Tsar Samuel

Samuel (Old Bulgarian: Samoilŭ) was a Bulgarian tsar who ruled Bulgaria from 997 until his death. He was the first ruler of the Cometopuli dynasty.

From around 971, Samuel governed Bulgaria jointly with his three brothers. After their deaths, he became the Bulgarians’ effective ruler. In 997, Tsar Roman died, and Samuel became sole ruler during one of the most difficult periods in Bulgarian history.

Over the decades of his rule, Samuel successfully resisted attacks by the Byzantine emperor Basil II and even inflicted serious defeats on Byzantine forces. The struggle for supremacy between Bulgaria and Byzantium continued throughout his reign.

Tsar Samuel probably died of a heart attack after seeing his troops, who had been blinded following the Battle of Belasitsa. After his death, Bulgaria was unable to withstand Byzantine military pressure for long, and four years later the First Bulgarian state came to an end.

Little is known about Samuel’s early years. His father, Nicholas, is believed to have been a boyar and provincial governor. Nicholas probably died before 970. According to an inscription from the village of German near Lake Prespa and Bishop Michael of Devol’s additions to the chronicle of John Skylitzes, Samuel’s mother was Ripsimia, whose descendants bore names common in the family of Simeon the Great. Samuel had brothers named Gavril Radomir and Aaron. Through difficult times, Samuel managed to establish his authority and maintain Bulgaria’s independence from Byzantium.

Samuel died on 6 October 1014. After his death, Bulgaria began to lose territory and fell under Byzantine rule in 1018.

In 968, Bulgaria was attacked by the Rus’ under Prince Sviatoslav, who succeeded in taking control of the north-eastern part of the country. In the same year, the Bulgarian tsar Peter died on 30 January 969. During this period, Sviatoslav was forced to return to his own country, which was under attack by the Pechenegs. In the summer of 969, he launched a second campaign across the Danube.

Information about this period is scarce, but after the Bulgarian capital Preslav was captured in 971 by the Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes, the Bulgarian tsar, who was taken to Constantinople, was restored to all his royal rights. During his second campaign across the Danube, Sviatoslav hoped to conquer Constantinople and became a serious threat to Byzantium. At the same time, the Rus’ clashed with the Bulgarians in Thrace, suggesting an alliance between the Bulgarians and the Rus’. This period is accompanied by the mysterious appearance of the Cometopuli in the chronicles. According to John Skylitzes, they played a role in a rebellion against the Bulgarian tsar.

After Boris II and Roman returned to Preslav in 971, the chronicles are silent about the period from 971 to 976. Despite the lack of information about these years, it is thought that the four Cometopuli brothers—David, Moses, Aaron and Samuel—divided authority over the Bulgarian lands, each governing a particular region. Their activity was directed towards strengthening the state and recovering the lost Bulgarian territories.