Ibatzes of Bulgaria

Ibatzes ( _bg. Ивац) was a Bulgarian noble and military commander in the late 10th and early 11th century. He served three Bulgarian Emperors - Samuel (997-1014); Gabriel Radomir (1014-1015) and John Vladislav (1015-1018).

In 1015 he defeated a Byzantine army in the battle of Bitola and stopped the disastrous campaign of Basil II in the heart of the Bulgarian Empire. After the death of John Vladislav and the surrender of the Empress, the Patriarch and many nobles to the Byzantines he chose to continue the struggle along the sons of the dead Emperor and several other nobles. His stronghold was the fortress Varhot in modern south-eastern Albania. The fortress was soon besieged by Basil II but the 55-day siege was unsuccessful for the Byzantines. In August 1018 he was treacherously blinded by the Byzantine "strategos" Eustathios Daphnomeles and captured.

References

* Ioannes Skylitzes. "Synopsis Historion"
* Holmes, C. "Basil II and the Governance of Empire (976-1025)", Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0199279683, pp. 228-229