CROATIAN
KING TOMISLAV DEFEATED BULGARIAN EMPEROR SYMEON THE GREAT ON MAY 27, 927
Dominic Mandić
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Journal of
Croatian Studies, I, 1960, pages
32-43 – Annual Review of the Croatian Academy of America, Inc. New York,
N.Y., Electronic edition by Studia Croatica, by permission. All reserved
by the Croatian Academy of America.
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Three
powerful states flourished in Southeastern Europe at the beginning of the tenth
century: Byzantine Empire, Bulgaria, and Croatia. Croatia spread from the Raga
River in Istria to the Drin in today's Albania, and from the
Adriatic Sea to the Drava and Danube Rivers in the north, and to the Drina
River in the east. The country was divided into White Croatia, from the
Raga to the Cetina in Dalmatia, and Red Croatia, from the Cetina to the
Drin.[1]
Bulgaria extended over the territory from the Morava River
to the Black Sea, and from the Danube to Adrianople and Salonika. It spanned
over what is today Bulgaria, Macedonia, a greater part of Serbia, Albania,
except a small coastal strip, and a large part of northern continental Greece.
Serbia was then a small country between the central Drina and the Morava.
It was called Rascia. Since its origin in the seventh, century, Serbia
was either subjected to the Byzantine Empire or dependent on Croatia. In the
beginning of the tenth century, it became a dependent at one time of the
Byzantine Empire, at another time either of Bulgaria or Croatia.[2]
In
the second decade of the tenth century, Croatia and Bulgaria were, at the
zenith of their powers. Tomislav, the first Croatian king (c. 910-929), ruled
Croatia[3];
Symeon the Great (893-927), duke and later emperor, ruled Bulgaria.[4]
During Tomislav's reign, Croatia had an army of 100,000 infantrymen and 60,000
mounted soldiers. Its navy consisted of 80 large and 100 small ships.[5]
Tomislav was conscious of his power. He courageously repelled neighboring
enemies, particularly Magyars, whom he defeated several times.[6]
However, he neither attacked neighbors nor longed for their territories. The
Bulgarian ruler, Symeon, was a wise and able man with a restless and insatiable
spirit. He spent his entire life fighting battles with neighboring countries.
His basic aim was to defeat the Byzantine Empire and conquer Byzantium so that
he could rule the Balkans as the "Emperor of the .Bulgarians and
Greeks". To achieve his aim, Symeon overran the eastern and central
Balkans several times, occupied Serbia and finally attacked Croatia.
Constantine Porphyrogenitus recorded the event in his work De administrando
Imperio, written between 948 and 952.
After describing how the Serbian great župan Zacharias fled
to Croatia, when Symeon attacked him for the second time, Porphyrogenitus
continues, "Now, at that time these same Bulgarians under Alogobotour
entered Croatia to make war, and there they were all slain by the Croats."[7]
Porphyrogenitus did not state the year when that
occurred. However, some historians, among them Croatian historians Rački[8],
Klaić[9],
and others, concluded on the basis of Porphyrogenitus' data about Serbian
history that the event had to occur in 925. Zlatarski, the greatest Bulgarian
historian, holds the same opinion[10].
Croatian historian Šišić[11].
English historian Runciman[12],
Ostrogorsky[13] and others
date the event with 926 A.D. on the basis of the same data. It should be
observed that the exact time when the Bulgarians attacked the Croats could not
be established on the basis of Serbian history. After the description of
Symeon's war against Serbia, Porphyrogenitus starts the description of the war
with the Croats with the words “κατά τňν καιρňν
οΰν…” which do not really mean, "now at that time," or
"then, immediately after that," but rather, "at opportune,
favorable time"[14].
Such an expression allows a possibility that the Bulgarian attack on Croatia
did not immediately follow the second attack on Zacharias, but
rather that some time elapsed between them. Our explanation is particularly
true for Porphyrogenitus who, in his works, uses the expression "now"
(νΰν) and "just now" (άρτι)
for the period of ten and one hundred years[15].
Theophanes Continuatus, i.e.
the continuer of Theophanes' Chronicle, another Byzantine writer, mentions the
war between the Bulgarians and Croats. He writes, "On the
twenty-seventh of the month of May, during the fifteenth indiction, Symeon,
ruler of the Bulgarians, led the army against the Croats and fighting a battle
with them, he was defeated and all under him were slain ... and Symeon died in
Bulgaria, ending his life, overpowered by grief and broken-hearted ... And
having heard of Symeon's death, the neighboring peoples, Croats, Magyars, and
others, decided to attack the Bulgarians ... "[16]
According to
this statement, the battle between Symeon and Tomislav, respectively between
the Bulgarians and Croats, occurred on May 27, 927, because the fifteenth
indiction corresponds to 927 A.D. When Symeon heard of the defeat, he died of a
broken heart. That could have happened seven or eight days after the battle,
while some of the escaped soldiers returned from Eastern Bosnia to Preslav,
capital of Bulgaria. Accordingly, Symeon died about June 3, 927.
Theophanes
Continuatus' statement has a first class value. He was a contemporary of the
event and besides used copious historical material collected by Emperor
Constantine Porphyrogenitus. Our writer wrote his work during the reign of
Emperor Nicephorus II, Phocas (963-969)[17],
that is less than forty years after the battle.
Georgius
Cedrenus, a writer from the end of the eleventh and the beginning of the
twelfth centuries, says that the battle between Symeon the Great and the Croats
occurred in the month May, during the fifteenth indiction, which corresponds to
927 A. D. He writes, "In the month of May, during the fifteenth
indiction, Symeon, ruler of the Bulgarians, attacked the Croats, and, having a
fight with them, was defeated in impervious regions and lost all his army ...
Symeon died stricken by a heart attack in Bulgaria ... Then, having heard of
Symeon's death, neighboring peoples, the Magyars, Serbs, Croats and others
decided, to attack the Bulgarians"[18].
Joannes
Zonaras, a twelfth-century Byzantine writer, who distinguishes himself in using
old reliable sources, mentions Symeon's defeat in Croatia and, a little later,
his death caused by a heart attack. He reads, "But the Bulgarian ruler
Symeon, a blood-thirsty and restless man, attacked the Croatian people and,
being defeated by them in impervious regions, lost his army... Symeon passed
away of a broken heart"[19].
Georgius Cedrenus and Joannes Zonaras were
exceptional experts in Byzantine sources of earlier data[20].
When they write that the Croats defeated the Bulgarians in May 927 and that
Symeon, hearing that, died of a broken, heart, it means that this fact was so
stated in the best Byzantine works contemporary to the event. It means that
this is a historical fact.
Symeon
Magister, a contemporary to the event, wrote his work during the
reign of Emperor Nicephorus II, Phocas (963--969)[21].
However, he is not an independent writer but only a copyist who abridged
Theophanes Continuatus, his contemporary. He begins his story with Theophanes
Continuatus indication of the time, but omits the description of the battle
between the Bulgarians and the Croats. In that way he states that Symeon died
on May 27, 927.[22] Therefore,
we cannot accept that statement. Symeon Magister does
not mention new independent sources for his statement but just copies and
abridges that of Theophanes Continuatus. However, Theophanes Continuatus expressly
writes that the battle between the Bulgarians and Croats occurred on May 27,
927, and that Symeon died a few days later when he heard of the defeat of his
army in Croatia. Because Symeon Magister is a copyist
of Theophanes Continuatus, his statement does not have its own independent
value but it has to be interpreted according to its source.
The
continuer of Georgius Monachus, called Hamartolus (the Sinner), copied Symeon
Magister's statement in the sixth book of Georgius' work about the lives of emperors,
written in the second half of the tenth century, omitting the legend about the
astronomer John and Emperor Romanus. Accordingly,
he dates the death of Symeon the Great with May 27, during the fifteenth
indiction[23], i.e.
927 A.D. However, the statement of the continuer of Georgius Monachus does not
have an independent value for he is a copyist. His statement should be valued
in the same way as his sources, i.e. Symeon Magister
and Theophanes Continuatus.
Some
manuscripts of Georgius Monachus Hamartolus, respectively some redactions of
his work, disagree with the text printed by E. de Muralto and the Bonn edition.
The text of some redactions is similar to the text of Theophanes Continuatus.
Namely after the date (May 27, 927) they mention Symeon's defeat in
Croatia and afterwards his death of a broken heart. The Munich redaction has
the following title of the passage, "About Symeon Bulgarian, his
defeat in Croatia, and his death."[24].
The Vatican redaction describes the defeat in Croatia almost with the
same words as Theophanes Continuatus so that the date of May 27, 927, refers to
the defeat of Symeon's army in Croatia.[25].
In an
ancient Slaveno-Russian translation of Georgius Hamar tolus Chronicle, there
is stated that the Croats defeated Symeon the Great on May 27, 927. The
translation reads, "On the 27th of the month of May, during the
fifteenth indiction, Symeon, Bulgarian Duke, conducted a battle against the
Croats, and, having fought, was defeated, and all under him were slain. Then
attacked by an incurable heart sickness, he perished, being an iniquitous man
in all ... He installed Peter, his son, as duke ..."[26].
We do not
have a critical edition either of Georgius Hamartolus Chronicle or of
the addenda written by his continuers. Several redactions, particularly the Vatican
redaction and that one used by the old Russian translator, indicate first
the date, May 27, 927, then describe the battle between Symeon's army and the
Croats, and Symeon's death at the end. Therefore, there is a possibility that it
was thus written in the original manuscript of the first continuer of Georgius
Hamartolus, but that later copyists omitted to mention the battle between the
Bulgarians and the Croats. By doing so they left an incorrect text according to
which Symeon died on May 27, 927. A critical edition of the Chronicle by Georgius
Hamartolus and his continuers should solve this question.
The Russian
chronicler Nestor, respectively The Russian Primary
Chronicle, used a redaction of Georgius Hamartolus which stated first the
date, then described Symeon's defeat, and finally his death. As in other cases[27],
Nestor incorrectly changed the fifteenth indiction, which he
found in Georgius' text, into the year 6450 from the world's creation, namely
942 A. D. According to Georgius' text, Nestor had to
change this to the year 6435 from the world's creation, namely 927 A.D.
Nestor's text in the English translation reads, "6450 (942). Symeon
attacked the Croats and was beaten by them. He, then died, leaving Peter his
son as Prince of the Bulgarians"[28].
Thus Nestor, when
corrected, is also a source which confirms that the Croats defeated the
Bulgarians in 927, i.e. on May 27, 927. Namely Nestor always
mentions for all events only years, omitting days and months.
We have an indirect
confirmation in a letter of Pope Leon VI, by which the Pope approves the
decisions of a church synod, held in Split in 928, as well as in the Minutes of
the synod, that the battle between the Bulgarians and the Croats occurred in
927, and not in 925 or 926. Pope Leon VI, who was elected in June 928 and died
in December of the same year, writes that a papal mission headed by Cardinal
Madalbertus and John, Duke of Chumae[29],
returned to Rome during his reign after being absent for two years[30].
It means that Madalbertus left Rome in the summer or fall of 926. His journey
across Croatia to Preslav, capital of Bulgaria, took probably two or three
month. Accordingly his mission reached Bulgaria at the end of the summer or
during the fall of 926. At that time, there was no conflict between the
Bulgarians and Croats. Madalbertus did not go to Bulgaria to mediate a peace
between them, but rather in a special mission connected with Bulgaria itself.
The Pope writes,“... to accomplish the work for which they were authorized,
Madalbertus, honorable Bishop, and John, illustrious Duke of Cumae, returned to
us after two years"[31].
In the official Minutes of the Split synod in
928, we read, "Arriving then on our frontiers, the above mentioned
legates went to Bulgaria as ordered by the apostolic injuction"[32].
The question of peace between the Bulgarians and the Croats arose
afterwards and Madalbertus mediated it while he was in Bulgaria[33].
The events developed as follows.
After long wars and great success, capturing a
larger part of Byzantine territory in Europe, Symeon the Great proclaimed
himself Emperor and took the title "Emperor of the Bulgarians and
Greeks" at the beginning of 925.[34].
According to the juridical reasoning of the time, only the Pope and the
Byzantine Emperor could bestow royal or imperial titles, and an emperor might
be crowned only by a patriarch. Byzantine Emperor Romanus Lecapenus
protested bitterly against Symeon's usurpation of the imperial title[35].
Patriarch of Constantinople, Nicolas Mysticus, did
the same[36] In such a
predicament, Symeon begged Pope John X (914-928) to send him an imperial crown
and to recognize the head of the Bulgarian church as a Patriarch. Naturally,
Symeon had to promise to recognize the papal primacy in the Church. John X accepted
Symeon's request and sent a solemn mission to Bulgaria, headed by Cardinal
Madalbertus and John, illustrious Duke of Cumae[37].
The papal mission reached Bulgaria at the end of the summer or during the fall
of 926, carrying a crown and a scepter with which they would crown Symeon as
Bulgarian Emperor.
When the papal mission
arrived in Preslav, Madalbertus started long negotiations with Symeon and the
representatives of the Bulgarian church. Probably, Madalbertus convoked a
church synod in Bulgaria as he later did in Split, in Croatia,
on his way back to Rome in 928. The negotiations regarding ecclesiastical
matters were successful, and Archbishop Leontius was created Patriarch in
Preslav, still during Symeon's reign[38].
Meanwhile, Symeon undertook imposing
preparations for his crowing during the summer of 927. All of a sudden, he
decided to wage a war against the Croats. The reason might have been that
Tomislav received and protected the Serbs who were expelled by Symeon from
Rascia[39].
In all probability, however, the main reason was that Symeon, if crowned by the
Papal Legate, feared an attack from the Byzantine Emperor supported by
Tomislav. Emperor Romanus Lecapenus won the friendship
of Tomislav some years previously, handing over the Byzantine Dalmatia to
Tomislav and recognizing him as King of Croatia[40].
During the summer of 926, Tomislav sent his troops to Italy to expel Saracens,
from the city of Sipontus[41],
which belonged to the Byzantine province of Langobardia. This event could have
been a sufficient proof to Symeon that the Croats took the side of the
Byzantine Emperor and that they would support him actively in the future.
Therefore, when in the next spring, May 927, Symeon sent a strong army under
the command of Alogobotour against the Croats[42],
Bulgarians were met by Tomislav in the mountainous region of Eastern Bosnia.
Tomislav crushed them, May 27, 927, destroying almost the entire Bulgarian
army. When Symeon heard of the crush of his army, seven or eight days after the
battle, he suffered a stroke and died about June 3, 927, without having been
crowned with the imperial crown brought by Madalbertus from Rome. Samuel,
Emperor of the second Bulgarian Empire, died, too, of a heart attack after a
defeat on. a battlefield. Byzantine writers noted down the exact , date of
Samuel's defeat by Emperor Basil II, the Bulgar-slayer (July 29, 1014)[43],
omitting to mention the date of his death. The writers proceeded in the same
way as the previous writers did in the case of Symeon the Great: Byzantine
writers considered the date of Symeon's defeat by the Croats (May 27, 927) more
important than the date of his death.
That the Papal Legate Madalbertus came to
Bulgaria to crown Symeon the Great, as Bulgarian Emperor, we conclude, firstly,
from the statements in the letter of Pope Leon VI and the Minutes of Split
church synod in 928, and, secondly, from the fact that Madalbertus crowned
Peter, Symeon's son, as Bulgarian Emperor in the summer of 927. Both, the papal
letter and the Minutes, speak of important apostolic work which Madalbertus'
mission of 926 had in Bulgaria[44].
In 1202 the Bulgarian Emperor, Ivan Kaloyan,
expressly stated, on the basis of old Bulgarian chronicles, that Peter was
crowned with the crown brought from Rome[45].
And, on the basis of Roman registers, Pope Innocent III replied to Kaloyan that
several Bulgarian rulers received crowns from Rome[46].
Peter, however, might have been crowned with a Roman crown by Bishop
Madalbertus only during a few early months of his reign. Since at the beginning
of the fall of 927, Peter perfected his negotiations with the Byzantine Empire
and married a granddaughter of the Byzantine Emperor, Romanus Lecapenus
on October 8, 927. In the agreement, Byzantium recognized Peter as Bulgarian
Emperor as well as the independence of the Bulgarian church[47].
Byzantium only removed Patriarch Leontius, appointed by Rome, and replaced him
by Damnianus, a partisan of Byzantium[48].
During the entire further reign of Peter, there was no possibility that he
might be crowned by a crown from Rome. The only logical conclusion is that he
was crowned by a crown from Rome at the start of his reign while he was hostile
to the Byzantine Empire.
All sources
which mention the battle between the Bulgarians and the Croats state that after
Symeon's death the Croats, Magyars, and other neighboring peoples took steps to
wage a war against the Bulgarians[49].
That means that the Bulgarians did not conclude a peace with the Croats while
Symeon was alive as well as that Symeon really died immediately after the
defeat in Croatia. The peace was concluded during the reign of Symeon's son and
successor, Peter (927-969). It was mediated by the Papal Legate Madalbertus
while he was still in Bulgaria as it is written in the Minutes of the Split
church synod of 928[50].
That occurred during July or August 927 for Madalbertus was no longer in
Bulgaria when the negotiations were perfected between the Bulgarian Emperor,
Peter, and Byzantine Emperor, Romanus Lecapenus.
As we already mentioned, the negotiations were successful. Peter married the
Emperor's granddaughter on October 8, 927, and Bulgaria fell completely under
Byzantine influence.
Until recently we had only a single source, the
Acts of the Split church synod of 928 [51],
about the papal mediation for the conclusion of a peace between the Bulgarians
and the Croats. Three years ago, Croatian historian Dr. Vinko Foretić
discovered a manuscript on parchment in the treasury of the Chapter of the city
of Korčula in Croatia. The manuscript is from the first half of the
twelfth century, written about 1130 A.D. Among other things, the discovered
codex has a special redaction of Liber Pontificalis. The following is
written there about Pope John X, "John X ruled twelve years, two
months, and six days. He made a peace between the Bulgarians and Croats through
.his legates, Bishop Madalbertus and Duke John..."[52].
From
this statement we have to conclude that Pope John X, hearing of the war between
the Bulgarians and Croats, ordered his mission in Bulgaria to mediate a peace.
The Croatian king Tomislav, probably on the invitation of the Papal Legate
Madalbertus, sent his representatives to Bulgaria who perfected negotiations
and concluded a peace. After the defeat of the Bulgarians on May 27, 927, and
the conclusion of a just and propitious peace, Croatia reached the zenith of
her power during the reign of her first king Tomislav. At that time she was a
very powerful nation in Southeastern Europe.
[1][1] Regnum Croatorum, Ch. 9, and Presbyteri Diocleatis, Regnum
Sclavorum. Ch. 9: F. Šišić, ed.. Letopis Popa Dukljanina (Beograd-Zagreb, 1928), p. 306 and 398; V.
Mošin, ed., Ljetopis Popa Dukljanina (Zagreb, 1950), p. 54.
Cf. D. Mandić Crvena Hrvatska (Chicago,
1957), p. 1-50.
[2][2] Cf. C. Porphyrogenitus, De administrando
imperio, Ch. 32, ed.
Gy. Moravesik and R. J. H. Jenkins
(Budapest, 1949), p. 152-60; C. Jireček, Geschichte der Serben (Gotha, 1911), vol.
I, p. 111-254; D. Mandić "Hrvatski sabor na Duvaniskom
polju god. 753," Hrvatska Revija (Buenos
Aires), vol. VII (1957), p. 12-19, 38.
[3][3] Cf. F. Šišić, Geschichte der Kroaten (Zagreb, 1917), p.
121-49, F. Šišić, Povijest Hrvata u vrijeme narodnih vladara (Zagreb,
1925), p. 401-30; D. Mandić, Crvena Hrvatska. p. 107-16.
[4][4] Cl. W. N. Slatarski, Geschichte der Bulgaren.
(Leipzig,
1918), vol. I; V. N. Zlatarski, Istorija na Balgarskata Država: Parvito
Balgarsko Carstvo (Sofia. 1927). vol. I. part 2; S. Runciman, A History of
the First Bulgarian Empire (London, 1930). Hereafter Runcinam, History.
[5][5] C. Porphyrogenitus, op. cit., Ch. 31, p.
150.
[6][6] "Rex autem Thomislavus, fortis
iuvenis et robustus bellator, plurima bella cum eo [rege Ungarinorum] commisit et semper eum
in fugam convertit," Šišić, ed Letopis Popa Dukljanina, p. 310;
Mošin, ed., op. cit., p. 58.
[7][7] C. Porphyrogenitus, op. cit., Ch. 32, p.
1.58., “κατά τňν καιρňν
ούν έκείνον
είσήλθον οί
αύτοί Βούλγαροι
είς Χρωβατίαν
μετά τού
'Αλογοβότονρ
τού πολεμήσαι,
και έσφάγησαν
πάντες έκείσε
παρά τών Xρωβάτων.”
- English translation, ibidem, p. 159. We do not agree with the starting
phrase of the translation.
[8][8] F. Rački, Documenta historiae
Chroaticae periodum antiquant illustrantia. Monumenta Spectantia Historiam Slavorum
Meridionalium, vol. VII (Zagreb, 1877), p. 392.
[9][9] V. Klaić, Povijest Hrvata (Zagreb,
1899), vol. I, p. 75.
[10][10] W. N. Zlatarski, Geschichte der Bulgaren,
vol.
I, p.
58.
[11][11] F. Šišić, Povijest Hrvata, p. 422.
[12][12] S. Runciman, History. p. 176.
[13][13] G. Ostrogorsky, Geschichte des Byzantinischen
Staates (Munich, 1942), p. 215.
[14][14] Cf. Hen. Stephani. Thesaurus Graecae linguae (Paris,
1829), vol. IV, p. 817; Demetrakon D., Mega lexikon thes Hellenikes glosses (Athens,
1938), vol. IV, p. 3531; The Classic Greek Dictionary (Chicago: Follett,
1954), p. 341.
[15][15] Cf. A. Pertusi, Constantino
Porfirogenito, De Thematibus, Studii e Testi vol. 160. (Vatican, 1952),
p. 39 ff.
[16][16] J. Bakker, ed., Theophanes Continuatus, Lib.
VI. De Romano Lacapemo (Bonn, 1838), Ch. 20 ff., p. 411 ff, “Μαίώ δέ μηνί, είκάδι
έβδňóμη,
νδικτιώνος ιέ,
Σγμεών άρχων
Βουγγυλγαρίας
κατά Χρωβάτων
έκίνησε
στράτεγμα, καί
συμβαλών μετ'
άύτών πόλεμον
ηττηθείς τούς
γπ' αύτόν
άπαντας άρδην
άπώλεσεν… ο
Σγμεών… άνοία
συσχεθεις καί
νόσω
κατακαρδία
άλούς,
διφθαρτο…” - S. Runciman, Romanus
Lecapenus (London, 1929), p. 96, n. 1, understood our writer so that he,
the writer, asserted that Symeon personally led his army against the Croats.
However that is not correct. Theophanes Continuatus, as well as other Byzantine
chroniclers, attributes Symeon all the deeds performed by his army leaders
under his command. That our writer did not think that Symeon personally led his
army against the Croats, it is evident from the fact that he, the writer,
asserts, on the one hand, that Symeon died in Bulgaria, and, on the other hand,
that the battle was fought in Croatia.
[17][17] K. Krumbacher, Geschichte der byzant. Literatur (Munich, 1897), p. 124-26; G.
Moravcsik, Byzantinoturcica (Budapest, 1942), vol. I, 340.42.
[18][18] J. Bekker, ed., Georgii
Cedreni Compendium Hist. (Bonn, 1839), vol. II, p. 307 ff.. ««Μαϊφ δέ μηνί, ίνδικτιώνος ιε', είσβολην Συμεών ó τής Βουλγαρίας άρχων έποιήσατο κατά Χρωβάτων, καί συμβαλών μετ' αυτών καί ήττηθείς έν ταϊς τών όρών δυσχωρίαις άπαν τό έαυτοϋ άπώλεσε στράτευμα... ó Συμεών έν Βουλγαρία τέbνηκε νόσω κατακαρδία άλούς... τά γοϋν πέριξ ένθη, Τοϋρκοι Σέρβοι Χρωβάτοι καί οί λοιποί, τήν τοϋ Συμεών άναμαθντες τελευτήν έκστρατεύειν κατά Βουλγάρων έβουλεύοντο.» -» -
Hereafter Cedrenus.
[19][19] Th. Buttner-Wobst,
ed., Joannes Zonaras, Epitomae Hist. (Bonn,
1897), vol. III, lib. XVI, Ch.
18, p. 473, «`Ο μέντοι
τών Βουλγάρων
άρχων ό
Συμεών, άνήρ
ών αίμάτων,
ήσυχίαν άγειν
οϋποτε όλως
προήρητο.
όθεν κατά
τοϋ έθνους
τών Χροβάτων
έστράτευσεν,
άλλ' ήττητο
ϋπ' εκείνων,
κάν ταϊς
τών όρών
δυσχωρίαις
τό οίκεϊον
άπέβαλε στράτευμα...
καί τώ
Συμεών αύθωρόν
έπέλιπε τό
βιώσιμού,
ληφθέντι καρδιωγώ…
ώς δ'
έξ άνθρώπων
ό Συμεών
άπελήλυθεν,
ή τών
Βουλγάρων
αρχή προς
Πέτρού...» - Hereafter
Zonaras.
[20][20] K. Krumbacher, op. cit., p. 140-46;
Moravcsik, op. cit., p. 140-45 and 196-200.
[21][21] K. Krumbacher, op. cit., p. 136-38;
Moravcsik, op. cit., p. 321-23.
[22][22] Symeon Magister, De Const. Porphyr. et Romano Lacapeno, Ch. 33, in J.
Bekker, ed., Theophanes Continuatus. op. cit., p. 740.
[23][23]
E. de Muralto, ed. Georgii Monachi dicti Hamartoli, Chronicon
(Petrograd. 1559), p. 830; Georgii Monachi, Vitae recent. imperatorum, De
Const. Porphyr. et Romano Lacapeno. Ch. 28, in J.
Bekker, ed., Theophanes Continuatus, op. cit., p. 904.
[24][24] E. de Muralto, ed., op.
cit., p. 830, n. r. 9.
[25][25] Ibidem. u. r. 10. - The text given
by Rački (op. cit., p. 392) is composed artificially and does not
correspond with the text given by Muralto.
[26][26] 26) V. M. Istrin', Hronika Georgija Amartola
v' drevnem' slavjanorusskom' perevode (Petrograd, 1920), Tom' I, p. 560,
"Maia meseca v' 27 indikta 15 Semen', knjaz' Bolgarskij, na Horvaty podvize
voinu i sestupu byvšu,
pobežden' byv', i suštaja
pod nim' vsa issěče. Tem' neiscelnoe bolĕzniju po srce jat', pogybe,
bezakonnovav' vsue. Petra, sina svoego, postavi knjazem' ..."
[27][27] Cf. S. H. Cross and 0. P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor, The
Russian Primary Chronicle (Cambridge, Mass., 1953), p. 30-33; D. S.
Lihačev, Povest' vremennyh let (Moscow-Leningrad, 1950). vol. II.
p. 288.
[28][28] D. S.
Lihačev, op. cit., vol. I, p. 33, "V leto 6450. Semeon'
ide na Hravaty i pobežen'
byst' Hravaty, i umre, ostaviv' Petra knjaza,
syna svoego, Bol'garoni " English translation S. H. Cross and 0. P.
Sherbowitz-Wetzor, op. cit., p. 72.
[29][29] Cumae, an
ancient Greek colony in Campania, Italy, between Naples and Gaeta on the coast
of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Cumae was an important city during the Middle Ages,
being the center of the Cumaean Dukedom (Ducatus Cumae). The city of
Cumae (Kűmah) is also mentioned by Arabian geographer Idris in 1154 A.D. (cf.
M. Amari and C. Schiaparelli, L'Italia descritta nel "Libro
del Re Ruggero" compilato da Idrisi,
Rome, 1883, p. 95).
[30][30] Rački,
op. cit., p. 194 and F. Šišić, Enchiridion fontium
historiae croaticae (Zagreb, 1914), vol. I, p. 221, "
... iniuncti sibi operis causa Bulgariam
petentes Romanorum legati, Madalbertus uenerabilis episcopus et Johannes
dux illustris, dux Cumas. ad nos post
biennium deuenerunt." Hereafter Šišić, Enchiridion. Bishop
Madalbertus was papal legate in Byzantium in 933 A.D., cf. ,
Δελτίον (Athens, 1885), vol. II, p. 395.
[31][31] Cf. n. 30.
[32][32] Rački,
op. cit., p. 195 and Šišić, Enchiridion, p. 222,
"Perucnientes igitur supra fati legati ad confinia nostra
et, sicut illis opus iniunctum apostolica iussione fuit, Bulgariam
perexerunt."
[33][33] Cf. n. 50, 51, and 52.
[34][34] Cf. Slatarski,
op. cit., p. 58; Runciman, History, p. 173;
Ostrogorsky, op. cit., p. 214.
[35][35] Romanus
Lecapenus, "Epistolae," in
Δελτίον (Athens), vol. I
(1884), p. 40-45; V. N. Zlatarski, "Pismata na Romana Lecapina
do Simeona," Sbornik' za narodni umotvoreniya (Sofia), vol. XII (1896),
p. 205-211; vol. XIII (1896), p. 8-11.
[36][36] Nicolaus Mysticus, Epistolae, 30 and 31,
Migne, Patrol. Graeca (Paris, 1863), vol. III. col. 18.5 ff.
[37][37] Cf. n. 30.
[38][38] Cf. n. 48.
[39][39] Serbian župan
Zacharias fled from Symeon to Croatia in the spring of 925 A.D.:
C. Porphyrogenitus, op. cit., Ch. 32, p. 159, "Then Zacharias
took fright and fled to Croatia, and the Bulgarians ... entered Serbia
and took away with them the entire folk, both old and young, and carried them
into Bulgaria, though a few escaped away and entered Croatia; and the country
was left deserted."
[40][40] That occurred in 923 A.D. I am preparing a
special article about that.
[41][41] "Hoc anno 19261
comprendit Michael rex Sclavorum civitatem Sipontum, mense Julio, die sanctae
Felicitatis, secunda feria, indictione XV,"
Annales Reneventani (ed. Pertz),
MGH SS, vol. III, p. 175; Lupi Protospatharii Chronicon, MGH SS, vol. V,
p. 54; Annales Barenses, ad an. 928, MGH SS, vol. III, p. 52;
Rački, op. cit., p. 393. - The chronicler, who registered the event
immediately after it happened, heard that the army of Croatian king occupied
Sipontus. Because the army was led by Michael, duke of Zachumlia, the
chronicler thought that he, Michael, was the king of the Slavs ICroatsl.
[42][42] The name of
Alogobotour, Bulgarian army leader, means in Bulgaro-Turanian "the head of
heroes." Cf. Runciman, History, p. 285.
[43][43] Cf. Cedrenus, vol. II, p.
458; Zonaras, vol. III, lib. XVII, Ch. 9, p. 563 ff.
[44][44] Cf. n. 30 and 32.
[45][45] Innocentii
III Registrorum, lib. V. an 1202, u. 115. Migne, Patrologia
Latina, vol. 214, col. 1112 ff., "in
primis petimus ab Ecclesia Romana matre
coronam et honorem, tamquam dilectus filius, secundum quod imperatores nostri
veteres habuerunt. Unus fait Petrus, alius fuit
Samuel et alii qui eos in imperio praecesserunt, sicut in libris nostris
invenimus esse. scriptum ...”
[46][46] Ibidem,
n. 116, col. 1114, "Petisti vero humiliter ut
coronam tibi Ecciesia Romana concederet, sicut illustris memoriae Petro,
Samueli et aliis progenitoribus in libris tuis legitur concessiese. Nos igitur
. . . regestra nostra perlegi fecimus diligenter; ex quibus evidenter
comperimus quod in terra tibi subjecta multi reges fuerunt
coronati ... "
[47][47] Cf. W. N. Slatarski, op. cit.. p. 59; Runciman,
History, p. 179-82.
[48][48] According
to Sinodik carja Borila (ed.
Popruženko, Odesa 1899), the first Bulgarian patriarch was Leontius, residing
in Preslav. However in the list of Bulgarian Archbishops (V. N. Zlatarski,
“Bulgarski Arkhiepiskopi-Patriarsi priez Pervoto Carstvo”, Izviesčiya na Istoricheskoto
Druzhestvo v. Sofia, vol. VI), Damnianus from
Dristar is listed as the first Bulgarian patriarch. In reality, the first
Bulgarian patriarch was Leontius, but Byzantium did not recognize him because
he was appointed by Rome. The writer of the list of Bulgarian Archbishops, a
Byzantine partisan, did not consider Leontius a lawful Bulgarian patriarch and,
therefore, started the list with patriarch Damnianus.
[49][49] Cf. n. 16 to 23.
[50][50] The Minutes
of Split Church Synod of 928, in Rački, op. cit., p. 195,
and Šišić, Enchiridion. p. 222, "Quique peracto
negotio pacis inter Bulgaros et Chroatos, repetito itinere ad nos uenerabilis
Madalbertus episcopus, in ciuitatem spalatensem adueniens ... " According
to the Minutes Madalbertus mediated a peace between the Bulgars and the Croats
while he was still in Bulgaria. Afterwards he returned to Split by the same way
by which he went to Bulgaria. Cf. n. 32.
[51][51] Letter of Pope Leon VI (Rački, op. cit.,
p. 196 ff. and Šišić, Enchiridion, p. 223 ff.) and the Minutes of Split
Church Synod of 928 (cf. n. 30 and 32).
[52][52] V.
Foretić, "Korčulanski kodeks 12. stoljeća," Starine
(Zagreb: Yugoslav Academy, 1956), vol. 46, p. 30, "Johannes X
sedit annos XII, menses II, dies VI. Hic fecit
pacem inter Bulgaros et Chroatos per legatos suos Madelbertum scilicet
episcopum, et Johannem ducem ... "