Peter Delyan
Encyclopedia
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
rule, started in the Theme of Bulgaria during summer of 1040. He was proclaimed Tsar of Bulgaria, as Samuel`s grandson in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. His original name may have been simply Delyan, in which case he assumed the name Peter II upon his accession, commemorating the sainted Emperor Peter I
Peter I of Bulgaria
Peter I was emperor of Bulgaria from 27 May 927 to 969.-Early reign:Peter I was the son of Simeon I of Bulgaria by his second marriage to Maria Sursuvul, the sister of George Sursuvul. Peter had been born early in the 10th century, but it appears that his maternal uncle was very influential at...
(Petăr I), who had died in 970. The year of his birth is uncertain, but probably not long after 1000, and before 1014; he probably died in 1041.
Origin
His origin is not clear. He claimed that he was son of emperor Gavril Radomir and grandson of Samuel of Bulgaria, but he could also be a some local who became leader of uprising and claimed to be Samuel's grandson to justify his proclamation as Tsar of Bulgaria.Delyan as Radomir's son
Those who believe he actually was Radomir's son, think that he was born from Radomir's marriage with Marguerite, sister of King Stephen I of Hungary (996/997). Peter's mother was expelled while pregnant from the Samuel's court before the accession of Gavril Radomir, but given Delyan's subsequent career, it is likely that he had been born and remained in Bulgaria with his father.After Ivan Vladislav's murder of Gavril Radomir in 1015 and the conquest of Bulgaria by the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
in 1018, Delyan was taken captive to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and became a servant of an unidentified member of the Byzantine aristocracy. He later escaped and went to his mother's country of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, whence he returned to Bulgaria and raised a revolt against Byzantine rule, taking advantage of the discontent over the imposition of taxes in coin by the Byzantine government.
Delyan as local Bulgarian
Those who oppose the theory that he was Samuel's grandson and believe he was merely a local Bulgarian, claim that he was proclaimed as tsar in Belgrade not because it was the first border town between the Byzantine Empire and Hungary that he reached when he joined them as a prince of royal blood, but merely because it was the first important town that the rebels captured.They also claim that it is highly unlikely that Ivan Vladislav who in 1015 murdered his cousin Gavril Radomir (Delyan's supposed father) and his current wife Maria to seize the throne, would not kill Radomir's son and heirs, if he had them, in order to secure himself. It is known that he also ordered killing of the Serbian prince of Duklja
Duklja
Doclea or Duklja was a medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of present-day southeastern Montenegro, from Kotor on the west to the river Bojana on the east and to the sources of Zeta and Morača rivers on the north....
, Jovan Vladimir
Jovan Vladimir
Jovan Vladimir or John Vladimir was ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbian principality of the time, from around 1000 to 1016. He ruled during the protracted war between the Byzantine Empire and the First Bulgarian Empire...
, who was Samuel's son-in-law (married to his daughter Theodora/Kosara), in case Vladimir was a threat to his position as Slavonic tsar.
Peter Delyan as leader of the Bulgarian uprising
During the summer of 1040 in the theme of Bulgaria local people rebelled against the Byzantine EmpireByzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. There were two main causes:
- Replacing Bulgarian Archbishopric of OhridBulgarian Archbishopric of OhridThe Archbishopric of Ochrid was an autonomous Orthodox Church under the tutelage of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople between 1019 and 1767...
with Greek (1037) and beginning of process of Hellenisation - Imposition of taxes in coin for local people by the Byzantine government
The uprising spread and rebels very quickly took over control over northern part of Pomoravlje
Pomoravlje
Pomoravlje may refer to:* Pomoravlje , a geographical area around the Morava river, Serbia* Pomoravlje District, a district in Serbia...
and liberated Belgrade. Leader of the rebellion Delyan was proclaimed emperor (Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
) of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
under the name Peter II by being raised atop a shield by leaders of the resistance, and perhaps enjoyed some support from Hungary.
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Niš
Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...
and Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
, first co-opting and then eliminating another potential leader in the person of one Tihomir
Tihomir of Bulgaria
For other uses, see TihomirTihomir was a 11th century Bulgarian military commander of Dyrrhachium, who had been sent to tackle an uprising in the north, against the Bulgarian Peter II Delyan, but he refused and instead joined him in the revolts...
, who had led a rebellion in the region of Durazzo. After this Peter II marched on Thessalonica
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, where the Byzantine Emperor Michael IV
Michael IV
Michael IV may refer to:*Byzantine Emperor Michael IV the Paphlagonian*Patriarch Pope Michael IV of Alexandria...
was staying. Michael fled, leaving his treasury to a certain Michael Ivac. The latter, who was probably a son of Ivac, a general under Samuel of Bulgaria, promptly turned over the bulk of the treasury to Peter outside the city. Thessalonica remained in Byzantine hands, but Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
, Durazzo, and parts of northern Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
were taken by Peter II's forces. This inspired further Slavic revolts against Byzantine rule in Epirus
Epirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
and Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
.
Peter II Delyan's successes ended, however, with the interference of his cousin Alusian
Alusian of Bulgaria
Alusian was a Bulgarian and Byzantine noble who ruled as emperor of Bulgaria for a short time in 1041.-Life:Alusian was the second son of Emperor Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria by his wife Maria...
. Alusian, whose father Ivan Vladislav
Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria
Ivan Vladislav ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from August or September 1015 to February 1018. The year of his birth is unknown, but he was born at least a decade before 987, but probably not much earlier than that....
had murdered Peter's father Gavril Radomir in 1015, joined Peter II's ranks as an apparent deserter from the Byzantine court, where he had been disgraced. Alusian was welcomed by Peter II, who gave him an army with which to attack Thessalonica. The siege, however, was raised by the Byzantines, and the army was defeated. Alusian barely escaped and returned to Ostrovo.
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, where his possessions and lands were restored to him, and he was rewarded with the high court rank of magistros.
Meanwhile, though blind, Peter II Delyan resumed command of the Bulgarian forces, but the Byzantine Emperor Michael IV determined to take advantage of the situation and advanced against them. In an obscure battle of Ostrovo
Battle of Ostrovo
The Battle of Ostrovo occurred in 1041 near Ostrovo, an area close to the lake of the same name in modern northern Greece. In 1040 Peter Delyan led an uprising against the Byzantines and was proclaimed Emperor of Bulgaria...
, the Byzantines defeated the Bulgarian troops and Peter II Delyan was captured and taken to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, where he was perhaps executed. According some legends he was blinded and later exiled in a monastery in Iskar
Iskar
The Iskar is, with a length of 368 km, the longest river that runs solely in Bulgaria, and a tributary of the Danube.The Iskar is formed by three rivers, the Cherni Iskar, Beli Iskar and Levi Iskar , with the source being accepted to be the Prav Iskar, a tributary of the Cherni Iskar...
gorge in Balkan Mountains
Balkan Mountains
The Balkan mountain range is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the Vrashka Chuka Peak on the border between Bulgaria and eastern Serbia eastward through central Bulgaria to Cape Emine on the Black Sea...
where he died.
Norse sagas refer to the participation of the future Norwegian King Harald Hardråda, who allegedly cut down Peter II in the field of battle as a member of the Varangian Guard
Varangians
The Varangians or Varyags , sometimes referred to as Variagians, were people from the Baltic region, most often associated with Vikings, who from the 9th to 11th centuries ventured eastwards and southwards along the rivers of Eastern Europe, through what is now Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.According...
. This tradition may be supported by a laconic reference in the so-called "Bulgarian Apocryphal Chronicle". In either case, Peter II Delyan might have perished in 1041.
Family tree
Honour
Delyan PointDelyan Point
Delyan Point is a point on the northwest coast of Smith Island, South Shetland Islands forming the northeast side of the entrance to Vedena Cove. Situated 4 km west-southwest of Cape Smith, 10.66 km northeast of Markeli Point and 1.4 km northwest of Matochina Peak. Bulgarian early...
on Smith Island
Smith Island (South Shetland Islands)
Smith Island is long and wide, lying west of Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands of the British Antarctic Territory. Surface area ....
in the South Shetland Islands
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...
, Antarctica is named after Peter Delyan.