In the 980s, Bulgaria's King Samuel (ruled 980-1014) began creating an empire to the north of Byzantium, one that ultimately included parts of Bulgaria, Macedonia, northern Greece, Serbia, and Albania. He even declared himself czar (ZAHR)—Slavic for "caesar."
The Byzantines' Basil II rightly saw this as a threat, and the two empires went to war. It took decades to subdue the Bulgarians, but Basil won the decisive Battle of Belasitsa on July 29, 1014. His army captured some 14,000 Bulgarian soldiers, and gouged their eyes out; every hundredth man, however, was allowed to keep one eye so he could lead the other ninety-nine home. It was said that when Czar Samuel saw his army limping home, he died of a heart attack.
Hanawalt, Barbara A. The Middle Ages: An Illustrated History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Roberts, J. M. The Illustrated History of the World, Volume 4: The Age of Diverging Traditions. New York: Oxford, 1998, pp. 48-95.
Periodicals
Treadgold, Warren. "The Persistence of Byzantium." Wilson Quarterly, Autumn 1998, pp. 66-91.
Web Sites
Byzantine Studies—Medieval History Net Links. [Online] Available Http://historymedren.
About. com/education/history/histo-rymedren/msubbyz. htm (last accessed July 28, 2000).
Byzantium: The Byzantine Studies Page. [Online] Available Http://www. bway. net/ ~halsall/byzantium. html (last accessed July 28, 2000).
"The Slavs." Catholic Encyclopedia. [Online] Available Http://www. newadvent. org/ca-then/14042a. htm (last accessed July 28, 2000).
World History
