Golden_Age First_Bulgarian_Empire

the decisions of council of preslav brought end byzantine hopes exert influence on newly christianized country. in 894 byzantines moved bulgarian market constantinople thessaloniki, affecting commercial interests of bulgaria , principle of byzantine–bulgarian trade, regulated under treaty of 716 , later agreements on favoured nation basis. new prince, simeon (r. 893–927), came known simeon great, declared war , defeated byzantine army in thrace. byzantines turned aid magyars, @ time inhabited steppes north-east of bulgaria. magyars scored 2 victories on bulgarians , pillaged dobrudzha simeon i allied pechenegs further east , in 895 bulgarian army inflicted crushing defeat on magyars in steppes along southern bug river. @ same time, pechenegs advanced westwards , prevented magyars returning homeland. blow heavy magyars forced migrate west, settling in pannonian basin, established kingdom of hungary. in 896 byzantines routed in decisive battle of boulgarophygon , pleaded peace confirmed bulgarian domination on balkans, restored status of bulgaria favoured nation, abolished commercial restrictions , obliged byzantine empire pay annual tribute. peace treaty remained in force until 912 although simeon i did violate following sack of thessaloniki in 904, extracting further territorial concessions in macedonia.

emperor simeon i: morning star of slavonic literature, painting alfons mucha

in 913 byzantine emperor alexander provoked bitter war after resolving discontinue paying annual tribute bulgaria. however, military , ideological initiative held simeon i, seeking casus belli fulfil ambition recognized emperor (in bulgarian, tsar) , conquer constantinople, creating joint bulgarian–roman state. in 917, bulgarian army dealt crushing defeat byzantines @ battle of achelous, resulting in bulgaria s total military supremacy in balkans. in words of theophanes continuatus bloodshed occurred, had not happened in centuries , , leo deacon witnessed piles of bones of perished soldiers on battlefield 50 years later. bulgarians built on success further victories @ katasyrtai in 917, pegae in 921 , constantinople in 922. bulgarians captured important city of adrianople in thrace , seized capital of theme of hellas, thebes, deep in southern greece. following disaster @ achelous, byzantine diplomacy incited principality of serbia attack bulgaria west, assault contained. in 924, serbs ambushed , defeated small bulgarian army, provoking major retaliatory campaign ended bulgaria s annexation of serbia @ end of year. further expansion in western balkans checked king tomislav of croatia, byzantine ally , defeated bulgarian invasion in 926. simeon i aware needed naval support conquer constantinople , in 922 sent envoys fatimid caliph ubayd allah al-mahdi billah in mahdia negotiate assistance of powerful arab navy. caliph sent representatives bulgaria arrange alliance emissaries captured en route byzantines near calabrian coast. byzantine emperor romanos lekapenos managed avert bulgarian–arab alliance showering arabs generous gifts. war dragged on until simeon s death in may 927. bulgaria controlled byzantine possessions in balkans, without fleet did not attempt storm constantinople.

both countries exhausted huge military efforts had taken heavy toll on population , economy. simeon s successor peter (r. 927–969) negotiated favourable peace treaty. byzantines agreed recognize him emperor of bulgaria , bulgarian orthodox church independent patriarchate, pay annual tribute. peace reinforced marriage between peter , romanos s granddaughter irene lekapene. agreement ushered in period of 40 years of peaceful relations between 2 powers. during first years of reign, peter faced revolts 2 of 3 brothers, john in 928 , michael in 930, both quelled. during of subsequent rule until 965, peter i presided on golden age of bulgarian state in period of political consolidation, economic expansion , cultural activity.