Telerig ( bg, Телериг) was the ruler of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

from 768 to 777. Although Telerig is first mentioned by Byzantine sources in 774, he is considered as he immediate successor of

Pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. I ...

, who was murdered in 768. In May 774, Byzantine Emperor

Constantine V Constantine V ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantīnos; la, Constantinus; July 718 – 14 September 775), was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able ...

embarked on a major expedition against Bulgaria, led his field army on land and dispatched a fleet of 2000 ships carrying horsemen towards the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

Delta. The fleet disembarked in the vicinity of Varna, but Constantine did not press his potential advantage and inexplicably retreated. Shortly afterwards, both sides signed a truce promising the cessation of hostilities. However, in October 774, Telerig sent an army of 12,000 men to raid Berzitia, Macedonia, and transfer its population to Bulgaria. Collecting a large army of 80,00 troops, Constantine surprised the Bulgarians and won a resounding victory. The subsequent attack on Bulgaria failed since the imperial fleet had encountered contrary winds in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

. Telerig then sent a secret emissary to Constantine that indicated his intention to flee Bulgaria and to seek refuge with the emperor and sought assurances of hospitality and a list of Byzantines who might help him. Telerig succeeded in having Constantine betray his own agents in Bulgaria, who were duly rounded up and executed. The expected Byzantine retaliation failed to materialise, as Constantine died in 775. In spite of his apparent success, Telerig found it necessary to flee to the new Byzantine emperor,

Leo IV the Khazar Leo IV the Khazar ( Greek: Λέων ὁ Χάζαρος, ''Leōn IV ho Khazaros''; 25 January 750 – 8 September 780) was Byzantine emperor from 775 to 780 AD. He was born to Emperor Constantine V and Empress Tzitzak in 750. He was elevated to ...

, in 777. The Byzantine government gave Telerig asylum and the title of ''

patrikios The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned aft ...

''. Telerig converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

under the name of Theophylaktos and married a cousin of Empress Eirene. The 17th-century Volga Bulgar compilation '' Ja'far Tarikh'' (a work of disputed authenticity) represents Dilyarek (Telerig) as the son of the former ruler Teles ( Telets).

Legacy

Telerig Nunatak, on Greenwich Island, in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...

, in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

, is named after Telerig.

In fiction

Telerikh is a major character in

Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed hi ...

's "Islands in the Sea" (1989). The

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alte ...

originally appeared in ''Alternatives'', edited by Robert Adams, and was reprinted in '' Departures'' and ''The Best Alternate History Stories of the Twentieth Century''.

References

Sources

* Mosko Moskov, ''Imennik na bălgarskite hanove (novo tălkuvane)'', Sofia 1988. * Jordan Andreev, Ivan Lazarov, Plamen Pavlov, ''Koj koj e v srednovekovna Bălgarija'', Sofia 1999. * (primary source), Bahshi Iman, ''Djagfar Tarihi'', vol. III, Orenburg 1997. {{DEFAULTSORT:Telerig Of Bulgaria 706 births Converts to Christianity from pagan religions 8th-century Bulgarian monarchs 777 deaths Patricii

Legacy

In fiction

See also

References

Sources