Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: Battle of the Gates of Trajan: The Bulgarians under the Comitopuli Samuel and Aron defeat the Byzantine forces at the Gate of Trajan, with Byzantine Emperor Basil II barely escaping.

Byzantine–Bulgarian wars

Series of conflicts fought between the Byzantines and Bulgarians from 680 to 1355

The Byzantine–Bulgarian wars were a series of conflicts fought between the Byzantine Empire and Bulgaria which began after the Bulgars conquered parts of the Balkan peninsula after 680 AD. The Byzantine and First Bulgarian Empire continued to clash over the next century with…

Battle of the Gates of Trajan

Part of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars (986 AD)

The Battle of the Gates of Trajan was a battle between Byzantine and Bulgarian forces in the year 986.

First Bulgarian Empire

681–1018 state in Southeast Europe

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, moved south to the northeastern Balkans. There they secured Byzantine recognition of…

Cometopuli dynasty

Bulgarian royal dynasty (c. 976–1018)

The Kometopuli dynasty was the last royal dynasty in the First Bulgarian Empire, ruling from c. 976 until the fall of Bulgaria under Byzantine rule in 1018. The most notable member of the dynasty, Tsar Samuel, is famous for successfully resisting Byzantine conquest for more than…

Samuel of Bulgaria

Tsar of Bulgaria from 997 to 1014

Samuel was the Tsar (Emperor) of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 977 to 997, he was a general under Roman I of Bulgaria, the second surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria, and co-ruled with him, as Roman bestowed upon him the command of the army…

Aron of Bulgaria

Bulgarian noble (died 987)

Aron was a Bulgarian noble, brother of Emperor Samuel of Bulgaria and third son of komes Nicholas. After the fall of the eastern parts of the country under Byzantine occupation in 971, he and his three brothers David, Moses and Samuel continued the resistance to the west. They…

Byzantine Empire

Continuation of the Roman Empire (330–1453)

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 Empire in the 5th century AD, it…

Gate of Trajan

Historic mountain pass in Sofia Province, Bulgaria

The Gate of Trajan or Trajan's Gate is a historic mountain pass near Ihtiman, Bulgaria. In antiquity, the pass was called Succi. Later it was named after Roman Emperor Trajan, on whose order a fortress by the name of Stipon was constructed on the hill over the pass, as a…

List of Byzantine emperors

The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised sovereign authority are included, to the exclusion of junior…

Basil II

Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025

Basil II Porphyrogenitus, 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 they were too young to rule. The throne thus went to two generals,…