Misplaced Pages

#439560

32-743: According to the Byzantine scholar, Theophanes the Confessor , Kubrat's (unnamed) fourth son, who left the Pontic steppes after his father's death around 642, became "the subject of the [ Khagan ] of the Avars in Avar Pannonia and remained there with his army". According to a scholarly theory, first proposed by the Bulgarian historian Vasil Zlatarski , Kuber was the fourth son of Kubrat ,

64-647: A high degree of skill in transcribing manuscripts. After six years he returned to Sigriano, where he founded an abbey known by the name "of the big settlement" and governed it as abbot . In this position of leadership, he was present at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, and signed its decrees in defense of the veneration of icons . When Emperor Leo V the Armenian (813–820) resumed his iconoclastic warfare, he ordered Theophanes brought to Constantinople. The Emperor tried in vain to induce him to condemn

96-620: A life of virginity. In 779, after the death of his father-in-law, they separated with mutual consent to embrace the religious life. She chose a convent on an island near Constantinople, while he entered the Polychronius Monastery, located in the district of Sigiane (Sigriano), near Cyzicus on the Asian side of the Sea of Marmara . Later, he built a monastery on his own lands on the island of Calonymus (now Calomio ), where he acquired

128-735: A more secure home in other lands. Asparuh was followed by 30,000 to 50,000 Bulgars . He reached the Danube and while the Byzantine capital Constantinople was besieged by Muawiyah I , Caliph of the Arabs (674–678), he and his people settled in the Danube delta , probably on the now-disappeared Peuce Island . After the Arab siege of Constantinople ended, the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IV marched against

160-460: A unified form. Theophanes' part of the chronicle covered events from the accession of Diocletian in 284 (which is the point where the chronicle of George Syncellus ends) to the downfall of Michael I Rhangabes in 813. This part of the chronicle is valuable for having preserved the accounts of lost authorities on Byzantine history for the seventh and eighth centuries that would be otherwise have been lost. The work consists of two parts, wherein

192-464: Is but a reference to Asparukh's own Kubiar branch of Kubrat's Dulo clan where "Kubi-ar" may mean "fair haired". Finally, Croatian researchers have proposed that Kubrat of Onoguria's five sons correspond to the five brothers from White Croatia who took Avaria in 677 , whereby Kuber would be Chrobatos (Χρωβάτος) . Kuber was the ruler of a mixed population in the Avar Khaganate , including

224-461: Is particularly valuable beginning with the reign of Justin II (565), as in his work, he then drew upon sources that have not survived his times Theophanes' Chronicle was much used by succeeding chroniclers, and in 873–875 a Latin compilation was made by the papal librarian Anastasius from the chronicles of Nicephorus , George Syncellus, and Theophanes for the use of a deacon named Johannes in

256-487: The Roman Martyrology . At the urgent request of his friend George Syncellus , Theophanes undertook the continuation of Syncellus' Chronicle ( Χρονογραφία , Chronographia), during the years 810 to 815. The language used occupies a place midway between the stiff ecclesiastical and the vernacular Greek. He made use of three main sources: first, material already prepared by Syncellus; second, he probably made

288-629: The South Shetland Islands , Antarctica is named after Kuber. Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor ( Greek : Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής ; c. 759 – 817 or 818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler . He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking up the religious life. Theophanes attended the Second Council of Nicaea in 787 and resisted

320-546: The islands of the Aegean Sea , and Theodora, of whose family nothing is known. His father died when Theophanes was three years old, and the Byzantine Emperor Constantine V (740–775) subsequently saw to the boy's education and upbringing at the imperial court. Theophanes would hold several offices under Leo IV the Khazar. He was married at the age of eighteen, but convinced his wife to lead

352-512: The Bulgarian limes walls from the Danube to the Black Sea . While the multi-tribal and hegemonic character of the Bulgarian state in the first century or two after its establishment is readily apparent, Bulgarian historians have stressed the establishment of a capital and of a state tradition that could be viewed retrospectively as national. According to a late tradition, Asparuh died fighting

SECTION 10

#1732782691440

384-513: The Bulgars and their Slav allies in 680 and forced his opponents to seek shelter in a fortified encampment. Compelled to abandon the leadership of his army in order to seek medical treatment for his ailments in Anchialo (today's Pomorie ), Constantine IV inadvertently demoralized his troops, who gave in to rumours that their emperor had fled. With segments of the Byzantine army starting to desert,

416-653: The Bulgars and their allies broke through the blockade and routed their enemy at the Battle of Ongala in 680. Asparuh then swiftly moved from the Danubian delta down to the Balkan range. Asparuh's victory led to the Bulgarian conquest of Moesia and the establishment of some sort of alliance between the Bulgars and the local Slavic groups (described as the Severi and Seven Slavic tribes ). As Asparuh commenced to raid across

448-788: The Christian ruler of the Onogur Bulgars in the steppes north of the Black Sea . Kuber's story is continued in the second book of the Miracles of Saint Demetrius . The book is a hagiographic work, written in Thessaloniki in the 680s or 690s. Denis Sinor wrote "The Avar Kaghan entrusted Kuber and his suite with the governing of the descendants of the Christian Byzantine prisoners of war, carried off sixty years ago, who were living mixed with Avars and Bulgars north of

480-485: The Danube, not far from the former province of Pannonia Sirmiensis." Nevertheless, Kuber's people soon liberated the POWs and led them south to the region of modern North Macedonia . The American historian John Van Antwerp Fine, Jr. writes that, if Zlatarski's theory is correct, Kuber was named for his father, because Kuber and Kubrat are most probably two Greek versions of the same Bulgar name. However, others suggest Kuber

512-581: The Khagan "in our times", according to the Miracles of Saint Demetrius . Modern historians say that Kuber's rebellion occurred in the 670s or early 680s. Around 70,000 Sermesianoi joined him and departed for the Byzantine Empire . The khagan attempted to hinder their migration, but they routed the Avars in five or six battles and crossed the river Danube . Kuber and his people moved as far as

544-612: The Pontic steppes. Kuber's subjects called themselves Sermesianoi , but the Byzantines regarded them as "Bulgars". They preserved their Christian traditions, although their ancestors had been taken to the Avar Khaganate about 60 years before Kuber's appointment. The Sermesianoi did not cease to dream of their return to their ancestors' homes. Taking advantage of his subjects' feelings, Kuber rose up in open rebellion against

576-751: The Prophet of the Islamic religion Muhammad had epilepsy . Attribution: Asparukh of Bulgaria Asparuh (also Ispor or (rarely) Isperih ) was а Bulgar khan in the second half of the 7th century and is credited with the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681. The Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans states that Asparuh belonged to the Dulo clan and reigned for 61 years. This long period cannot be accepted as accurate due to chronological constraints, and may indicate

608-616: The city, according to the saint's hagiography. There is no more information of Kuber's life. Some modern historians – including Zlatarski and Cankova-Petkova – say that he established a state in Macedonia which existed in parallel with Khan Asparukh 's Bulgarian Empire . They also write that the Byzantine Emperor Justinian II who had subjugated the Slavic tribes around Thessaloniki

640-462: The decline of his power base, Kuber asked the emperor to forbid the Sermesianoi to leave the plain and to confirm Kuber's position as their ruler. His request seems to have been rejected, because he attempted to seize Thessaloniki, taking advantage of a civil war in the city. However, Saint Demetrius unmasked Kuber's agents who tried to open the gates of Thessaloniki, hindering him from entering

672-530: The descendants of the prisoners of war whom the Avars had captured in the Balkan Peninsula and settled around Sirmium . He was made governor by the khagan. Historian Samuel Szádeczky-Kardoss – who accepts Kuber's identification as Kubrat's son and thus a scion of the royal Dulo clan – writes that Kuber became governor of that region, because the Khagan wanted to separate him from his Bulgar subjects who had followed him from

SECTION 20

#1732782691440

704-444: The first provides a chronological history arranged per annum, and the second contains chronological tables that are regrettably full of inaccuracies. It seems that Theophanes had only prepared the tables, leaving vacant spaces for the proper dates, but that these had been filled out by someone else ( Hugo von Hurter , Nomenclator literarius recentioris I, Innsbruck, 1903, 735). In the chronological first part, in addition to reckoning by

736-636: The iconoclasm of Leo V the Armenian , for which he was imprisoned. He died shortly after his release. Theophanes the Confessor, venerated on 12 March in both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church , should not be confused with Theophanes of Nicaea , whose feast is commemorated on 11 October. Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac, governor of

768-541: The length of Asparuh's life. According to the chronology developed by Moskov, Asparuh would have reigned 668–695. Other chronologies frequently end his reign in 700 or 701 but cannot be reconciled with the testimony of the Namelist . According to the Byzantine sources, Asparuh was a younger son of Kubrat , who had established a spacious state (" Great Bulgaria ") in the steppes of modern Ukraine . Asparuh may have gained experience in politics and statesmanship during

800-475: The long reign of his father, who probably died in 665 (apud Moskov). According to Djagfar Tarikhy (a work of disputed authenticity) Asparuh was made the leader of the Onogur tribe by his father. After his father's death, Asparuh would have acknowledged the rule of his older brother Bat Bayan, but the state disintegrated under Khazar attack in 668, and he and his brothers parted ways, leading their people to seek

832-491: The mountains into Byzantine Thrace in 681, Constantine IV decided to cut his losses and conclude a treaty, whereby the Byzantine Empire paid the Bulgars an annual tribute. These events are seen in retrospect as the establishment of the Bulgarian state and its recognition by the Byzantine Empire. In later tradition Asparuh is credited with building the major centers of Pliska and Drăstăr , as well as at least one of

864-633: The region of Thessaloniki. He decided to settle together with the Sermesianoi in a plain and sent his envoy to the Byzantine Emperor, whom the Miracles of Saint Demetrios did not name, to request his permission. The emperor gave his consent and ordered the nearby Slavic tribe of the Dragovites to supply Kuber and his people with food. However, Kuber's people still wanted to go back to their ancestral homes and started to disperse. Fearing of

896-408: The same veneration of icons that had been sanctioned by the council. Theophanes was cast into prison and for two years suffered cruel treatment. After his release, he was banished to Samothrace in 817, where overwhelmed with afflictions, he lived only seventeen days. He is credited with many miracles that occurred after his death, which most likely took place on 12 March, the day he is commemorated in

928-465: The second half of the ninth century and thus was known to Western Europe. There also survives a further continuation, in six books, of the Chronicle down to the year 961 written by a number of mostly anonymous writers (called Theophanes Continuatus or Scriptores post Theophanem ), who undertook the work at the instructions of Constantine Porphyrogenitus . Theophanes was the first to claim that

960-439: The use of a set of extracts made by Theodore Lector from the works of Socrates Scholasticus , Sozomenus , and Theodoret ; and third, the city chronicle of Constantinople. Cyril Mango has argued that Theophanes contributed but little to the chronicle that bears his name, and that the vast bulk of its contents are the work of Syncellus; on this model, Theophanes' main contribution was to cast Syncellus' rough materials together in

992-537: The years of the world and the Christian era, Theophanes introduces in tabular form the regnal years of the Roman emperors, of the Persian kings and Arab caliphs, and of the five ecumenical patriarchs, a complex system which sometimes leads to considerable confusion. The first part, though lacking in critical insight and chronological accuracy, greatly surpasses the majority of Byzantine chronicles. Theophanes's Chronicle

Kuber - Misplaced Pages Continue

1024-761: Was ambushed and defeated by the Bulgars from Kuber's state on his return to Constantinople in 689. Asparukh's son, Tervel , cooperated with his "uncles in the region of Thessaloniki" against the Byzantine Emperor Justinian II , according to the inscription on the Madara Rider . The Macedonian archaeologist Ivan Mikulčić , who attributes the treasures found at Vrap and Ersekë to Kuber's people, says that archaeological findings confirm their presence in North Macedonia and eastern Albania . Kuber Peak in Tangra Mountains on Livingston Island in

#439560