The anniversary of the death of Tsar Samuil

In 2018, Bulgaria celebrated 1004 years since the death of King Samuel, who has remained in history as the ruler, who firmly defended the country's independence during a difficult period for it. Samuel is the son of Comrade Nicholas, who is believed to have been governor of the Sredets region, today Sofia. "Samuel's reign is a constant battle against Byzantium," says Dr. Georgi Nikolov, an associate at the Faculty of History at St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia. This war, which lasted too long, actually began in 968 before Samuel rose This war ultimately led to the agony of the Bulgarian kingdom as it was exhausted in terms of human and material resources.

At the same time, Byzantium is a huge empire that extends over almost all of Asia Minor, the Balkans and partly Italy, and is able to compensate for the losses suffered, including at the hands of the Bulgarians. The central government of the Bulgarian kingdom gradually moved from the old capitals of Pliska and Preslav to the southwestern parts and its center was Ohrid. This was done in light of the fact that Comit Nicholas had four sons - David, Aaron, Moses and Samuel, who ruled the area before the fighting against Byzantium began. Therefore, there have always been fights in this territory. According to original historical sources, Samuel was a man who knew there was no peace here.

Samuel was constantly at war and his troops were always ready for battle. On the other hand, his death is truly tragic - he saw his 15,000 men return from captivity blinded, leaving 1 in 100 with one eye, so as to bring the men back. This was the reason why the Byzantine emperor Basil II was given the ominous nickname "Bulgarian killer". In the sight of blinded men, Samuel most likely suffered a heart attack and died a few days later. Only four years after his death, Bulgaria was conquered by Byzantium for two centuries. And it can be said that Samuel was the ruler who postponed this defeat for 40 years during his reign.

Based on materials by Zhivko Stanchev

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