Bulgarian uprising against the Byzantine Empire (1040–1041)

The Uprising of Petar Delyan ( _bg. Въстанието на Петър Делян) (1040-1041) was a major Bulgarian rebellion against the Byzantine Empire. It was the largest and best organised attempt to be restored the Bulgarian Empire till the rebellion of Ivan Asen I and Petar IV in 1185.

Prerequisites for the uprising

After Byzantine troops conquered Bulgaria in 1018, Basil II wisely decided not to change the Bulgarian taxation system in order to calm down the people. Although the Bulgarian Patriarchate was downgraded to Archbishopric, its head remained an ethnic Bulgarian till Basil II's death in 1025. Under the rule of Emperor Romanos III the population was forced to pay its taxes with money instead of goods which caused poverty and wide-spread unrest.

Byzantine historians wrote that the Bulgarians did not tolerate defeat for long and soon they had begun to return to their previous haughtiness. The lack of an initiator postponed a rebellion for some time.Fact|date=October 2008

Initial process

In 1040 in House.Fact|date=October 2008 As he had greater influence than his rival, Delyan was unanimously chosen a leader and Tihomir was killed. [Skyl.-Cedr. ib., p. 528 - 529]

With his enlarged army Petar II advnced to the south, surprised and defeated the Byzantine Emperor Michael IV the Paphlagonian at Thessaloniki [М. Аttаlеiаtes, ib. p. 9,] taking his treasury.Fact|date=October 2008 One of Michael's commanders the Bulgarian Manuel Ivats, probably a son of Samuil's boyar Ivats [Златарски, В. История на България, с. 758] joined Peter II. [Skyl.-Cedr., p. 529] After the victory the Bulgarian troops under the "voivoda" Kavkan captured Dyrrachium on the Adriatic Sea and some forces penetrated deep into Thessaly eventually reaching Corinth. Albania, Epirus and most of Macedonia were liberated. Another Bulgarian army led by Antim marched deep to the south and defeated the Byzantine commander Alakaseues in the battle of Thebes in Beotia. Upon the news of the Bulgarian success the Byzantine population of Athens and Piraeus who were uneasy due to the heavy taxes also revolted but were quickly crushed by Norman mercenaries. [Hopf, Gesch. Griechenlands im Mittelalter (Ersch — Gruber, 85), стр. 147] The decisive actions of the rebels rose serious anxiety in Constantinople where plans for its crushing were hastily discussed.

Arrival of Alusian

Soon the news for the Bulgarian uprising reached Armenia, where the descendents of the last Bulgarian Emperors were deported. The most respected of them was the son of the last Emperor Ivan Vladislav, Alusian. Disguised as a mercenary he reached Constantinople and despite the strict security measures managed to go to Bulgaria in September 1040.} The appearance of a new pretendent for the throne meant new tensions among the rebels. In the beginning Alusian did not dare to reveal his origin but tried to find devoted supporter of his kin. He proved his claims with a black spot on his right elbow and soon gathered many adherents.

Petar II Delyan warmly welcomed his cousin although he knew that Alusian might be a potential candidate for the crown. He gave him a 40,000 strong army to seize Thessaloniki but he failed, having attacked the enemy with a tired army.Fact|date=October 2008 The defeat cost 15,000 dead and Alusian fled from the battle field leaving his arms and armour.Fact|date=October 2008

The treason of Alusian

The heavy defeat sharply worsened the relations between the two leaders: Alusian was ashamed from the defeat and Petar Delyan suspected a treason. Alusian decided to act first and made a plot against his cousin.Fact|date=October 2008 He invited Delyan to a feast, where his followers served the Emperor many cups of wine. When Petar II got drunk on the wine the conspirators came down on him and pulled out his eyes with a knife. Thus Alusian became the single leader.Fact|date=October 2008 In the beginning he undertook active operations but was defeated again and had to flee for his life. Then he set secret negotiations with the Byzantines. After they reached an agreement in the summer of 1041 Alusian pretended to give a decisive battle but when the two armies met he abandoned his troops and changed sides.Fact|date=October 2008

Suppression of the uprising

The Byzantine Emperor Michael IV prepared a major campaign to finally defeat the Bulgarians. He gathered an elite army of 40,000 men with capable generals and moved constantly in a battle formation.J. Herrin, "Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire", 222] There were a lot of mercenaries in the Byzantine army including the Norwegian Prince and later King Harald Hardråde with 500 Varangians. From Thessaloniki the Byzantines penetrated in Bulgaria and defeated the Bulgarians at Ostrovo in the late summer of 1041. It seems that the Varangians had a decisive role in the victory as their chief is hailed in the Norse sagas as the "devastator of Bulgaria". Though blind, Petar Delyan was in command of the army. His fate is unknown; he either perished in the battle or was captured and taken to Constantinople.

Soon the Byzantines eliminated the resistance of Delyan's remaining voivods Botko around Sofia and Manuil Ivats in Prilep, thus ending the Bulgarian revolt.

ee also

*Petar Delyan
*History of Bulgaria
*Byzantine Empire
*Comitopuli

References

*Йордан Андреев, Милчо Лалков, Българските ханове и царе, Велико Търново, 1996.
* [http://www.promacedonia.org/vz2/vz2_1_2.htm The uprising of Peter Delyan (in Bulgarian)]

Footnotes