Krum

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This article is about the 9th-century Khan of Bulgaria. For other uses, see Krum (disambiguation).
Krum
Khan of Bulgaria
Reign803–814
PredecessorKardam
SuccessorOmurtag
Died(814-04-13)13 April 814
SpouseUnknown
IssueOmurtag
Budim
HouseKrum's dynasty (possibly
Dulo)
ReligionTengrism

Krum (

Odrin to the Tatra Mountains. His able and energetic rule brought law and order to Bulgaria and developed the rudiments of state organization.[1][2]

Biography

Origins

Krum was a Bulgar chieftain from Pannonia.[3] His family background and the surroundings of his accession are unknown.[3] It has been speculated that Krum might have been a descendant of Khan Kubrat through one his son Kuber.[3] The name Krum is of Turkic origin, meaning "governor prince" (from kurum "rule, leadership, administration").[4][5][6]

Establishment of new borders

Main article:
Krum’s Avar Campaign

Around 805, Krum defeated the

Avar Khaganate to destroy the remainder of the Avars and to restore Bulgar authority in Ongal again, the traditional Bulgar name for the area north of the Danube across the Carpathians covering Transylvania and along the Danube into eastern Pannonia. This resulted in the establishment of a common border between the Frankish Empire and Bulgaria
, which would have important repercussions for the policy of Krum's successors.

Conflict with Nikephoros I

Krum feasts with his nobles as a servant (right) brings the skull of Nikephoros I, fashioned into a drinking cup, full of wine.

Krum engaged in a policy of territorial expansion. In 807 Bulgarian forces defeated the

Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I
to settle Anatolian populations along the frontier to protect it and to attempt to retake and refortify Serdica, although this enterprise failed.

In early 811, Nikephoros I undertook a massive expedition against Bulgaria, advancing to

Marcellae (near Karnobat). Here Krum attempted to negotiate on 11 July 811, but Nikephoros was determined to continue with his plunder. His army somehow avoided Bulgarian ambushes in the Balkan Mountains and made its way into Moesia. They managed to take over Pliska
on 20 July, as only a small, hastily assembled army was in their way. Here Nikephoros helped himself to the treasures of the Bulgarians while setting the city afire and turning his army on the population. A new diplomatic initiative from Krum was rebuffed.

The chronicle of the 12th-century patriarch of the Syrian Jacobites, Michael the Syrian, describes the brutalities and atrocities of Nikephoros: "Nikephoros, emperor of the Byzantine empire, walked into the Bulgarians' land: he was victorious and killed great number of them. He reached their capital, seized it and devastated it. His savagery went to the point that he ordered to bring their small children, got them tied down on earth and made thresh grain stones to smash them."

Battle at Varbitsa Pass (811)

While Nikephoros I and his army pillaged and plundered the Bulgarian capital, Krum mobilized as many soldiers as possible, giving weapons even to peasants and women. This army was assembled in the mountain passes to intercept the Byzantines as they returned to Constantinople. At dawn on 26 July, the Bulgarians managed to trap the retreating Nikephoros in the Varbitsa Pass. The Byzantine army was wiped out in the ensuing battle and Nikephoros was killed, while his son Staurakios was carried to safety by the imperial bodyguard after receiving a paralyzing wound to the neck. It is said that Krum had the Emperor's skull lined with silver and used it as a drinking cup.

Conflict with Michael I Rangabe

Staurakios was forced to abdicate after a brief reign (he died from his wound in 812), and he was succeeded by his brother-in-law

Develt and scaring the population of nearby fortresses to flee towards Constantinople. From this position of strength, Krum offered a return to the peace treaty of 716. Unwilling to compromise from a position of weakness, the new Emperor Michael I refused to accept the proposal, ostensibly opposing the clause for exchange of deserters. To apply more pressure on the Emperor, Krum besieged and captured Mesembria (Nesebar
) in the autumn of 812.

Battle at Versinikia (813)

In February 813 the Bulgarians raided Thrace but were repelled by the Emperor's forces. Encouraged by this success, Michael I summoned troops from the entire Byzantine Empire and headed north, hoping for a decisive victory. Krum led his army south

Golden Gate. Thus, the capital is surrounded on the land side. These actions of the Bulgarian ruler are more a demonstration of strength than serious intentions to capture the city. The aim was to force the Byzantine rulers to conclude a peace with which they would recognize the conquests of the Bulgarians.[7]

The discredited Michael was forced to abdicate and become a monk—the third Byzantine Emperor forced to give up the throne by Krum in as many years.[7]

Conflict with Leo V the Armenian

Krum is being pursued by the army of Leo V. Miniature from the 12th century Manasses Chronicle.

The

Basil I). Although Krum realized the defensive capabilities of the Byzantine capital, he ordered massive preparations for the attack on Constantinople to begin, which included Slavs, Avars and special siege equipment ("turtles", battle towers, "rams", flamethrowers, etc.).[7]
Worried by all these preparations, the emperor began to strengthen the city walls and defenses. But this grandiose plan of the Bulgarian ruler was not implemented. On April 13, 814 , Krum died, most likely of a hemorrhage and stroke.

Legacy

Bulgaria under Khan Krum (new territories gained under his rule are in lighter orange)

Krum was remembered for instituting the first known written Bulgarian law code, which ensured subsidies to beggars and state protection to all poor Bulgarians. Drinking, slander, and robbery were severely punished. Through his laws he became known as a strict but just ruler, bringing Slavs and Bulgars into a centralized state.

Novels have been written on his life, such as by Dmityar Mantov (1973)[8] and Ivan Bogdanov (1990).[9]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Krum of Bulgaria.

Annotations

  1. ^
    His name is also rarely spelled Kroum. The name is derived from Turkic kurum or korum.[10] In Bulgarian historiography, he is also known by the epithet "the Fearsome"[11] (Крум Страшни/Krum Strashni).

References

  1. ^ Krum, Encyclopædia Britannica Online
  2. ^ Токушев, Д. "История на българската средновековна държава и право", Сиби, С. 2009
  3. ^ a b c Fine 1991, p. 94.
  4. ^ Materialia Turcica. Studienverlag Brockmeyer. 1984. p. 25: "Krum könnte auf türkisch qurum Regierung weisen, eine Bedeutung, die den Gebrauch des Wortes als Bezeichnung eines Fürsten erklären würde.".
  5. ^ Stepanov, Tsvetelin (January 2014). "Personal names among Avars, Bulgars, and Khazars". Pazmany Peter Catholic University and National Archaeological Institute with Museum - Sofia.
  6. ISBN 978-3-87997-283-8
    .
  7. ^ a b c d e Pavlov, Plamen (2019). The Forgotten Middle Ages. Sofia.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ Димитър Мантов (1973). Хан Крум: Роман. Издателство на отечествения фронт.
  9. ^ Иван Богданов (1980). Хан Крум: Романизуван живот. Народна Младеж.
  10. ^ Belleten. Vol. 52. Türk Tarih Kurumu Basimevi. 1988. p. 726.
  11. ^ Essential History of Bulgaria in Seven Pages, p. 3, Lyubomir Ivanov, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, 2007

Sources

External links

Preceded by Khan of Bulgaria
803–814 		Succeeded by
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