Alusian appears before Peter Delyan and the Bulgarian camp

Alusian (, ) was a Bulgarian and

Byzantine 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 the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

noble who ruled as emperor (

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 ...

) 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 ...

for a short time in 1041.

Life

Alusian was the second son of Emperor

Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria Ivan Vladislav (; ; died February 1018) served as the emperor (tsar) of the First Bulgarian Empire from approximately August or September 1015 until February 1018. The precise year of his birth remains elusive; he was born at least ten years pri ...

(r. 1015–1018) by his wife Maria. Together with his older brother Presian II, he attempted to resist Bulgaria's annexation by 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 ...

in 1018 but eventually had to surrender to Emperor

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus (; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (, ), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but t ...

(r. 976–1025) in the same year in Tomornitsa. In the Byzantine Empire Alusian joined the ranks of the court aristocracy and was appointed governor ('' stratēgos'') of 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 Theodosioupolis. Alusian increased his wealth by marrying a wealthy member of the

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

n nobility, but in the later 1030s, he lost the favor of Emperor

Michael IV the Paphlagonian Michael IV the Paphlagonian (; c. 1010 – 10 December 1041) was Byzantine Emperor from 11 April 1034 to his death on 10 December 1041. The son of a peasant, Michael worked as a money changer until he was found a job at court by his brother ...

(r. 1034–1041) and his brother, the powerful ''

parakoimomenos The ''parakoimōmenos'' (, literally "the one who sleeps beside he emperor's chamber) was a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Byzantine aristocracy and bureaucracy, court position, usually reserved for eunuch (court official), eunuchs. The position' ...

'' John the Orphanotrophos. Alusian was deprived of certain estates and fined a hefty amount for alleged misdeeds. Hearing of the successful uprising of his second cousin Peter Delyan against the emperor in 1040, Alusian fled the Roman court and joined Peter's ranks.Kazhdan (1991), p. 70 Alusian was welcomed by Peter, who gave him an army with which to attack

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

. The siege however was raised by the Byzantines, and the Bulgarian army was defeated. Alusian barely escaped and returned to Ostrovo. Alusian has Delyan blinded at a banquet

One night in 1041, during dinner, Alusian took advantage of Peter's inebriation, cut off his nose, and blinded him with a kitchen knife. Since Alusian was of the blood of Tsar

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

(r. 997–1014), he was quickly proclaimed emperor in Peter's place by his troops but conspired to desert to the Byzantines. As the Bulgarian and Byzantine troops were preparing for battle, Alusian deserted to the enemy, surrendering the blinded Peter Delyan to the emperor. As a reward, his possessions and lands were restored to him. He was given the high court rank of ''

magistros The (Latin; ; ) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire. In Byzantium, the office was eventually transformed into a senior honorary rank, simply called ''magist ...

''. The same title had been granted earlier to other deposed emperors of Bulgaria, namely Boris II in 971 and Presian II in 1018. Alusian's subsequent fate is unknown, but his descendants, the Alousianoi, continued to prosper in the ranks of the Byzantine aristocracy until the 14th century.

Family

By his marriage to an Armenian noblewoman from the theme of Kharsianon, Alusian had several children, including: # Basil, an Eastern Roman general, governor of Edessa # Samuel, an Eastern Roman officer in the

Armeniac theme The Armeniac Theme (, ''Armeniakon hema'), more properly the Theme of the Armeniacs (Greek: , ''thema Armeniakōn''), was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) located in northeastern Asia Minor (modern Turkey). History The Armeniac ...

# Anne, who married the future Eastern Roman Emperor

Romanos IV Diogenes Romanos IV Diogenes (; – ) was Byzantine emperor from 1068 to 1071. Determined to halt the decline of the Byzantine military and to stop Turkish incursions into the empire, he is nevertheless best known for his defeat and capture in 1071 at ...

References

External links

Detailed List of Bulgarian Rulers

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alusian of Bulgaria 10th-century births Year of birth uncertain 11th-century deaths Year of death uncertain 11th-century Bulgarian people 11th-century Byzantine people Medieval Bulgarian nobility 11th-century Bulgarian tsars Alusian Bulgarian princes Byzantine generals Cometopuli dynasty Bulgarian people of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars Medieval Bulgarian military personnel Magistroi Byzantine people of Bulgarian descent Uprising of Peter Delyan Sons of emperors Pretenders to the Bulgarian throne