is record of a visit paid by two of them to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto l in 973, with the intention of contacting European rulers gathered in Otto's capital at Kwedlinburg. In January 976, immediately after the death of Tzimisces, the komitopulis rose in revolt: some historians consider this to be a second, new uprising by the four brothers, while others argue that it was a continuation of their first uprising of 969.
"The first date, the year 969," writes Styepan Antolyak, "marks the beginning of the formation of a state core in Macedonia under the leadership of the komitopulis, who, after their liberation from the authority of the Bulgarian church began to extend [the borders of] their still small state in the shadow of nominal Byzantine supremacy. The year 976 marked the beginning of strong development of the state community, the borders of which soon extended from the Black Sea to the middle part of the Adriatic and to the Sava, Drava and Danube Rivers."
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In the newly-established state, completely independent of Byzantium, the brothers ruled jointly. This joint rule lasted for a very short time: "Of the four brothers, David was soon killed in the area between Prespa and Kostur by some Vlach travelers, while Moysey was slain by a stone thrown from the ramparts during the siege of Serres. According to the records, Aron, either because he supported the Romaeans or because he sought to grasp power for himself, was killed together with his family by his brother Samuil. Only [his son] Ivan was saved by Radomir Roman, Samuil's son. Thus, Samuil became the sole ruler of Bulgaria: a militant man who was never at peace." Such were the circumstances in which the life of the new empire began. The ambitions of Samuil, called "a brilliant commander" even by Byzantine chroniclers, lay in the west: he attacked Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Thessaly, Greece and Peloponnesus. By the 10th century, he succeeded in incorporating the entire territory of Macedonia (without Thessaloniki), most of the former Bulgarian Empire, part of Greece, a large part of Albania, Dioclea, Serbia, Bosnia and a part of Dalmatia within his Macedonian Empire. At the close of the 9th century, Pope Gregory V heralded and blessed Samuil as a king, and the empire of the youngest son of the Komitadji Nikola acquired international recognition and character.
It is very important to note which church recognized Samuil. Some Bulgarian historians have asserted that Samuil's empire was a continuation of the First Bulgarian Empire--recognized by Constantinople and the Orthodox Church. But Samuil's empire was recognized by the Catholic Roman Curia. In addition, Samuil represented a new imperial dynasty, the empire was founded on a new state and legal basis, with new twin capitals at Prespa and Ohrid, and with a precisely defined core centered around Macedonia and the Macedonian Slavs as the fundamental element of the new empire. All of this points to the fact that Samuil's empire was not merely a continuation of the First Bulgarian Empire recently shattered by Byzantium, but a new political entity which emerged independently.
The first capital of Samuil was Prespa, later transferred to Ohrid. At that time, the latter was a strongly fortified town and well-suited to forestall Byzantine reconquest. In Ohrid Samuil built imperial palaces and a church to be the seat of the Macedonian church. It is also significant to note that, throughout the existence of the Macedonian Empire, the capital was situated within Macedonia--a confirmation of the essentially Macedonian character of this medieval Balkan state.
As recorded in Byzantine chronicles, Basil II, the new Byzantine emperor, invaded Macedonia almost "every year" and gradually succeeded in capturing and destroying a number of strongholds. The fall of Durres and of the fortified towns on the other side of the Maritsa River and the submission of Greater and Lesser Preslav, Pliska, Veria, Servia, Voden, Vidin, Edirne and Skopje considerably eroded Samuil's power. The decisive battle between Samuil and Basil II took place at the foot of Mt. Belasitsa on July 29, 1014.
"The emperor had given up hope that he would be able to pass, when Nicephorus Sciphianus, appointed by him as strategist of Philippopolis, bade him stay there and assault the barriers [before the battle of Belasitsa Samuil had blocked the road where Basil II sought to enter Macedonia by barriers and trenches], while he would attempt a rescue action. And he took his soldiers and, unexpectedly, with shouts and great noise, appeared on the hill behind their backs. Frightened by the unexpected appearance of enemy soldiers, the army [of Samuil] started to run away. The emperor pulled down the barriers and began to chase them. Many of them were killed, and even more were taken captive. Samuil narrowly escaped death with the help of his son, who bravely fought against the attackers. He put his father on a horse and took him to the fortress called Prilep. The emperor blinded captives--about 15,000 of them, they say--and ordering afterwards that every hundred of them be led by a one-eyed soldier, he sent them thus to Samuil. The latter was so shaken by the sight of them walking in rows of equal numbers that he felt sick. Everything went black in front of his eyes and he fell on the ground. Those present, who tried hard to restore his breathing with water and herbs, succeeded to bring him back to consciousness for a few minutes. When he revived he asked for cold water; however, when he began to drink, he suffered a heart attack and two days later he died." This is the 12th century account of the Byzantine historian Skylitzes about the defeat of Samuil by Basil II. There is no definite proof where Samuil died--in Prilep, as claimed by Skylitzes, or in Prespa, as stated by Michael Attaliot. But the date of Samuil's death is placed at October 6, 1014.
The death of Samuil did not mean disintegration of his empire. His successor to the throne was his son Gavril Radomir, who continued the war with Byzantium and raided as far as Constantinople. The Byzantines intrigued to achieve what they could not win on the battlefield: they persuaded Ivan Vladislav, the son of Aron--alive only thanks to Gavril Radomir's intervention with Samuil--to kill Radomir. Promised "gold and silver to his heart's content" and even
Samuil's empire, Vladislav agreed and in August or September 1015, Gavril Radomir was killed by Ivan Vladislav while hunting near the town of Ostrovo. Regardless of the fact that he took an oath of loyalty to Basil II, Ivan Vladislav continued to fight Constantinople. But after a series of dramatic battles, devastating campaigns and acts of treason throughout Samuirs empire, the last faithful commanders of Samuil, Ivec and Nikolica, were defeated in the summer of 1018 and Oh rid taken. Basil II could now boast that he had crushed and conquered Samuil's state. The territory of Macedonia was divided into a number of administrative regions, called themes. Consequently, the chances for Macedonians to unite and renew the uprising were reduced to the absolute minimum.
IIt is indisputable that the incorporation of Macedonia within the borders of the Byzantine Empire of Basil II and his successors enabled and even strengthened the development of feudal relations in Macedonia. The free rural communities, which had always represented the danger of organized resistance to the authorities, began to dissolve. Although it was a gradual process, their dissolution was accelerated by the increased differentiation among the members of the communities themselves, and by the reduction of the male population by the frequent mass recruitment of soldiers for the Byzantine army. In such a situation, the estates which had been left without family heads were especially attractive to the new feudal lords.
Along with the introduction of feudal lords of Greek and Armenian descent to Macedonia, the number of local, Slavic feudal lords was also increasing. This Macedonian vanguard did not always side with Byzantium, however, and were often inclined towards their own people, finding there support for their own intentions and plans.
The financial policies of Byzantium led to the gradual impoverishment of the Macedonian population. All this was supplemented by rent in money: after the monetary reform of 1040, payment in currency was generally substituted for payments in kind. In general, taxation of the Macedonian population was considerably increased in the 11th century, the motive for continuous organized and spontaneous resistance in Macedonia against Byzantine rule. Michael Psellus wrote that not "a long time" had passed since Emperor Basil II destroyed Samuil's state and "in such a defeated condition incorporated it under Romaean authority", when the subjugated people began to demonstrate their "former impertinence" again. The Byzantine historian Skylitzes wrote that the people "who had just bent their heads in slavery ... strongly sought freedom .... The people of Ohrid were ready to arm themselves and to rise against Byzantium immediately after the fall of the town to Byzantine authority." Likewise, in his letters Theophylact of Ohrid often emphasized such desires in his congregation, stressing that the province of Macedonia was always faced with "the ghost of war", as "the barbarians [Macedonians] never stopped thinking about their glorious times."
The substitution of payment in kind by payment in currency, imposed by John the Orphanographer in 1040, was the last straw, and the peasantry rose up in outrage. "The local population could not endure it easily and, therefore, when a favorable moment presented itself with the coming of Delyan, renounced Romaean rule and returned to their former laws," writes Skylitzes.
In Belgrade Petar Delyan was appointed tsar "after he had been lifted on a shield by the army." He was met there by representatives of the insurgents who had come from distant Macedonia. His uncle, King Stephen, was probably also involved in obtaining the title of tsar for Delyan. From Belgrade, Delyan set offto occupy Nish and Skopje and, when victorious, advanced to Thessaloniki where Emperor Michail IV was receiving a medical treatment. Frightened the course of events, the emperor escaped to Constantinople.
Aleutian was the grandson of Aron (the brother of Samuil) and as a greatnephew of Samuil was chosen by Michail IV was sent to reap discord among the insurgents. He was welcomed by Petar Delyan as a close relative and, according to Skylitzes, even given 40,000 soldiers to besiege Thessaloniki. The siege was raised by the Byzantines and the army defeated, while Aleutian himself had a narrow escape. Defeated, he returned to Ostrovo, a town between Kostur and Prespa. One day, at a dinner, he "suddenly caught him [Delyan], cut off his nose, poked his eyes out, doing it all with a kitchen knife", Psellus writes. Being of Samuil's blood, Aleutian was proclaimed tsar by the army. The new leader secretly advised the Byzantine emperor of this, and at a convenient moment deserted the army for the Byzantine capital: the insurgents, left without a leader, were easily defeated.
In Constantinople the traitor was granted great honors and wealth, while the blinded Delyan was captured and sent to Thessaloniki without giving any resistance. After he conquered and subjugated the Macedonians to his authority, wrote Psellus, and after he appointed strategists in each of the themes, the emperor returned to the capital taking many prisoners with him, among them their illegitimate leader with his nose cut off and his eyes gouged out. The consequences of the uprising were severe, and Macedonia was completely devastated. A considerable number of its inhabitants were enslaved by the emperor, and many lost their estates. In order to break up the ethnic unity of the Macedonians, Constantinople settled foreign colonists in the region.
In the late 12th and early 13th century, Byzantium was faced with economic, social and political crisis. Under pressure by the Normans, Byzantine rule had collapsed in much of Macedonia, and Byzantine control over acquisitions in the northwest was also shattered. Newly-emerging feudal forces in Serbia and Bulgaria gained strength as serious political factors, and feudal lords of Slavic descent started to enlarge their estates and political power.
In 121)4 Constantinople itself was attacked by the Crusaders. Its armed forces were not strong enough to resist either armies of the Crusaders or the fleets of Venice, let alone combined attack. Byzantium collapsed, and a part of Macedonia was incorporated by the Crusaders into the new Empire of Thessaloniki. Some Macedonian towns were garrisoned by detachments of Crusading knights; other Macedonian towns like Skopje, Ohrid and Veria fell under Bulgarian authority.
After the death of the Bulgarian Tsar Kaloyan, Tsar Strez strengthened his authority in Macedonia. Although of Bulgarian imperial descent he was aided by the Serbs in extending his rule over territories along the Vardar River to Thessaloniki and to Ohrid in the west. After his death in 1214, parts of Macedonia including Skopje and Ohrid fell under Epirote authority; ten years later, the Epirotes occupied Thessaloniki. Following their defeat by the Bulgarians at Klokotnitsa in 1230, Macedonia, Thrace and a part of Albania were incorporated within the borders of the restored Bulgarian Empire. In the eparchies as well as in secular administration Greeks were replaced by Bulgarians. The significance of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, Greek by hierarchical composition and function, decreased. In 1241 Macedonia fell under Nicaean authority, and five years later the Nicaeans conquered Thessaloniki as well. After fifty years of turmoil and fluid changes in political authority in Macedonia, in 1261 the Byzantine Empire was restored; but Byzantium ruled Macedonia for only 20 years. In 1282 King Milutin invaded Macedonia, and in 1345 Macedonia was conquered by Stephan Dushan following his occupation of Serres. Only Thessaloniki remained as a Byzantine enclave.
The dissolution of the Byzantine Empire heralded the end of Byzantine rule over Macedonia.
Stephan Dushan transformed Serbia into a major power in the Balkans in overrunning the western provinces of the Byzantine Empire. In 1345 he proclaimed himself Tsar of the Serbs and the Greeks, and the Archbishopric of Serbia was raised to the level of a patriarchate. Certain significant events in medieval Serbia are connected to Macedonia: for example, the crowning of Dushan as tsar on April 16, 1346, took place in Skopje, and the coronation was attended by the Archbishop of Ohrid.
As often occurs in recently-formed large states after the death of their founder, the Serbian state soon grew unstable after the passing of Tsar Dushan. After his death in 1355, the power of the central authorities rapidly declined and was supplanted by that of the increasingly independently-minded feudal lords. The Serbian Empire was split up into small parts, with several feudal states on or holding Macedonian territory. Elena, Dushan's wife, ruled Serres and the surrounding regions. Caessar Voihna ruled in Drama. Hlapen, Marko's father-in-law, ruled Berroea (Veria) and Voden (Edessa). Despot Jovan Oliver ruled a realm extending from Zhegligovo to Belasitsa and Melnik. Gregory ruled Ohrid. Volkashin Mrnyavchevic was zhupan (administrator) of Prilep (in 1365 he proclaimed himself King), with territory extending from Skopje to Prizren; his brother Uglesha ruled over Strymon for about six years. The frequent attacks of Turkish forces forced Uglesha, though a Serbian, to establish closer relations with Byzantium (which had already begun to show renewed signs of weakness). The Ottoman Turks invaded Byzantium without encountering significant resistance, in 1354 conquering Gallipoli and eight years later seizing Edirne. Edirne became the new Turkish capital and the road to the Balkans lay open before them.
On September 26, 1371, O.S., at Chernomen on the Maritsa River, Turkish military forces met the united armies of Volkashin and Uglesha Mrnyavchevich. The two brothers army was decisively defeated, Mrnyavchevich were killed on the battlefield, and the Turks were free to further penetration of the Balkan Peninsula. After the defeat of the Mrnyavchevich brothers, Manuel Palaeologus occupied the region of Serres and Chalcidice. Volkashin's son, Marko, recognized Turkish authority and became a Turkish vassal. Macedonia was thus left to the mercy of the new conqueror. At first, the Turks were content with committing small robberies and taking captives; but they soon they expanded their presence. Serres fell in 1383; Shtip, Veles, Prilep, Bitola and Thessaloniki in 1387; and Skopje was taken in 1392. In 1395 at the battle at Rovine, King Marko was killed while fighting for the Turks against the Vlachs, and the Turks assumed direct control over the region. By the end of the 14th century, Macedonia was a Turkish territory. This was the beginning of its five centuries of Turkish rule-or, all too common, misrule.

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