Leka (Paulician leader)
Leka (Lekas in
He is mentioned in the History of Michael Attaleiates and in Skylitzes Continuatus partly based on information from Attaleiates. Lekas was a member of the Paulician Christian sect. He lived in Philippopolis (Plovdiv) and was married to a Pecheneg woman.[1] The Pechenegs north of the Danube in the 11th century had been influenced by Paulician ideas. In alliance with them and the Paulician leader Dobromir (Dobromiros in Skylitzes Continuatus) he launched a revolt in the eastern Balkans in 1078–79 in an attempt to become an independent ruler. In the revolt he killed Michael, bishop of Serdica (Sofia). Dobromir expanded in the region of Mesembria (coastal Bulgaria).[2] As the new Emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates organized an army to send against them, they accepted the rule of the emperor and were given many gifts and privileges.
The mention of the Paulician Leka is the first mention of the Albanian name
Sources
- ^ Saldzhiev 2019, p. 667.
- ^ a b McGeer & Nesbitt 2019, p. 187
- ^ Saldzhiev 2019, p. 668.
- ^ Malingoudis 1976, p. 165.
Bibliography
- McGeer, Eric; Nesbitt, John (2019). Byzantium in the Time of Troubles: The Continuation of the Chronicle of John Skylitzes (1057-1079). BRILL. ISBN 9004419403.
- Saldzhiev, Hristo (2019). "Continuity between Early Paulicianism and the Seventeenth-Century Bulgarian Paulicians:the Paulician Legend of Rome and the Ritualof the Baptism by Fire". Studia Ceranea. 9. hdl:11089/38880.
- Malingoudis, Phaidon (1976). "Ena alvaniko onoma stis vizantines piges [An Albanian name in Byzantine sources]". Byzantina. 8.