__NOTOC__ The Uprising of Asen and Peter () was a revolt of

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

and

Vlachs Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula ...

living in

Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; ) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. As a Roman domain Moesia was administered at first by the governor of Noricum as 'Civitates of Moesia and Triballi ...

and the

Balkan Mountains The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs f ...

, then the

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

of Paristrion of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, caused by a tax increase. It began on 26 October 1185, the feast day of St.

Demetrius of Thessaloniki Saint Demetrius (or Demetrios) of Thessaloniki, Thessalonica (, ), also known as the Holy Great martyr, Great-Martyr Demetrius the Myroblyte (meaning 'the Myrrh-Gusher' or 'Myrrh-Streamer'; 3rd century – 306), was a Greeks, Greek Christianity, ...

, and ended with the restoration of

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

with the creation of the

Second Bulgarian Empire The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1422. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...

, ruled by the Asen dynasty. Isaac II Angelus, in order to raise money for his wedding with the daughter of King

Béla III of Hungary Béla III (, , ; 114823 April 1196) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1172 and 1196. He was the second son of King Géza II of Hungary, Géza II and Géza's wife, Euphrosyne of Kiev. Around 1161, Géza granted Béla a du ...

, levied a new tax which fell heavily on the population of the Haemus Mountains. They sent two leaders (

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

and Asen) to negotiate with the emperor at Kypsella (now

İpsala İpsala (; ) is a town in Edirne Province in northwestern Turkey. It is the seat of İpsala District.Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

. They asked to be added to the roll of the Byzantine army and to be granted land near Haemus to provide the monetary income needed to pay the tax. This was refused, and Peter and Asen were treated roughly. Their response was to threaten revolt. After their return, many of the protesters were unwilling to join the rebellion. The brothers Peter and Asen built the Church of St Demetrius of Thessaloniki in Tarnovo, dedicated to

Saint Demetrius Saint Demetrius (or Demetrios) of Thessalonica (, ), also known as the Holy Great-Martyr Demetrius the Myroblyte (meaning 'the Myrrh-Gusher' or 'Myrrh-Streamer'; 3rd century – 306), was a Greek Christian martyr of the early 4th century AD. D ...

, who was traditionally considered a patron of the Byzantine city of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, and claimed that the Saint had ceased to favour the Byzantines: "God had decided to free the Bulgarians and the Vlach people and to lift the yoke that they had borne for so long". This persuaded their followers to attack Byzantine cities, seizing prisoners and cattle. Preslav, capital of the

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire (; was a medieval state that existed in Southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 680–681 after part of the Bulgars, led by Asparuh of Bulgaria, Asparuh, moved south to the northe ...

, was raided, and it was after this symbolic incident that Peter assumed the insignia of

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

(or

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

). In the spring of 1186, Isaac started a counter-offensive. It was successful at first. During the solar eclipse of 21 April 1186, the Byzantines successfully attacked the rebels, many of whom fled north of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

, making contact with the north-Danubian Vlachs and with the

Cumans The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cumania, Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Ru ...

of the

Pontic Steppe Pontic, from the Greek ''pontos'' (, ), or "sea", may refer to: The Black Sea Places * The Pontic colonies, on its northern shores * Pontus (region), a region on its southern shores * The Pontic–Caspian steppe, steppelands stretching from n ...

. In a symbolic gesture, Isaac II entered Peter's house and took the icon of Saint Demetrius, thus regaining the saint's favour. Still under threat of ambush from the hills, Isaac returned hastily to Constantinople to celebrate his victory. Thus, when the armies of Bulgarians and the VlachsByzantium's Balkan frontier: a political study of the Northern Balkans, 900–1204
Paul Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 2000; , p. 290. returned, reinforced by the northern Vlachs and their Cuman allies, they found the region undefended and regained not only their old territory but the whole of

, a considerable step towards the establishment of a new Bulgarian state. The Emperor now entrusted the war to his uncle, John the sebastocrator, who gained several victories against the rebels but then himself rebelled. He was replaced with the emperor's brother-in-law, John Kantakouzenos, a good strategist but unfamiliar with the

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

tactics used by the mountaineers. His army was ambushed, suffering heavy losses, after unwisely pursuing the enemy into the mountains. The third general in charge of fighting the rebels was Alexius Branas, who, in turn, rebelled and turned on Constantinople. Isaac defeated him with the help of a second brother-in-law,

Conrad of Montferrat Conrad of Montferrat (Italian language, Italian: ''Corrado del Monferrato''; Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ''Conrà ëd Monfrà'') (c. 1146 – 28 April 1192) was a nobleman, one of the major participants in the Third Crusade. He was the '' ...

, but this civil strife had diverted attention from the rebels and Isaac was able to send out a new army only in September 1187. The Byzantines obtained a few minor victories before winter, but the rebels, helped by the Cumans and employing their mountain tactics, still held the advantage. In the spring of 1187, Isaac attacked the fortress of Lovech, but failed to capture it after a three-month siege. The lands between the

Haemus Mons The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs f ...

and the Danube were now lost for the Byzantine Empire, leading to the signing of a truce, thus de facto recognising the rule of the Asen and Peter over the territory, leading to the creation of the

. The Emperor's only consolation was to hold, as hostages, Asen's wife and a certain John (future

Kaloyan of Bulgaria Kaloyan or Kalojan, also known as Ivan I, Ioannitsa or Johannitsa (; 1170 – October 1207), the Roman Slayer, was emperor or tsar of Second Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria from 1196 to 1207. He was the younger brother of Peter II of Bulgaria, Theo ...

), brother of the two new leaders of the Bulgarian state.

Notes

Sources

* Nicetas Choniates, ''Historia'', ed. J.-L. Van Dieten, 2 vols. (Berlin and New York, 1975), pp. 368–69, 371–77, 394–99; trans. as ''O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates'', by H.J. Magoulias (Detroit; Wayne State University Press, 1984).

External links

Foreign policy of the Angeli
from ''A History of the Byzantine Empire'' by Al. Vasilief

Bibliography

* Paul Stephenson, ''Byzantium's Balkan Frontier. A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900–1204'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000) pp. 289–300. * Max Ritter,
Die vlacho-bulgarische Rebellion und die Versuche ihrer Niederschlagung durch Kaiser Isaakios II. (1185-1195)
', Byzantinoslavica LXXI 1–2, pp 162–210, 2013. * R. L. Wolff, "The Second Bulgarian Empire. Its origin and history to 1204". '' Speculum'' 24 (1949): 167–206. *

George Ostrogorsky George Alexandrovich Ostrogorsky (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Георгије Александрович Острогорски, Georgije Aleksandrovič Ostrogorski; 19 January 1902 – 24 October 1976) was a Russian-born Yugoslavian historian and Byzantin ...

, ''History of the Byzantine State''. Rutgers University Press, 1969. {{DEFAULTSORT:Uprising of Asen And Peter 12th-century rebellions Conflicts in 1185 12th century in Bulgaria 12th century in the Byzantine Empire 12th century in Romania Bulgarian rebellions Rebellions against the Byzantine Empire Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars Medieval Thrace 1185 in Europe 1180s in the Byzantine Empire Military history of the Cumans Medieval rebellions in Europe 1180s conflicts 1186 in Europe 1187 in Europe