Internecine struggles broke out in the Byzantine Empire during the 1180s and the Empire's enemies abroad took advantage of this. A wave of Seldjuk Turks attacked from the east, the Magyars – from the north. In 1183 the Magyars reached as far as Sofia and established their rule over the Empire's northwesternmost parts. Two years later the Normans, living in Italy, started their invasion and oc-cupied the second largest city of the Empire – Salonika. Numerous Bulgarian detachments joined the Normans and fought courageously against the oppressors.
The boyars Assen and Peter made an adroit use of the Empire's difficulties. Their domains were in the region of the town of Turnovo. In the autumn of 1185 they raised an uprising against Byzantine rule, which spread quickly all over Northern Bulgaria. After long preparations, in the autumn of 1186 Emperor Isaac Angel started with his numerous troops for Turnovo. Peter and Assen avoided the decisive battle with the adversary, whose numbers were many times greater and retreated with their elite troops to the other side of the Danube where their allies, the Rumanians lived.
Soon after that the two brothers again crossed the Danube at the head of a numerous army composed of Bulgarians and Rumanians. They pushed the Byzantine army to the other side of the Balkan Range and the military actions were transferred to other Bulgarian regions. Isaac Angel again set out with his whole army against the Bulgarians, but suffered a serious defeat in 1187 at the Tryavna Pass and was forced to sign a peace treaty with Peter and Assen. This peace marked the rebirth of the Bulgarian state after nearly 170 years of foreign domination. This time Turnovo was proclaimed capital of Bulgaria.
WordPress.com
No comments:
Post a Comment