Czar Samuil Kometopulos von Bulgarien

960 - 1014  (54 years)    Has more than 100 ancestors and more than 100 descendants in this family tree.

• Name	Samuil Kometopulos von Bulgarien
  Prefix	Czar
  Birth	960
  Gender	Male
  Death	6 Oct 1014	Prilep   [1]
  Siblings	1 Sibling
  + 1. Aaron von Bulgarien,   b. 957   d. 992  (Age 35 years) ▻ Sofija von Armenien + 2. Czar Samuil Kometopulos von Bulgarien,   b. 960   d. 6 Oct 1014, Prilep  (Age 54 years) ▻ Agathe Chryselia
  Person ID	I118857	Geneagraphie | Voorouders HW, Ahnen BvS
  Last Modified	19 Mar 2010

  
  

  Father	Ivan von Bulgarien,   b. 933   d. 972 (Age 39 years)
  Mother	Mlada Maria von Böhmen,   b. 931   d. 993 (Age 62 years)
  Family ID	F175073	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Agathe Chryselia   d. Yes, date unknown
  Children	+ 1. Gavril von Bulgarien + 2. Miroslave von Bulgarien   d. Yes, date unknown + 3. Katalin von Bulgarien,   b. 993   d. 1037 (Age 44 years)   4. Ekaterina von Bulgarien,   b. 1008, Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria d. Myrelaion   5. Theodora Kosara von Bulgarien
  Family ID	F47998	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	10 Oct 2010

  
  

• Photos

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• Notes

  ties back to Khum, Khan of the Bulgars circa late 700s to early 800s) and via Princess (of Armenia) Ripsinija (Rhipsime), daughter of Ashot The Magnificent, King of Armenia and great-granddaughter of Ashot 'the Carnivore', King of Armenia, of the Bagratunid Dynasty. Although ultimately unsuccessful in saving his country's independence from the incursions of Emperor Basil II of the Byzantine Empire, Samuil resisted him for decades and is the only man to ever defeat Basil II in battle. Although he wasn't crowned as Tsar until 997, Samuil's reign actually dates from 976, when his predecessor Tsar Roman bestowed the power of the state, if not the crown, upon him. Already known as a successful general, Samuil now extended Bulgarian territory in all directions. Soon, the kingdom reigned supreme over virtually the entire Balkans, with only parts of Greece and Thrace remaining under Byzantine control. In 986, Samuil drove Basil II's army from the field at Troyanovi Vrata, and the emperor sooned turned to the east for new conquests. His victory prompted Pope Gregory V to recognize him as Tsar, and he was crowned in Rome in 997. For the next fifteen years, Samuil and Basil prepared for the clash both men knew was coming. In 1002, full-scale war broke out. By this time, Basil's army was stronger after being tested in battle during his eastern campaigns, and Samuil was forced to retreat into his country's heartland. Still, by harassing the powerful Byzantine army, Samuil hoped to force Basil to the peace table. For a dozen years, his tactics maintained Bulgarian independence and even kept Basil away from the main Bulgarian cities, including the capital of Ohrid. However, on July 29, 1014 at Kleidion (Belasitsa) in Macedonia, Basil II was able to corner the main Bulgarian army and force a battle while Samuil was away. He won a crushing victory and blinded 14,000 prisoners, leaving one man in every hundred with the sight in one eye to lead his comrades home. The sight was too much even for Samuil, who blamed himself forthe defeat and died less than three months later, on October 6. The independent Bulgarian kingdom survived him by less than four years, and didn't throw off Byzantine rule until 1185. Military commander of Tsar Roman; Roman voluntarily surrendered the power to Samuil. Though not a member of a royal family, Samuil proved born to rule. Samuil continued to repulse Byzantine attacks. He persevered for almost four decades, though the Byzantine empire was at the height of its power. In the battle for the survival of his people and his state, Samuil gained the reputation of an able commander and politician and earned the love of his subjects. He was a restless, militant man, reads his description in a Byzantine chronicle. Indeed, for many years the Bulgarians took fortress after fortress in Thrace and around Adrianople. Much of the empire's western territories came under Bulgarian control. Samuil's horsemen went south all the way to Peloponnese and Corynth, and they unfurled his flag in Larissa, a key fortress for the control over Thessaly. The Bulgarians were again victorious in the battle at Troyanovi Vrata. On 17 August 986 Emperor Basil II fled, leaving behind his treasure hoard and a supply train. Byzantine chronist John Geometres lamented over the defeat: "May those ominous trees and mountains vanish from the face of earth! The Istrum (Bulgaria] grabbed the crown from Rome (Byzantium]. The Moesian (Bulgarian] arrows proved stronger than Byzantine spears... Elated by their victory, the Bulgarians won a series of battles. Strongholds like Vereia and Servia in southern Macedonia fell to their assaults. Samuil reached the Aegean coast when his troops overran the region of Drach. A successful campaign against the Serbs forced their prince to accept the patronage of the Bulgarian tsar That campaign marked the end of a decade in Bulgaro-Byzantine relations. Under Samuil, Bulgaria was again established as a great power in the Balkans. "Samuil waged prolonged wars with the Greeks and drove them out of Bulgaria, so that in his time they did not even dare set foot on Bulgarian soil," a Byzantine chronicler wrote. However, when Basil II recovered from the defeat at Trayanovi Vrata, he set out to put the internal affairs of the empire in order. In a new drive against Bulgaria, Tsar Roman was again taken captive and later died in prison in Constantinople. He was the last of Simeon's dynasty. In 997 Samuil had himself crowned as Tsar. His title was recognized by the Holy See. A brief suspension of hostilities with Byzantium allowed him to turn his efforts to the internal concerns of his state, which some historians call Western Bulgaria. Samuil's state spread from the northeastern most Bulgarian territories to Southern Macedonia. The boyars and their fortified towns submitted to Samuil's supreme authority. The nobles actively supported their tsar in the fights with Byzantium, for they knew the advantages of unity. Samuil moved his capital from Sredets (Sofia) to Voden, to Prespa and finally to Ohrid, in reaction to the developments in the war with Byzantium. In the newly erected palace in his last capital, Ohrid, Samuil developed and enforced the state system devised in Simeon's times. The Kav-Khan remained the highest dignitary, the tsar's right-hand man. The Church was headed by a patriarch. In the heart of the state - the lands around Sofia and in Macedonia - fortified castles were erected to repel Byzantine attacks. Numerous churches, stone carvings and paintings in Ohrid, Prespa and Kostur testify to the tsar's concern about the spiritual aspect of Bulgarian life. Meanwhile, Emperor Basil II once again raised an army and started a new campaign against Bulgaria in 1 001. Samuil fought fiercely but was forced to retreat and give away lands. Many of his nobles, like Krakra of Pernik, heroically defended their strongholds. Others chose to become traitors in order to survive. Disunity gradually depleted Samuil's state. The fatal moment came in the summer of 1014 when the Bulgarian army suffered a crushing defeat in a gorge of the Strumitsa river near the village of Klyuch in Macedonia. Upon victory, Emperor Basil IT ordered the 14,000 Bulgarian prisoners blinded. One in every hundred men was left with one eye in order to lead the men home. At the sight of the blinded soldiers Samuil suffered a heart attack and died. His son, Gavril Radomir, spent only a year on the throne before being killed by Ivan Vladislav, the man whose life he had once saved. When tsar Ivan Vladislav was killed in a battle in 1018, nothing could stop the emperor from taking Ohrid. His cruelty won him the name of Bulgaroctonus: Slayer of the Bulgars; Bulgaria fell under Byzantine domination.

  
  

• Sources

  [S10] Frederick Lewis Weis, Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America bef 1760, (7th ed Genealogical Publishing, Baltimore 1992 , , Repository: J.H. Garner), line 45 p 47 (Reliability: 0).