Moses of Bulgaria

Moses ( _bg. Мойсей), d.976 was a Bulgarian noble, brother of Emperor Samuil of Bulgaria and second son of Comita Nikola, Duke of Sofia. After the fall of the eastern parts of the Empire under Byzantine occupation in 971, he and his brothers David, Aron and Samuil continued the fight to the west. They ruled together and divided the realm into four parts. His lands were centred around Strumitsa, from where he had to launch attacks against the Aegean regions of the Byzantine Empire.

In 976 the Bulgarian armies undertook a major assault from all borders and Moses lead his troops to Serres. During the siege of the town, he was mortally hit by a stone and then slain by an enemy sword. David and Aron also perished in the same year and the whole power was concentrated in the hands of Samuil, who became Emperor in 997 after the death of last ruler from the previous Dynasty, Roman.

Family tree

familytree | | | | | | | | CmN |~|y|~| RoA
CmN=Comita
Nikola
RoA=Ripsimia
of Armeniafamilytree | Dav | | Mos | | Aar | | Sam
Dav=David
Mos=Moses
Aar=Aron
Sam=Samuil
of Bulgaria

However, there's also another version about Moses's origin [Nicholas Adontz. Samuel l'Armenien, Roi des Bulgares. Bruxelles, Palais des academies, 1938. Published also in: Etudes Armeno-Byzantines. Livraria Bertrand. Lisbonne, 1965, Pp. 347 - 407] . According to this version, Simeon I of Bulgaria had several children. One of them was Ivan who married to an Armenian in Caesarea. Moses and his brother Aaron were Ivan’s sons. Moses had remained on the battle-field, in action next to Samuel, against the enemy in 986.

Notes