The Theme of Bulgaria () was a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outs ...

of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

established by Emperor

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar ...

after the conquest of Bulgaria in 1018. Its capital was Scupi (or Skoupoi) and it was governed by a

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek to mean military general. In the Hellenisti ...

. The local inhabitants were ''Bulgarians''. Nevertheless the

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understo ...

kept their nationality, which reached particular strength after the Second Bulgarian Empire was formed in the 12th century. The period ended with the Uprising of Asen and Peter. The conquest of the

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Eur ...

by Byzantium lasted half a century. For this reason, Basil II the Bulgar Slayer after the conquest did not decide on any changes in order to bloodlessly establish the new

status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. ...

. The Bulgarian lands that offered the fiercest resistance were separated into the theme of Bulgaria. A world history of tax rebellions: an encyclopedia of tax rebels, revolts, and riots from antiquity to the present
David F. Burg, Taylor & Francis, 2004, , pp. 74–75. Initially the Byzantine emperor

issued an order that the tax system of the subdued Bulgarian kingdom continue to be applied in the annexed Bulgarian lands. The Bulgarian patriarchate was downgraded to an archbishopric called

Archbishopric of Ohrid The Archbishopric of Ohrid, also known as the Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid *T. Kamusella in The Politics of Language and Nationalism in Modern Central Europe, Springer, 2008, p. 276 *Aisling Lyon, Decentralisation and the Management of Ethni ...

, that retained an autocephalous status. The Bulgarian aristocracy also retained its position. Troops were recruited mainly from the Bulgarian population. However, only ten years later after the death of Basil II, the Byzantine tax system was introduced. Slavic literacy, liturgy and traditions of the Archbishopric were in some places subjected to persecution. Some of the Bulgarian aristocracy had slowly but consistently been removed from its position. Many were sent on ''assignments'' in other realms of the Empire remote from the Balkans. This situation gave rise to discontent among the local population. Rebellions aimed at restoration of the Bulgarian state broke out. The first rebellion rose in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 m ...

in 1040. It was headed by Petar Deljan, grandson of Tsar Samuel. This was followed by several more uprisings: Uprising in Thessaly (1066) led by Nikoulitzas Delphinas;

Uprising of Georgi Voyteh The Uprising of Georgi Voyteh ( bg, Въстание на Георги Войтех, sr, Словенски устанак у Поморављу - ''Slav Uprising in Pomoravlje'') was a Bulgarian uprising in the Byzantine theme of Bulgaria in 107 ...

; Uprising in Paristrion, and the revolts of Dobromir in

Mesembria Mesembria ( grc, Μεσημβρία; grc-x-doric, Μεσαμβρία, Mesambria) was an important Greek city in ancient Thrace. It was situated on the coast of the Euxine and at the foot of Mount Haemus; consequently upon the confines of Moe ...

and Leka in Sredets (today

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ...

) in 1079. After the coming to power of the

Komnenian Dynasty Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην� ...

, the Bulgarian uprisings subsided, due to the integration of the old Bulgarian aristocracy in the rule of the empire, as seen in the writings of

Anna Komnene Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...

about her grandmother

Maria of Bulgaria Maria of Bulgaria (died 21 November, after 1095), known as Maria Doukaina ( gr, Μαρία Δούκαινα) in the Byzantine sources, was the wife of ''protovestiarios'' and '' domestikos ton scholon'' Andronikos Doukas and mother of Empress Ir ...

in "

Alexiad The ''Alexiad'' ( el, Ἀλεξιάς, Alexias) is a medieval historical and biographical text written around the year 1148, by the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. It was written in a form of artificial ...

". At the end of the 11th century the Byzantine domains in the Balkans became an arena of fierce hostilities. The

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

invaded from the south and the knights of the First (1096–97) and then the

Second Crusade The Second Crusade (1145–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Cru ...

(1146–47) advanced from west. Most frightful were the renewed raids of the Turkic barbarians from the steppes, the Uzes,

Pechenegs The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა� ...

and the

Cumans The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many so ...

. At the end of the 12th century, formally Byzantium was the sovereign, but in many Balkan areas the Byzantine power was nominal. In 1185, the Normans landed in Dyrrachium again, moved east and looted Salonika. The chaos in the imperial domains encouraged the Bulgarians to restore their state with the rebellion of the brothers Peter and Asen, and Bulgaria sought again to dominate the Balkans. The disintegration of Byzantium was complete when in 1204 the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid ...

captured Constantinople. The Latins abolished the Byzantine Empire and set up their own feudal states in the southern Balkans.

Notes

{{Coord missing, North Macedonia Themes of the Byzantine Empire 11th century in Bulgaria 12th century in Bulgaria 11th century in Serbia Byzantine provinces in Macedonia History of Kosovo History of Skopje Medieval Macedonia States and territories established in 1018