Krakra of Pernik (, ''Krakra Pernishki''), also known as Krakra Voevoda or simply Krakra, was an 11th-century Bulgarian feudal lord in 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 ...

whose domain encompassed 36 fortresses in what is today southwestern

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 his capital at

Pernik Pernik ( ) is List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, a town in western Bulgaria (about south-west of Sofia) with a population of 70,285 . Pernik is the most populated town in western Bulgaria after Sofia. It is the main town of Pernik Province an ...

. He is known for heroically resisting

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 ...

sieges on multiple occasions as the Byzantines overran the Bulgarian Empire. Krakra was a "man remarkable in military affairs" and a high-ranking bolyarin, possibly governor of the Sredets

comitatus Comitatus may refer to: *Comitatus (warband), a Germanic warband who follow a leader * ''Comitatus'', the office of a Roman or Frankish comes, translated as count. * ''Comitatus'', translated as county, a territory such as governed by medieval cou ...

, under the

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 ...

s Samuil,

Gavril Radomir Gavril Radomir (; ; anglicized as Gabriel Radomir; died 1015) was the Emperor (Tsar) of the First Bulgarian Empire from October 1014 to August or September 1015. He was the son of tsar Samuel (). Biography During his father's reign, his cousin ...

and

Ivan Vladislav 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 ...

. His name appears in the historical annals in connection to a Byzantine military campaign in the Bulgarian lands in 1003 when Samuil's army was crushed at the

Vardar The Vardar (; , , ) or Axios (, ) is the longest river in North Macedonia and a major river in Greece, where it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of ...

and the Byzantines captured Skopje. As

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 ...

's forces headed to seize

Sredets Sredets may refer to: * Sredets, Burgas Province, a town in eastern Bulgaria previously known as Karabunar and Grudovo * Sredets (medieval Bulgaria), a historical name of today's Sofia, Bulgaria * Sredets, Sofia, a city district in Sofia * Sredet ...

, however, in 1004 they came up against Krakra's well-defended fortress of Pernik, and the emperor was forced to return to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

after sustaining heavy losses. In 1016, another campaign by Basil II was stopped by Krakra at Pernik after an unsuccessful 88-day Byzantine siege. As the Byzantine-Bulgarian conflict continued, Krakra and Ivan Vladislav looked for

Pecheneg The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks, , Middle Turkic: , , , , , , ka, პაჭანიკი, , , ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Pečenezi, separator=/, Печенези, also known as Pecheneg Turks were a semi-nomadic Turkic people from Central Asia who ...

support for a large-scale Bulgarian campaign against the Byzantines and initially persuaded the Pechenegs to collaborate in the winter of 1016–1017. However, the Byzantine governor of

Dorystolon Silistra ( ; ; or ) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Silistra is the administrative center of the ...

learned about the plan and notified Basil II. Upon hearing this, the Pechenegs declined to take part, effectively ruining the Bulgarian plans. Following the death of Ivan Vladislav at Dyrrhachium in early 1018, Basil II entered the Bulgarian territory in March 1018 without meeting any resistance. At

Adrianople Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

, Krakra and 35 other bolyari's envoys met with him and after negotiating generous concessions from Basil II, including creating Theme Bulgaria and a separate Bulgarian archbishop chose to join the Eastern Roman Empire.Pravoslavieto.com: Цар Самуил и "Българската епопея" Иван Владислав - "Самодържец Български"
/ref> Basil II met with Krakra personally in

Serres Serres ( ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki. Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northern Greece. The c ...

and awarded him the title of ''

patrikios The patricians (from ) 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 after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 B ...

''.

Honour

Krakra Bluff on

Livingston Island Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetland Islands, South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands north of the ...

in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands located in the Drake Passage with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the n ...

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

is named after Krakra.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krakra of Pernik Medieval Bulgarian nobility 10th-century births 11th-century deaths 10th-century Bulgarian people 11th-century Bulgarian people Pernik People from Pernik Patricii Bulgarian people of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars Medieval Bulgarian military personnel