Despot Dobromir Chrysos

Dobromir Chrysos was a Bulgarian nobleman and independent ruler in Macedonia in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries.

During the uprising in Tarnovo in 1185, the boyar Dobromir Chrysos appeared in Macedonia. Chrysos is believed to have been sent by the Asens to encourage the local Bulgarian population to rise in revolt. Chrysos captured the fortress of Strumitsa and began attacking and subjugating the surrounding lands. Initially he did not act in concert with the rebels in Tarnovgrad and even allied himself with the Romans, or Byzantines, against them.

Subsequently, Dobromir Chrysos changed his policy and began a war against the Romans. Around 1193 he was imprisoned by the Byzantines. However, the successes of the Bulgarian rebels forced Emperor Alexios III Angelos to release him and restore his possessions in 1196, in the hope that he would oppose his compatriots. To bind him to himself, the emperor married him to the daughter of his cousin Manuel Kamytzes. Chrysos nevertheless remained independent. He established himself in the fortified town of Prosek. After Kaloyan was proclaimed tsar, he formed an alliance with Chrysos. Emperor Alexios III Angelos sent troops against the fortress, but they were repulsed. He then concluded peace with Chrysos and officially recognised him as ruler of the lands around Prosek and Strumitsa. Chrysos broke this peace and conquered fortresses in Macedonia, but the emperor recaptured them, and they again concluded a peace treaty. On his return from the peace negotiations, the emperor sent troops against Strumitsa, and it was captured. This is believed to have marked the end of Chrysos.