- Smolyani
The Smolyani ( _bg. смоляни; in Byzantine sources "Smolenoi" or "Smoleanoi") were a
medieval Slavictribe that settled in theRhodope Mountains and the valley of theMesta River and theregion around Drama, possibly in the 7th-8th century. The tribe revolted against the Byzantine authorities ofConstantinople in 837 and were supported by Bulgarian ruler Presian, who, together with his deputy Kavhan Isbul, crossed the lands of the Smolyani and conquered the territory as far south asPhilippi , including most of Macedonia. [http://www.promacedonia.org/pp_ht/pp_ht_1.html#16.] Later in the Middle Ages the Smolyani became an integral part of the Bulgarian ethnicity.The city of
Smolyan in southern Bulgaria is named after this tribe.References
* cite book
last = Collective
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 2002
title = Balgarska entsiklopediya A-YA
publisher = IK Trud
url = http://www.znam.bg/com/action/showArticle/short?encID=1&article=1991104539&ctx=search1272§ionID=1#selectedarticle
location = Sofia
language = Bulgarian
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