Tsar Peter II Delyan

Peter II Delyan, grandson of Tsar Samuel (997–1014) and son of Tsar Gavril Radomir (1014–1015) and the Hungarian princess who was the daughter of King Géza (972–997), was born in Hungary around 1001 and returned to Bulgaria when his father ascended the throne in 1014.

After Bulgaria fell under Byzantine rule in 1018, Peter II Delyan was taken to Constantinople as a prisoner and spent about 20 years there. After this period he managed to return to Bulgaria, presented himself as a descendant of the Bulgarian tsars and called on the people to rise in revolt. The memory of the Bulgarian state was still alive, and Peter II Delyan successfully "awakened the Bulgarians' boldness".

He proclaimed an uprising in 1040 with Magyar support. In a solemn popular ritual, Peter II Delyan was raised on a shield and proclaimed tsar of the Bulgarians. After the uprising was suppressed, he was captured and taken to Constantinople.