Aron of Bulgaria

Aron (

Byzantine occupation in 971, he and his three brothers David, Moses and Samuel continued the resistance to the west. They were called Cometopuli and ruled the country together, as the rightful heirs to the throne, Boris II and Roman were imprisoned in Constantinople. The residence of Aron was Serdica (modern-day Sofia), situated on the main road between Constantinople and Western Europe. He had to defend the area from enemy invasions and attack the Byzantine territories in Thrace

.

Treason and death

In the beginning of the major campaign against the Byzantine Empire in 976, the two eldest brothers David and Moses perished but the Bulgarians achieved great successes including the return of north-eastern Bulgaria. During that time, the Byzantine Emperor Basil II had to fight both the Bulgarians and the dangerous rebellion under Bardas Skleros and he turned the customary means of the Byzantine policy: conspiracy.

His attention concentrated on Aron, who was more dangerous at the time due to the proximity of his seat to Thrace; and because of his ambition to rule over Bulgaria alone which made an eventual peace profitable for both Aron and Basil. The Bulgarian noble asked for the Emperor's sister's hand and Basil agreed but he tried to deceive Aron and sent him the wife of one of his nobles and the bishop of

Emperor of Bulgaria

.

Family tree

Ripsimia
of Armenia

Aron

Another theory

However, there's also another version about Aron's origin.^[1] According to this version, Simeon I of Bulgaria had several children. One of them was Ivan who married to an Armenian in Caesarea and Aron and his brother Moses were Ivan’s sons.

Notes

^ Nicholas Adontz. Samuel l'Armenien, Roi des Bulgares. Bruxelles, Palais des academies, 1938. Published also in: Etudes Armeno-Byzantines. Livraria Bertrand. Lisbonne, 1965, pp. 347–407^{[ISBN missing]}

[1] Nicholas Adontz. Samuel l'Armenien, Roi des Bulgares. Bruxelles, Palais des academies, 1938. Published also in: Etudes Armeno-Byzantines. Livraria Bertrand. Lisbonne, 1965, pp. 347–407^{[ISBN missing]}

[1]