| Martyrs of Adrianople | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Died | 815, Adrianople, First Bulgarian Empire (modern-day Edirne, Turkey) |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Feast | 22 January |
The Martyrs of Adrianople, also known and venerated as the 377 Martyred Companions in Bulgaria, were three hundred and seventy seven Christians who were executed in martyrdom in 815. They are commemorated by the Eastern Orthodox Church on 22 January.
Emperor Nikephoros I invaded Bulgaria and sacked the capital of Pliska in 811, but was killed and his army annihilated at the Battle of Varbitsa Pass as he returned to Roman territory. [1] Khan Krum's peace offer was rejected by Emperor Michael I Rangabe, [1] and the Bulgarians invaded the Roman Empire in the spring of 812. [2] Krum conquered Develtos and transplanted its population to Bulgaria in June, [2] and seized Adrianople in September 813. [3] At Adrianople, Krum threw Manuel, Archbishop of Adrianople, to the ground and trampled on his neck. [4]
According to the Menologion of Basil II , Krum began the persecution of Christians prior to his death and was continued by a certain Čok (Tzok) who had all Christians who refused to renounce their faith executed. [3] However, the Synaxarion of Constantinople states that the persecution began after Krum's death in April 814 on the orders of Khan Dičevg, the successor of Dukum, who had ruled briefly after Krum's death. [4] Omurtag later became khan and ordered the execution of all Christians who refused to renounce their faith. [3] Three hundred and seventy seven Christians were killed, and the following are known by name:
An original account of the martyrs was likely made based on the testimonies of prisoners of war released by Bulgaria after the Treaty of 816 in the first half of the 9th century at the Monastery of Stoudios at Constantinople which the menologion and synaxarion are based on. Sophoulis suggests that the story of the martyrdom was Roman propaganda to deter officials from collaborating with the Bulgars and strengthen the resolve of cities vulnerable to Bulgar attack. He also suggests that the number of martyrs may be exaggerated. [3]
Year 803 (DCCCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.
The Bulgars were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomadic equestrians in the Volga-Ural region, but some researchers say that their ethnic roots can be traced to Central Asia. During their westward migration across the Eurasian steppe, the Bulgar tribes absorbed other tribal groups and cultural influences in a process of ethnogenesis, including Iranian, Finnic and Hunnic tribes. Modern genetic research on Central Asian Turkic people and ethnic groups related to the Bulgars points to an affiliation with Western Eurasian populations. The Bulgars spoke a Turkic language, i.e. Bulgar language of Oghuric branch. They preserved the military titles, organization and customs of Eurasian steppes, as well as pagan shamanism and belief in the sky deity Tangra.
The Principality of Serbia was one of the early medieval states of the Serbs, located in the western regions of Southeastern Europe. It existed from the 8th century up to c. 969–971 and was ruled by the Vlastimirović dynasty. Its first ruler known by name was Višeslav who started ruling around 780. While by that time, starting from the year 680–681, the Bulgarian state had taken the lands to the east. Vlastimir resisted and defeated the Bulgarian army in a three-year-war (839–842), and the two powers lived in peace for some decades. Vlastimir's three sons succeeded in ruling Serbia together, although not for long; Serbia became a key part in the power struggle between the Byzantines and Bulgarians, predominantly allied with the Byzantines, which also resulted in major dynastic wars for a period of three decades. The principality was annexed in 924 by Simeon I and subjected to Bulgarian rule until 927 when Serbian prince Časlav was established as ruler of the Serbian land, and united several Serbian regions, becoming the most powerful ruler of the Vlastimirović dynasty.
Krum, often referred to as Krum the Fearsome was the Khan of Bulgaria from sometime between 796 and 803 until his death in 814. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper and from Odrin to the Tatra Mountains. His able and energetic rule brought law and order to Bulgaria and developed the rudiments of state organization.
Kubrat was the ruler of the Onogur–Bulgars, credited with establishing the confederation of Old Great Bulgaria in ca. 632. His name derived from Turkic words qobrat — "to gather", or qurt, i.e. "wolf".
The Battle of Pliska or Battle of Vărbitsa Pass was a series of battles between troops, gathered from all parts of the Byzantine Empire, led by the Emperor Nicephorus I, and the First Bulgarian Empire, governed by Khan Krum. The Byzantines plundered and burned the Bulgar capital Pliska which gave time for the Bulgarians to block passes in the Balkan Mountains that served as exits out of Bulgaria. The final battle took place on 26 July 811, in some of the passes in the eastern part of the Balkans, most probably the Vărbitsa Pass. There, the Bulgarians used the tactics of ambush and surprise night attacks to effectively trap and immobilize the Byzantine army, thus annihilating almost the whole army, including the Emperor. After the battle, Krum encased Nicephorus's skull in silver, and used it as a cup for wine-drinking. This is one of the best documented instances of the custom of the skull cup.
The Madara Rider or Madara Horseman is an early medieval large rock relief carved on the Madara Plateau east of Shumen in northeastern Bulgaria, near the village of Madara. The monument is dated in the very late 7th, or more often very early 8th century, during the reign of Bulgar Khan Tervel. In 1979 became enlisted on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgar-Slavic and later Bulgarian 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 their right to settle south of the Danube by defeating – possibly with the help of local South Slavic tribes – the Byzantine army led by Constantine IV. During the 9th and 10th century, Bulgaria at the height of its power spread from the Danube Bend to the Black Sea and from the Dnieper River to the Adriatic Sea and became an important power in the region competing with the Byzantine Empire. It became the foremost cultural and spiritual centre of south Slavic Europe throughout most of the Middle Ages.
The Battle of Versinikia was fought in 813 between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire, near the city of Adrianople (Edirne).
The Braničevci were a South Slavic tribe that inhabited the region of Braničevo, in what is today Serbia, during the Middle Ages.
The Timočani were a medieval South Slavic tribe that lived in the territory of present-day eastern Serbia, west of the Timok River, as well as in the regions of Banat, Syrmia and Moesia Superior.
Malamir was the ruler of Bulgaria 831–836.
The medieval Bulgarian army was the primary military body of the First and the Second Bulgarian Empires, and some Puppet states of the former, like the Despotate of Dobruja. During the first decades after the foundation of the country, the army consisted of a Bulgar cavalry and a Slavic infantry. The core of the Bulgarian army was the heavy cavalry, which consisted of ca. 12,000 heavily armed riders. At its height in the 9th and 10th centuries, it was one of the most formidable military forces in Europe and was feared by its enemies. There are several documented cases of Byzantine commanders abandoning an invasion because of a reluctance to confront the Bulgarian army on its home territory.
The territory of modern Albania was part of the Bulgarian Empire during certain periods in the Middle Ages and some parts in what is now eastern Albania were populated and ruled by the Bulgarians for centuries. Most of Albania became part of the First Empire in the early 840s during the reign of Khan Presian. Some coastal towns such as Durrës remained in the hands of the Byzantines for most of that period. The castles of the inner mountainous country remained one of the last Bulgarian strongholds to be conquered by the Byzantines in 1018/1019 during the fall of the First Bulgarian Empire — Tomornitsa. During the Byzantine rule Albania was one of the centres of a Uprising of Peter Delyan. The last Bulgarian Emperor to govern the whole territory was Ivan Asen II (1218–1241) but after his successors the Bulgarian rule diminished. Much of that area corresponded with the Bulgarian historical region Kutmichevitsa.
The Treaty of 716 was an agreement between Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire. It was signed by the son of the ruling Bulgarian Khan Tervel, Kormesiy and the Byzantine Emperor Theodosios III.
The Treaty of 815 was a 30-year peace agreement signed in Constantinople between the Bulgarian Khan Omurtag and the Byzantine Emperor Leo V the Armenian.
Kardam was the ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire.
December 23 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - December 25
Develtos or Deultum was an ancient city and bishopric in Thrace. It was located at the mouth of the River Sredetska on the west coast of Lake Mandrensko, previously part of the Gulf of Burgas, and near the modern village of Debelt.
The siege of Debeltos was fought between the Eastern Roman Empire and Bulgaria from May to June 812. The siege took place at the city of Debeltos in Thrace and resulted in a Bulgarian victory.
Notes
Citations