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{{Short description|First Emperor of the Bulgars from 893 to 927}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{featured article}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Simeon the Great
| image = Видин, май 2013 - panoramio (79).jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Statue of Simeon I in Vidin
| succession = [[List of Bulgarian monarchs|Emperor of the Bulgarians and Romans]]
| reign = 893 – 27 May 927
| predecessor = [[Vladimir of Bulgaria|Vladimir]]
| successor = [[Peter I of Bulgaria|Peter I]]
| house = [[Krum's dynasty]]
| house-type = Dynasty
| spouses = Unknown name (first spouse)<br> [[George Sursuvul|Maria Sursuvul]]
| issue = [[Mihail of Bulgaria|Michael]]<br>[[Peter I of Bulgaria|Peter, Emperor of Bulgaria]]<br>Ivan<br>[[Boyan the Mage|Benjamin]]
| father = [[Boris I of Bulgaria|Boris I]]
| mother = [[Maria (wife of Boris I of Bulgaria)|Maria]]
| birth_date = 864/865
| death_date = 27 May 927 (aged 62 or 63)
| death_place = [[Veliki Preslav|Preslav]], Bulgarian Empire
}}
'''Simeon I the Great''' ({{langx|cu|цѣсар҄ь Сѷмеѡ́нъ А҃ Вели́къ|}}; {{langx|bg|цар Симеон I Велики|Simeon I Veliki}}<ref>This article uses the [[United Nations]]-authorized [[scientific transliteration]] system to romanize Bulgarian [[Cyrillic]]. For details, see [[Romanization of Bulgarian]].</ref> {{IPA|bg|simɛˈɔn ˈpɤrvi vɛˈliki|}}; {{langx|el|Συμεών Αʹ ὁ Μέγας|Sumeṓn prôtos ho Mégas}}) ruled over [[Bulgaria]] from 893 to 927,<ref name="lalkov-pp23-25">Lalkov, ''Rulers of Bulgaria'', pp. 23–25.</ref> during the [[First Bulgarian Empire]]. Simeon's successful campaigns against the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]], [[Principality of Hungary|Magyars]] and [[Principality of Serbia (early medieval)|Serbs]] led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever,<ref>{{cite book |title=Enciklopedija Bǎlgarija |year=1988 |publisher=Akademično izdatelstvo "Marin Drinov" |language=bg |oclc=75865504 }}</ref> making it the most powerful state in contemporary [[Eastern Europe|Eastern]] and [[Southeast Europe]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761556147_8/Bulgaria.html#p48 |title=The First Bulgarian Empire |publisher=[[Encarta]] |access-date=3 March 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071204165922/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761556147_8/Bulgaria.html#p48 |archive-date=4 December 2007 }}</ref> His reign was also a period of unmatched cultural prosperity and enlightenment later deemed the [[Golden age (metaphor)|Golden Age]] of [[Bulgarian culture]].<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/creees/content/outreach/fulbright/final_projects/hart.pdf | last=Hart |first=Nancy |title=Bulgarian Art and Culture: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives |page=21 |publisher=[[University of Texas at Austin]] |access-date=3 March 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070810191242/http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/creees/content/outreach/fulbright/final_projects/hart.pdf |archive-date = 10 August 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>
During Simeon's rule, Bulgaria spread over a territory between the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]], the [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic]] and the [[Black Sea|Black seas]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Etnografija na Makedonija |url=http://knigite.abv.bg/gw/gw_index.html |last=Weigand |first=Gustav |chapter=1 Istoriko-geografski obzor: 4 Srednovekovie |chapter-url=http://knigite.abv.bg/gw/gw_1_4.html |year=1924 |___location=[[Leipzig]] |publisher=Friedrich Brandstetter |others=trans. Elena Pipiševa |language=bg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070415011734/http://knigite.abv.bg/gw/gw_index.html |archive-date=15 April 2007 }}</ref><ref name=bakalov>Bakalov, ''Istorija na Bǎlgarija'', "Simeon I Veliki".</ref> The newly independent [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church]] became the first new [[patriarchate]] besides the [[Pentarchy]], and Bulgarian [[Glagolitic alphabet|Glagolitic]] and [[Cyrillic alphabet|Cyrillic]] translations of [[Christianity|Christian]] texts spread all over the [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] world of the time.<ref>{{cite book |title=Istorija na Balkanite XIV–XX vek |last=Castellan |first=Georges |others=trans. Liljana Caneva |year=1999 |publisher=Hermes |___location=[[Plovdiv]] |isbn=954-459-901-0 |language=bg |page=37 }}</ref> It was at the [[Preslav Literary School]] in the 890s that the [[Cyrillic alphabet]] was developed.<ref name="Dvornik 1956 179">{{cite book | first=Francis | last=Dvornik |title=The Slavs: Their Early History and Civilization | url=https://archive.org/details/slavstheirearlyh00dvor | url-access=limited | quote = The Psalter and the Book of Prophets were adapted or "modernized" with special regard to their use in Bulgarian churches, and it was in this school that glagolitic writing was replaced by the so-called Cyrillic writing, which was more akin to the Greek uncial, simplified matters considerably and is still used by the Orthodox Slavs. | year=1956 |place=Boston | publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences |page=[https://archive.org/details/slavstheirearlyh00dvor/page/n184 179]}}</ref><ref name="books.google.com">[https://books.google.com/books?id=YIAYMNOOe0YC&q=Cyrillic+preslav&pg=PR1 Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250, Cambridge Medieval Textbooks, Florin Curta, Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp. 221–222.], {{ISBN|0521815398}}</ref><ref name="J-H9BTVHKRMC 2010, p. 100">[https://books.google.com/books?id=J-H9BTVHKRMC&q=+preslav+eastern&pg=PR3-IA34 The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire, Oxford History of the Christian Church, J. M. Hussey, Andrew Louth, Oxford University Press, 2010, p. 100.], {{ISBN|0191614882}}</ref> Halfway through his reign, Simeon assumed the title of "[[emperor]]" (''[[Tsar]]''),<ref>"Цѣсарь Блъгарѡмъ". Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 367.</ref> having prior to that been styled "[[prince]]" (''[[Knyaz]]'').<ref name=zlat-p280>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 280.</ref>
==Background and early life==
Simeon was born in 864 or 865, as the third son of Knyaz [[Boris I of Bulgaria|Boris I]]<ref name=zlat-p280/> of [[Krum of Bulgaria|Krum]]'s dynasty.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historymuseum.org/upload/fck_editor/40%20mazenizi(6).htm?PHPSESSID=c3baefb9cf4c28b27bbb7c03d78cfeec |last=Dimitrov |first=Božidar |author-link=Bozhidar Dimitrov |title=Hramǎt "Sveti Četirideset mǎčenici" |access-date=7 March 2007 |language=bg |publisher=[[National Historical Museum (Bulgaria)|National Historical Museum]] |archive-date=7 September 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060907142609/http://oldru.narod.ru/biblio/ldiakon1.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> As Boris was the ruler who [[Christianization of Bulgaria|Christianized Bulgaria]] in 865, Simeon was a Christian all his life.<ref name=zlat-p280/><ref name=fine-p132>Fine, ''The Early Medieval Balkans'', p. 132.</ref> Because his eldest brother [[Vladimir of Bulgaria|Vladimir]] was designated heir to the Bulgarian throne, Boris intended Simeon to become a high-ranking cleric,<ref name=delev9>Delev, ''Bǎlgarskata dǎržava pri car Simeon''.</ref> possibly Bulgarian archbishop, and sent him to the [[University of Constantinople]] to receive theological education when he was thirteen or fourteen.<ref name=fine-p132/> He took the name [[Simeon]]<ref>"From the Greek form of the Hebrew name שִׁמְעוֹן (''Shim'on'') which meant "hearkening" or "listening"." {{cite web |last=Campbell |first=Mike |url=http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/bibl2.php |title=Biblical Names |publisher=Behind the Name |access-date=4 March 2007 }}</ref> as a novice in a monastery in Constantinople.<ref name=fine-p132/> During the decade (ca. 878–888) he spent in the Byzantine capital, he received an excellent education and studied the rhetoric of [[Demosthenes]] and [[Aristotle]].<ref>"Hunc etenim Simeonem emiargon, id est semigrecum, esse aiebant, eo quod a puericia Bizantii Demostenis rhetoricam Aristotelisque sillogismos didicerit". [[Liutprand of Cremona]]. ''Antapodosis'', cap. 29, p. 66. Cited in {{cite book |last=Drinov |first=Marin |author-link=Marin Drinov |title=Južnye slavjane i Vizantija v X veke |page=374 |year=1876 |language=ru }}</ref> He also learned fluent [[Greek language|Greek]], to the extent that he was referred to as "the half-Greek" in Byzantine chronicles.<ref>Fine, ''The Early Medieval Balkans'', p. 132.<br /> * Delev, ''Bǎlgarskata dǎržava pri car Simeon''.<br /> * Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 282.</ref> He is speculated to have been tutored by [[Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople]],<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 281.</ref> but this is not supported by any source.<ref name=fine-p132/>
Around 888, Simeon returned to Bulgaria and settled at the newly established royal monastery of [[Preslav]] "at the mouth of the [[Kamchiya|Tiča]]",<ref>This is not to be understood literally, as the mouth of the Tiča lies to the east, on the Black Sea coast. Researchers link the word ''ustie'' ('river mouth') in the sources to a narrow section of the river or to the Ustie pass near the city. {{cite book |title=Pravoslavnite cǎrkvi prez Bǎlgarskoto srednovekovie |last=Nikolova |first=Bistra |page=88 |chapter=Veliki Preslav |language=bg |year=2002 |isbn=954-430-762-1 |___location=Sofia |publisher=Bulgarian Academy of Sciences }}</ref> where, under the guidance of [[Naum of Preslav]], he engaged in active translation of important religious works from Greek to Medieval Bulgarian (currently referred to as Church Slavonic), aided by other students from Constantinople.<ref name=fine-p132/> Meanwhile, Vladimir had succeeded Boris, who had retreated to a monastery, as ruler of Bulgaria. Vladimir attempted to reintroduce [[paganism]] in the empire and possibly signed an anti-Byzantine pact with [[Arnulf of Carinthia]],<ref>''[[Annales Fuldenses]]'', p. 408. Cited in Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', p. 133.</ref> compelling Boris to re-enter political life. Boris had Vladimir imprisoned and blinded, and then appointed Simeon as the new ruler.<ref>{{harvnb|Todt|1996}}.<br /> * Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 283.</ref> This was done at an [[Council of Preslav|assembly in Preslav]] which also proclaimed Bulgarian as the only language of state and church<ref name=crampton>{{cite book |title=A Concise History of Bulgaria |url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistorybu00cram |url-access=limited |chapter=The Reign of Simeon the Great (893–927) |last=Crampton |first=R.J. |isbn=0-521-85085-1 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2005 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/concisehistorybu00cram/page/n39 16]–17}}</ref> and moved the Bulgarian capital from [[Pliska]] to Preslav, to better cement the recent conversion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://liternet.bg/publish/akaloianov/civilizacia.htm |title=Slavjanskata pravoslavna civilizacija |access-date=12 March 2007 |last=Kalojanov |first=Ančo |date=11 May 2005 |language=bg }}</ref> It is not known why Boris did not place his second son, Gavril, on the throne, but instead preferred Simeon.<ref name=zlat-p280/>
==Reign==
===Trade war with Byzantium and Magyar invasions===
{{See also|Byzantine–Bulgarian wars|Bulgarian–Hungarian Wars|Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 894–896|Medieval Bulgarian army}}
With Simeon on the throne, the long-lasting peace with the Byzantine Empire established by his father was about to end. A conflict arose when [[Byzantine Emperor]] [[Leo VI the Wise]], allegedly acting under pressure from his mistress [[Zoe Zaoutzaina]] and her father [[Stylianos Zaoutzes]], moved the marketplace for Bulgarian goods from Constantinople to [[Thessaloniki]],<ref name=delev9/> where the Bulgarian merchants were heavily taxed. The Bulgarians sought protection by Simeon, who in turn complained to Leo. However, the Byzantine emperor ignored his embassy.<ref>[[John Skylitzes]]. Skylitzes–Kedrenos, II, p. 254.<sub>4–16</sub></ref><ref>Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', pp. 144–145.</ref>
[[File:Bulgaria-ZarSimeón.svg|thumb|358x358px|Bulgarian Empire during the reign of Simeon I<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davies |first1=Norman |title=Europe. A History |date=1997 |publisher=Oxford University press |isbn=954-427-663-7}}</ref><ref name="EarlyMedievalBalkans">{{cite book |last1=Fine |first1=John |title=Early medieval Balkans |year=1991 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=0-472-08149-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Curta |first1=Florin |title=Southeastern Europe in the Middle ages 500–1200 |date=31 August 2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-81539-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Rashev |first1=Rasho |title=Българската езическа култура VII -IX в. |date=2008 |publisher=Класика и стил |isbn=9789543270392}}</ref><ref>Розата на Балканите, Иван Илчев, т.1, {{ISBN|9786190204244}}</ref>]]
Unable to effectively respond to the Bulgarian campaign due to the engagement of their forces against the Arabs, the Byzantines convinced the Magyars to attack Bulgaria,<ref name=delev9/> promising to transport them across the [[Danube]] using the [[Byzantine navy]].<ref name=canev-p198>Canev, ''Bǎlgarski hroniki'', p. 198.</ref><ref>Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', p. 145.</ref> Leo VI may have also concluded an agreement with Arnulf to make sure that the [[Franks]] did not support Simeon against the Magyars.<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', pp. 294–295.</ref> In addition, the talented commander [[Nikephoros Phokas the Elder|Nikephoros Phokas]] was called back from [[southern Italy]] to lead a separate army against Bulgaria in 895 with the intention to merely overawe the Bulgarians.<ref name="Runciman, First Bulgarian Empire, p. 146">Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', p. 146.</ref> Simeon, unaware of the threat from the north, rushed to meet Phokas' forces, but the two armies did not engage in a fight.<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 295.</ref> Instead, the Byzantines offered peace, informing him of both the Byzantine foot and maritime campaign, but intentionally did not notify him of the planned Magyar attack. Simeon did not trust the envoy and, after sending him to prison, ordered the Byzantine navy's route into the Danube closed off with ropes and chains, intending to hold it until he had dealt with Phokas.<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', pp. 296–297.</ref>
Despite the problems they encountered because of the fencing, the Byzantines ultimately managed to ferry the Magyar forces led by [[Árpád]]'s son Liüntika across the Danube,<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 297.</ref> possibly near modern [[Galaţi]],<ref>According to [[toponymy|toponymic]] evidence. {{cite book |title=Relationum Hungarorum cum oriente gentibusque originis historia antiquissima |last=Kuun |first=Géza |year=1895 |page=23 |language=la }}</ref> and assisted them in pillaging the nearby Bulgarian lands. Once notified of the surprise invasion, Simeon headed north to stop the Magyars, leaving some of his troops at the southern border to prevent an attack by Phokas.<ref name=zlat-pp298-299>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', pp. 298–299.</ref> Simeon's two encounters with the enemy in [[northern Dobruja]] resulted in Magyar victories,<ref name=delev9/> forcing him to retreat to [[Silistra|Drǎstǎr]].<ref name=zlat-pp298-299/><ref>Canev, ''Bǎlgarski hroniki'', p. 199.</ref> After pillaging much of Bulgaria and reaching Preslav, the Magyars returned to their lands,<ref>Bakalov, ''Istorija na Bǎlgarija'', "Simeon I Veliki".<br />* Delev, ''Bǎlgarskata dǎržava pri car Simeon''.<br /> * Canev, ''Bǎlgarski hroniki'', p. 199.</ref> but not before Simeon had concluded an armistice with Byzantium towards the summer of 895.<ref name="Runciman, First Bulgarian Empire, p. 146"/> A complete peace was delayed, as Leo VI required the release of the Byzantine captives from the trade war.<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', pp. 301–304.</ref>
=== Anti-Magyar campaign and further wars with Byzantium ===
[[File:Bulgarians defeat Byzantines under Krenites and Kourtikios.jpg|250px|thumb|Simeon I's army defeating the Byzantines, led by Procopius Crenites and Curtacius the Armenian in Macedonia. From the [[Madrid Skylitzes]].
]]
Having dealt with the pressure from the Magyars and the Byzantines, Simeon was free to plan a campaign against the Magyars looking for retribution. He negotiated a joint force with the Magyars' eastern neighbours, the [[Pechenegs]], and imprisoned the Byzantine envoy [[Leo Choirosphaktes]] in order to delay the release of the captives until after the campaign against the Magyars.<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 304.</ref> This would allow him to renegotiate the peace conditions in his favour. In an exchange of letters with the envoy, Simeon refused to release the captives and ridiculed Leo VI's [[astrology|astrological]] abilities.<ref name=delev9/><ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', pp. 304–311.</ref>
Using a Magyar invasion in the lands of the neighbouring Slavs in 896 as a ''[[casus belli]]'', Simeon headed against the Magyars together with his Pecheneg allies, defeating them completely<ref name="Runciman, First Bulgarian Empire, p. 147">Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', p. 147.</ref> in the [[Battle of Southern Buh]] and making them leave [[Etelköz]] forever and settle in [[Pannonia]].<ref name=bakalov/><ref name=delev9/> Following the defeat of the Magyars, Simeon finally released the Byzantine prisoners in exchange for Bulgarians captured in 895.<ref name=delev9/>
[[File:Skylitzes - Simeon at Bulgarophygon 896.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The Bulgarians routing the Byzantine forces at [[Battle of Bulgarophygon|Bulgarophygon]] in 896. From the [[Madrid Skylitzes]].]]
Claiming that not all prisoners had been released,<ref name="Runciman, First Bulgarian Empire, p. 147"/> Simeon once again invaded Byzantium in the summer of 896, heading directly to Constantinople.<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 315.</ref> He was met in [[Thrace]] by a hastily assembled Byzantine army, but annihilated the Byzantine forces in the [[Battle of Bulgarophygon]] (at modern [[Babaeski]], Turkey).<ref name=delev9/><ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 316.</ref> Arming Arab captives and sending them to fight with the Bulgarians as a desperate measure, Leo VI managed to repel the Bulgarians from Constantinople, which they had besieged.<ref name=delev9/><ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 317.</ref> The war ended with a peace treaty which formally lasted until around Leo VI's death in 912<ref name=bakalov/> and under which Byzantium was obliged to pay Bulgaria an annual tribute.<ref>Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', p. 148.</ref> Under the treaty, the Byzantines also ceded an area between the Black Sea and [[Strandzha|Strandža]] to the Bulgarian Empire.<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', pp. 318–321.</ref> Meanwhile, Simeon had also imposed his authority over [[Principality of Serbia (early medieval)|Serbia]] in return for recognizing [[Archont Petar|Petar Gojniković]] as their ruler.<ref>Fine, ''The Early Medieval Balkans'', p. 141.</ref>
Simeon often violated the peace treaty with Byzantium, attacking and conquering Byzantine territory on several occasions,<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 321.</ref> such as in 904, when the Bulgarian raids were used by Arabs led by the Byzantine renegade [[Leo of Tripoli]] to undertake a maritime campaign and seize Thessaloniki.<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 324.</ref> After the Arabs plundered the city, it was an easy target for Bulgaria and the nearby Slavic tribes. In order to dissuade Simeon from capturing the city and populating it with Slavs,<ref name=delev9/><ref>Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', p. 152.</ref> Leo VI was forced to make further territorial concessions to the Bulgarians in the modern region of [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]]. With the treaty of 904, all Slavic-inhabited lands in modern southern Macedonia and southern [[Albania]] were ceded to the Bulgarian Empire,<ref name=bakalov/><ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', pp. 334–337.</ref> with the border line running some 20 kilometres north of Thessaloniki.<ref>"In the year 6412 since the creation of the world, [[indict]] 7 (904). Border between Byzantines and Bulgarians. In the time of Simeon, by the grace of God Prince of the Bulgarians, under Olgu Tarkan Theodore and under Komit Drista." Border marking inscription from Narǎš (modern [[Greece]]). {{cite journal |last=Uspenskij |first=F.I. |author-link=Fyodor Uspensky |title=Pograničnyj stolb meždu Vizantiej i Bolgariej pri Simeone |journal=Izvestija Russkogo Arheologičeskogo Instituta V Konstantinopole |year=1898 |pages=184–194 |language=ru }}</ref>
=== Recognition as emperor ===
{{main|Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 913–927}}
The death of Leo VI on 11 May 912 and the accession of his infant son [[Constantine VII]] under the guidance of Leo's brother [[Alexander (emperor)|Alexander]], who expelled Leo's wife Zoe from the palace, constituted a great opportunity for Simeon to attempt another campaign against Constantinople, the conquest of which remained the dream of his life. In early 913, Simeon's envoys, who had arrived in Constantinople to renew the peace of 896, were sent away by Alexander, who refused to pay the annual tribute, urging Simeon to [[Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 913–927|prepare for war]].<ref>Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', p. 155.<br /> * {{harvnb|Todt|1996}}.<br /> * Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 352.<br /> * ''Bǎlgarite i Bǎlgarija'', 1.2.</ref>
Before Simeon could attack, Alexander died, on 6 June 913, leaving the empire in the hands of a regency council headed by [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch]] [[Nicholas Mystikos]].<ref>Canev, ''Bǎlgarski hroniki'', p. 212.<br /> * Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', p. 155.<br /> * {{harvnb|Todt|1996}}.</ref> Many residents of Constantinople did not recognize the young emperor and instead supported the pretender Constantine Doukas,<ref>Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', p. 156.</ref> which, exacerbated by revolts in southern Italy and the planned Arab invasion in eastern Anatolia, was all to Simeon's advantage.<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 353.</ref> Nicholas Mystikos tried to discourage Simeon from invading Byzantium in a long series of pleading letters, but the Bulgarian ruler nevertheless attacked in full force in late July or August 913, reaching Constantinople without any serious resistance.<ref name=bg1-2>''Bǎlgarite i Bǎlgarija'', 1.2.</ref>
The anarchy in Constantinople had ceased after the murder of the pretender Constantine Doukas, however, and a government had promptly been formed with Patriarch Nicholas at the head.<ref name=zlat-p359>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 359.</ref> This urged Simeon to raise his siege and enter peace negotiations, to the joy of the Byzantines.<ref name=zlat-p359/> The protracted negotiations resulted in the payment of the [[arrears]] of Byzantine tribute,<ref name="Runciman, p. 157">Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', p. 157.</ref> the promise that Constantine VII would marry one of Simeon's daughters,<ref name=delev9/><ref name=bg1-2/> and, most importantly, Simeon's official recognition as Emperor of the Bulgarians by Patriarch Nicholas in the [[Blachernae Palace]].<ref>Fine, ''The Early Medieval Balkans'', pp. 144–148.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=George |last=Ostrogorsky |author-link = George Ostrogorsky|title=Avtokrator i samodržac |journal=Glas Srpske Kraljevske Akademije |language=sr |issue=CLXIV |year=1935 |pages=95–187 }}</ref>
Shortly after Simeon visited Constantinople, Constantine's mother Zoe returned to the palace on the insistence of the young emperor and immediately proceeded to eliminate the regents. Through a plot, she managed to assume power in February 914, practically removing Patriarch Nicholas from the government, disowning and obscuring his recognition of Simeon's imperial title,<ref>{{cite journal |title=A re-examination of the 'coronation' of Symeon of Bulgaria in 913 |last=Loud |first=G.A. |year=1978 |journal=The Journal of Theological Studies |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |issue= XXIX |pages=109–120 |doi=10.1093/jts/XXIX.1.109 |volume=xxix }}</ref> and rejecting the planned marriage of her son to one of Simeon's daughters.<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', pp. 367–368.</ref> Simeon had to resort to war to achieve his goals. He invaded Thrace in the summer of 914 and captured [[Edirne|Adrianople]]. Zoe was quick to send Simeon numerous presents in order to conciliate him, and she managed to convince him to cede back Adrianople and withdraw his army. In the following years, Simeon's forces were engaged in the northwestern Byzantine provinces, around Drač ([[Durrës]]) and Thessaloniki, but did not make a move against Constantinople.<ref>Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', p. 158–159.</ref>
=== Victories at Achelous and Katasyrtai ===
[[File:Battle of Anchialos (917).svg|thumb|250px|Map of the progress of the [[Battle of Achelous|Battle of Achelous or Anchialos]]<ref>According to {{cite book |title=Slavata na Bǎlgarija: istoriko-hudožestven očerk |year=1988 |last=Čolpanov |first=Boris |publisher=Voenno izdatelstvo |___location=Sofia |language=bg |oclc= 22276650}}</ref>]]
[[File:Skylitzes Simeon at Anchialos 917.jpg|thumb|250px|The Bulgarian victory at [[Pomorie|Anchialos]], Madrid Skylitzes.]]
By 917, Simeon was preparing for yet another war against Byzantium. He attempted to conclude an anti-Byzantine union with the Pechenegs, but his envoys could not match the financial resources of the Byzantines, who succeeded in outbidding them.<ref>Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', p. 159.</ref> The Byzantines hatched a large-scale campaign against Bulgaria and also tried to persuade the Serbian Prince Petar Gojniković to attack the Bulgarians with Magyar support.<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', pp. 375–376.</ref>
In 917, a particularly strong Byzantine army led by [[Leo Phokas the Elder]], son of [[Nikephoros Phokas the Elder|Nikephoros Phokas]], invaded Bulgaria accompanied by the Byzantine navy under the command of [[Romanos I|Romanos Lekapenos]], which sailed to the Bulgarian Black Sea ports. En route to Mesembria ([[Nesebar|Nesebǎr]]), where they were supposed to be reinforced by troops transported by the navy, Phokas' forces stopped to rest near the river of [[Aheloy River|Achelous]], not far from the port of Anchialos ([[Pomorie]]).<ref name=runciman-pp160-161>Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', pp. 160–161.</ref><ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', pp. 376–377.</ref> Once informed of the invasion, Simeon rushed to intercept the Byzantines, and attacked them from the nearby hills while they were resting disorganized. In the [[Battle of Achelous]] of 20 August 917, one of the largest in medieval history,<ref>Dimitrov, ''Bulgaria: illustrated history''.</ref> the Bulgarians completely routed the Byzantines and killed many of their commanders, although Phokas managed to escape to Mesembria.<ref>{{cite web|title=Symeon of Bulgaria wins the Battle of Acheloos, 917 |author=Theophanes Continuatus, trans. Paul Stephenson |url=http://homepage.mac.com/paulstephenson/trans/theocont2.html |access-date=10 March 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120525110204/http://homepage.mac.com/paulstephenson/trans/theocont2.html |archive-date=25 May 2012 }}</ref> Decades later, [[Leo the Deacon]] would write that "piles of bones can still be seen today at the river Achelous, where the fleeing army of the Romans was then infamously slain".<ref>Leo the Deacon, ''[http://oldru.narod.ru/biblio/ldiakon1.htm History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060907142609/http://oldru.narod.ru/biblio/ldiakon1.htm |date=7 September 2006 }}'', p. 124<sub>10–12</sub>. Cited in Canev, ''Bǎlgarski hroniki'', p. 216.</ref>
The planned Pecheneg attack from the north also failed, as the Pechenegs quarrelled with [[Megas droungarios tou ploimou|admiral]] Lekapenos, who refused to transport them across the Danube to aid the main Byzantine army.<ref name=runciman-pp160-161/> The Byzantines were not aided by Serbs and Magyars either: the Magyars were engaged in [[Western Europe]] as Frankish allies, and the Serbs under Petar Gojniković were reluctant to attack Bulgaria because [[Michael of Zahumlje]], an ally of Bulgaria, had notified Simeon of their plans.<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 370.</ref>
Simeon's army quickly followed up the victory of Achelous with another success.<ref name=bg1-2/> The Bulgarians sent to pursue the remnants of the Byzantine army approached Constantinople and encountered Byzantine forces under Leo Phokas, who had returned to the capital, at the village of [[battle of Katasyrtai|Katasyrtai]] in the immediate proximity of Constantinople.<ref>{{cite book |first=Сarl Gothard |last=De Boor |title=Vita Euthymii |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_MWvPAAAAMAAJ |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_MWvPAAAAMAAJ/page/n224 214] |___location=[[Berlin]] |publisher=Reimer |year=1888 }}</ref> The Bulgarian regiments attacked and again defeated the Byzantines, destroying some of their last units before returning to Bulgaria.<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 382.</ref>
=== Suppression of Serbian unrest and late campaigns against Byzantium ===
Immediately after that campaign, Simeon sought to punish the Serbian ruler Petar Gojniković who had attempted to betray him by concluding an alliance with the Byzantines.<ref name=bakalov/> Simeon sent an army led by two of his commanders, [[Theodore Sigritsa|Theodore Sigrica]] and [[Marmais]], to Serbia. The two managed to persuade Petar to attend a personal meeting, during which he was enchained and carried off to Bulgaria, where he died in a dungeon. Simeon put Pavle Branović, prior to that an exile in Bulgaria, on the Serbian throne, thus restoring the Bulgarian influence in Serbia for a while.<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', pp. 385–386.</ref>
Meanwhile, the Byzantine military failures forced another change of government in Constantinople: the admiral Romanos Lekapenos replaced Zoe as regent of the young Constantine VII in 919, forcing her back into a convent. Romanos betrothed his daughter [[Helena Lekapene]] to Constantine and advanced to the rank of co-emperor in December 920, effectively assuming the government of the empire,<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]] |editor=Alexander Kazhdan |editor-link=Alexander Kazhdan |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1991 }}</ref><ref>Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', p. 163.</ref> which was largely what Simeon had planned to do.<ref>Canev, ''Bǎlgarski hroniki'', p. 217.</ref>
[[File:RadzivillChronicleFol21rb.jpg|right|thumb|320px|Byzantine Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos negotiating with Simeon I of Bulgaria c. 922–924. miniature of the Radziwill Chronicle (15th century).]]No longer able to climb to the Byzantine throne by diplomatic means, the infuriated Simeon once again had to wage war to impose his will. Between 920 and 922, Bulgaria increased its pressure on Byzantium, campaigning in the west through [[Thessaly]] reaching the [[Isthmus of Corinth]] and in the east in Thrace, reaching and crossing the [[Dardanelles]] to lay siege on the town of [[Lampsacus]].<ref name=delev9/> Simeon's forces appeared before Constantinople in 921, when they demanded the deposition of Romanos and captured Adrianople, and 922, when they were victorious at [[battle of Pigae|Pigae]], burned much of the [[Golden Horn]] and seized [[Vize|Bizye]].<ref name=runciman-pp164-165>Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', pp. 164–165.</ref><ref>''Vita S. Mariae Junioris''.</ref> In the meantime, the Byzantines attempted to ignite Serbia against Simeon, but he substituted Pavle with Zaharije Pribisavljević, a former refugee at Constantinople that he had captured.<ref name=delev9/><ref name=runciman-pp164-165/>
[[File:MadridSkylitzesFol148r.jpg|thumb|Simeon of Bulgaria striking an alliance with the Fatimids, which Romanos I tries to intercept.]]
Desperate to conquer Constantinople, Simeon planned a large campaign in 924 and sent envoys to the [[Fatimid]] caliph [[Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah]], who possessed a [[Fatimid navy|powerful navy]] which Simeon needed. The caliph agreed and sent his own representatives back with the Bulgarians to arrange the alliance. However, the envoys were captured by the Byzantines at [[Calabria]]. Romanos offered peace to the Arabs, supplementing this offer with generous gifts, and ruined their union with Bulgaria.<ref name=delev9/><ref>Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', pp. 168–169.</ref>
In Serbia, Zaharije was persuaded by the Byzantines to revolt against Simeon. Zaharije was supported by many Bulgarians exhausted from Simeon's endless campaigns against Byzantium.<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', pp. 446–447.</ref> The Bulgarian emperor sent his troops under Sigrica and Marmais, but they were routed and the two commanders beheaded, which forced Simeon to conclude an armistice with Byzantium in order to concentrate on the suppression of the uprising. Simeon sent an army led by [[Časlav Klonimirović]] in 924 to depose Zaharije. He was successful, as Zaharije fled to Croatia. After this victory, the Serbian nobility was invited to come to Bulgaria and bow to the new Prince. However, he did not appear at the supposed meeting and all of them were beheaded. Bulgaria annexed Serbia directly.<ref name=delev9/><ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 459.</ref>
In the summer of 924, Simeon nevertheless arrived at Constantinople and demanded to see the patriarch and the emperor. He conversed with Romanos on the Golden Horn on 9 September 924 and arranged a truce, according to which Byzantium would pay Bulgaria an annual tax, but would be ceded back some cities on the Black Sea coast.<ref>Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', pp. 169–172.</ref> During the interview of the two monarchs, two eagles are said to have met in the skies above and then to have parted, one of them flying over Constantinople and the other heading to Thrace, as a sign of the irreconcilability of the two rulers.<ref>Theophanes Continuatus, pp. 405–407.</ref> In his description of this meeting, [[Theophanes Continuatus]] mentions that "the two ''emperors''... conversed", which may indicate renewed Byzantine recognition of Simeon's imperial claims.<ref>"tôn ''basileôn'' omilountôn". Discussed in {{cite web|url=http://homepage.mac.com/paulstephenson/trans/theocont3.html |title=The peace agreed between Romanos Lekapenos and Symeon of Bulgaria, AD 924 (translation of Theophanes Continuatus) |last=Stephenson |first=Paul |access-date=11 March 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120525110204/http://homepage.mac.com/paulstephenson/trans/theocont3.html |archive-date=25 May 2012 }}</ref>
=== War with Croatia and death ===
{{See also|Croatian–Bulgarian wars}}
Most likely after (or possibly at the time of) Patriarch Nicholas' death in 925, Simeon raised the status of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to a patriarchate.<ref>Fine, ''The Early Medieval Balkans'', p. 156.</ref> This may be linked to Simeon's diplomatic relations with the [[Papacy]] between 924 and 926, during which he demanded and received Pope [[John X]]'s recognition of his title as "Emperor of the Romans", truly equal to the Byzantine emperor, and possibly the confirmation of a patriarchal dignity for the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mladjov |first=Ian |title=Between Byzantium and Rome: Bulgaria and the West in the Aftermath of the Photian Schism |journal=Byzantine Studies/Études Byzantines |year=1999 |pages=173–181 }}</ref>
In 926, Simeon's troops under [[Alogobotur]] invaded Croatia, at the time a Byzantine ally, but were completely defeated by the army of [[King Tomislav]] in the [[Battle of the Bosnian Highlands]].<ref name=bakalov/> Fearing a Bulgarian retribution, Tomislav agreed to abandon his union with Byzantium and make peace on the basis of the ''[[status quo]]'', negotiated by the papal legate Madalbert.<ref>Canev, ''Bǎlgarski hroniki'', p. 225.</ref><ref>Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', p. 176.</ref> In the last months of his life, Simeon prepared for another conflict with Constantinople despite Romanos' desperate pleas for peace.<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', pp. 489–491.</ref>
On 27 May 927, Simeon died of [[heart failure]] in his palace in Preslav. Byzantine chroniclers tie his death to a legend, according to which Romanos decapitated a statue which was Simeon's inanimate double, and he died at that very hour.<ref>Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', pp. 176–77.</ref><ref>Canev, ''Bǎlgarski hroniki'', p. 226–227.</ref>
He was succeeded by his son [[Peter I of Bulgaria|Peter I]], with George Sursubul, the new emperor's maternal uncle, initially acting as a regent.<ref name=Runciman177>Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', p. 177.</ref> As part of the peace treaty signed in October 927 and reinforced by Peter's marriage to [[Irene Lekapene|Maria (Eirene)]], Romanos' granddaughter, the existing borders were confirmed, as were the Bulgarian ruler's imperial dignity and the head of the Bulgarian Church's patriarchal status.<ref>Fine, ''The Early Medieval Balkans''.</ref>
[[H.H.Howorth]] opined "If he had lived, or if he had been succeeded by princes of the same martial character, it is very probable that a great Slav state reaching from the Adriatic to the Black Sea, which would have been a barrier to the Turks, might have been formed south of the Danube."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Howorth |first1=H. H. |title=The Spread of the Slaves - Part IV: The Bulgarians |journal=The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland |date=1882 |volume=11 |page=261 |doi=10.2307/2841751 |jstor=2841751 |quote=If he had lived, or if he had been succeeded by princes of the same martial character, it is very probable that a great Slav state reaching from the Adriatic to the Black Sea, which would have been a barrier to the Turks, might have been formed south of the Danube.|doi-access=free }}</ref>
== Culture and religion ==
[[File:St. Theodor.jpg|thumb|[[Ceramic]] icon of [[Theodore Stratelates]] dating to Simeon's reign]]
During Simeon's reign, Bulgaria reached its cultural apogee, becoming the literary and spiritual centre of [[Slavic Europe]].<ref name="lalkov-pp23-25"/><ref name=delev10>Delev, ''Zlatnijat vek na bǎlgarskata kultura''.</ref> In this respect, Simeon continued his father Boris' policy of establishing and spreading Slavic culture and attracting noted scholars and writers within Bulgaria's borders. It was in the [[Preslav Literary School]] and [[Ohrid Literary School]], founded under Boris, that the main literary work in Bulgaria was concentrated during the reign of Simeon<ref name=slovotointro>
Ivanova, "[http://knigite.abv.bg/zv/zv_uvod.html Introduction]{{Dead link|date=March 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}", ''Tǎržestvo na slovoto''.
</ref> in the new [[Cyrillic alphabet]] which was developed there.<ref name="Dvornik 1956 179"/><ref name="books.google.com"/><ref name="J-H9BTVHKRMC 2010, p. 100"/>
The late 9th and early 10th centuries constitute the earliest and most productive period of medieval [[Bulgarian literature]].<ref name=slovotointro/> Having spent his early years in Constantinople, Simeon introduced Byzantine culture to the Bulgarian court, but eliminated its assimilative effect by means of military power and religious autonomy.<ref name=slovotointro/> The disciples of [[Cyril and Methodius]], among whom were [[Clement of Ohrid]], [[Saint Naum|Naum]] and [[Constantine of Preslav]], continued their educational work in Bulgaria, actively translating Christian texts, such as the [[Bible]] and the works of [[John Chrysostom]], [[Basil of Caesarea]], [[Cyril of Alexandria]], [[Gregory of Nazianzus]], and [[Athanasius of Alexandria]], as well as historic chronicles such as those of [[John Malalas]] and [[George Hamartolus]], to Bulgarian.<ref name=slovotointro/> The reign of Simeon also witnessed the production of a number of original theological and secular works, such as [[John Exarch]]'s ''Six Days'' (''Šestodnev''), Constantine of Preslav's ''Alphabetical Prayer'' and ''Proclamation of the Holy Gospels'', and [[Chernorizets Hrabar|Černorizec Hrabǎr]]'s ''An Account of Letters''.<ref name=slovotointro/> Simeon's own contribution to this literary blossoming was praised by his contemporaries, for example in the ''Praise to Tsar Simeon'' preserved in the ''Zlatostruj'' collection and ''Simeon's Collection'',<ref name=delev10/> to which the tsar personally wrote an addendum.<ref>
Ivanova, "[http://knigite.abv.bg/zv/zv1_4.html Pribavka ot samija hristoljubiv car Simeon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070118084549/http://knigite.abv.bg/zv/zv1_4.html |date=2007-01-18 }} ", ''Tǎržestvo na slovoto''.
</ref>
Simeon turned the new Bulgarian capital Preslav into a magnificent religious and cultural centre, intended more as a display of his realm's heyday and as a royal residence than as a military fortress.<ref name=delev10/> With its more than twenty [[Crossed-dome church|cross-domed churches]] and numerous monasteries, its impressive royal palace and the [[Round Church, Preslav|Golden (or Round) Church]], Preslav was a true imperial capital.<ref name=delev10/> The development of Bulgarian art in the period is demonstrated by a ceramic icon of [[Theodore Stratelates]] and the Preslav-style illustrated ceramics.<ref>{{cite web |title=Risuvana keramika |publisher=Muzej Preslav |url=http://www.museum-preslav.com/colectr.html |access-date=10 March 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070127095604/http://www.museum-preslav.com/colectr.html| archive-date = 27 January 2007}}</ref>
== Family ==
Simeon was married twice. By his first wife, whose identity is unknown, Simeon had a son called [[Mihail of Bulgaria|Michael]].<ref>Fine, ''The Early Medieval Balkans'', p. 160.</ref> Possibly because his mother was of inferior birth, he was excluded from the succession and sent to a monastery.<ref name=Runciman177/>
By his second wife, the sister of the influential noble George Sursubul, he had three sons: [[Peter I of Bulgaria|Peter]], who succeeded as Emperor of Bulgaria in 927 and ruled until 969; Ivan, who unsuccessfully conspired against Peter in 929 and then fled to Byzantium;<ref>Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', pp. 187–188.</ref> and Benjamin (also known as Bajan or [[Boyan the Mage]]), who, according to [[Lombards|Lombard]] historian [[Liutprand of Cremona]], "possessed the power to transform himself suddenly into a wolf or other strange animal".<ref>[https://www.dmgh.de/mgh_ss_rer_germ_41/index.htm#page/88/mode/1up ''Antapodosis'', p. 309].</ref>
Simeon also had several daughters, including one who was arranged to marry Constantine VII in 913.<ref name="Runciman, p. 157"/> The marriage was annulled by Constantine's mother Zoe once she had returned to the court.<ref>Fine, ''The Early Medieval Balkans'', p. 148.</ref>
{{collapse top |bg=#ccddcc |expand=true |title='''Family tree of Simeon I'''<ref>Family tree of Simeon I:
* Runciman, ''A history of the First Bulgarian Empire'', pp. 133, 177.
* Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', pp. 280, 495.</ref>
}}
{| style="width:100%; border-colapse:colapse; text-align:center;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
|-
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| style="width:8.333%;"|
| style="width:8.333%;"|
| style="width:8.333%;"|
| style="width:8.333%;"|
|- style="vertical-align: bottom;"
| colspan="4" | '''[[Boris I of Bulgaria|Boris I]]'''<br /><small>(d. 907, ruled 852–889)</small>
| colspan="8" | [[Maria (wife of Boris I of Bulgaria)|Maria]]
|- style="height: 2ex;"
| colspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;" |
| colspan="6" |
| colspan="4" style="border-left: 1px solid black;" |
|- style="height: 3ex;"
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="3" style="border-right: 1px solid black; border-top: 1px solid black;" |
| colspan="3" style="border-top: 1px solid black;" |
| colspan="3" |
||
|- style="height: 2ex;"
| style="border-right:solid black 1px;"|
| colspan="2" style="border-right: solid black 1px; border-top: 1px solid black;" |
| colspan="2" style="border-right: solid black 1px; border-top: 1px solid black;" |
| colspan="2" style="border-right: solid black 1px; border-top: 1px solid black;" |
| colspan="2" style="border-right: solid black 1px; border-top: 1px solid black;" |
| colspan="2" style="border-right: solid black 1px; border-top: 1px solid black;" |
||
|- style="height: 4ex; vertical-align: top;"
| colspan="2" | '''[[Vladimir of Bulgaria|Vladimir]]'''<br /><small>(ruled 889–893)</small>
| colspan="2" | Gabriel (Gavril)
| style="border-right:solid black 1px;"|
||
| colspan="2" | Jacob (Jakov)
| colspan="2" | Eupraxia (Evpraksija)
| colspan="2" | [[Anna (daughter of Boris I)|Anna]]
|- style="height: 2ex;"
| colspan="5" style="border-right: solid black 1px;" |
| colspan="7" s|
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
||
| colspan="3" | 1<br />unknown wife
| colspan="2" | <big>'''Simeon I'''</big><br /><small>(b. 864/865, d. 927,<br /> ruled 893–927)</small>
| colspan="3" | 2<br />sister of<br />George Sursubul
| colspan="3" |
|-
| colspan="5" style="border-right: solid black 1px;" |
| colspan="7" |
|- style="text-align: left;"
| colspan="3" |
| colspan="2" style="border-left: solid black 1px; border-right: solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; padding-left: 0.5em;" | 1
| colspan="2" style="border-top: solid black 1px; padding-left: 0.5em;" | 2
| colspan="2" style="border-left: solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; padding-left: 0.5em;" | 2
| colspan="2" style="border-left: solid black 1px; border-top: solid black 1px; padding-left: 0.5em;" | 2
| style="border-left:solid black 1px; padding-left:0.5em;"| ?
|- style="vertical-align: top"
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" | [[Mihail of Bulgaria|Michael]]<br /><small>(d. 931)</small>
| colspan="2" | '''[[Peter I of Bulgaria|Peter I]]'''<br /><small>(b. after 912, d. 970,<br />ruled 927–969)</small>
| colspan="2" | Ivan
| colspan="2" | [[Boyan the Mage|Benjamin]]
| colspan="2" | daughters
|}
{{collapse bottom}}
== Legacy and popular culture ==
[[File:Car Simeon Bulharsky - Alfons Mucha.jpg|thumb|300px|The Bulgarian Tsar Simeon: The Morning Star of Slavonic Literature (1923), by [[Alphonse Mucha]], ''[[The Slav Epic]]'']]
Tsar Simeon I has remained among the most highly valued Bulgarian historical figures, as indicated by popular vote in the ''[[Velikite Balgari|Velikite Bǎlgari]]'' (a spin-off of ''[[100 Greatest Britons]]'') television programme, which in February 2007 placed him fourth among the greatest Bulgarians ever.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://velikite.bg/index.php?p=4&id=58 |title=Vasil Levski beše izbran za naj-velikija bǎlgarin na vsički vremena |publisher=Velikite Bǎlgari |language=bg |access-date=25 March 2007 |date=18 February 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317134803/http://www.velikite.bg/index.php?p=4&id=58 |archive-date=17 March 2007 }}</ref> Simeon [[List of people known as The Great|the Great]] has been regularly featured in fiction. Bulgarian national writer [[Ivan Vazov]] dedicated a children's patriotic poem to him, "Tsar Simeon", and it was later arranged as a song, "Kray Bosfora šum se vdiga" ("A Clamour Rises by the [[Bosphorus]]").<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novotovreme.bg/?cid=15&spid=126&PHPSESSID=f48bebc98a0238f47871e0f5c3b9ee6e |title=Večnite pesni na Bǎlgarija |publisher=Novoto vreme |language=bg |access-date=25 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304220144/http://novotovreme.bg/?&cid=15&spid=126 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> An eleven-episode drama series filmed in 1984, ''[[Zlatniyat vek]]'' (''The Golden Age''), retells the story of Simeon's reign. In the series, the tsar is played by [[Marius Donkin]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369188/ |title="Zlatniyat vek" (1984) |publisher=[[IMDb]] |access-date=25 March 2007 }}</ref> A [[historical drama]] play called ''Tsar Simeon Veliki – Zlatniyat vek'' produced by Stefan Staychev, director of the [[Silistra]] Theatre, premiered in December 2006. Ivan Samokovliev stars in the part of Simeon.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://btv.bg/news/?magic=bulgaria&story=54704&page=2 |title=Tazi večer v Silistra e premierata na grandioznija istoričeski spektakǎl "Zlatnijat vek – Car Simeon Veliki" |publisher=[[BTV (Bulgaria)|bTV]] Novinite |date=7 December 2006 |language=bg |access-date=25 March 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928012058/http://btv.bg/news/?magic=bulgaria&story=54704&page=2 |archive-date=28 September 2007 }}</ref>
The painting, "The Bulgarian Tsar Simeon" is part of the 20-canvas work by [[Alfons Mucha]], ''[[The Slav Epic]]''.<ref name="bozhkov">{{cite book|last=Bozhkov|first=Atanas|title=Bulgarian contributions to European civilization|year=1994|publisher=Bulvest 2000|isbn=978-954-8112-58-1|page=324}}</ref>
The last Bulgarian monarch, [[Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha]], was named after Simeon I.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.omda.bg/bulg/news/personal/simeon.htm |title=Simeon Sakskoburggotski (Car Simeon Vtori) |publisher=OMDA.bg |language=bg |access-date=25 March 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313135301/http://www.omda.bg/bulg/NEWS/personal/simeon.htm |archive-date=13 March 2007 }}</ref> A brand of high-quality grape [[rakia|rakija]], ''Car Simeon Veliki'', also bears his name,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vinexbg.com/bg/main/grape-brandy/brandy.html |title=Grozdova rakija: Car Simeon Veliki |access-date=25 March 2007 |language=bg |publisher=Vinex |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061021033212/http://www.vinexbg.com/bg/main/grape-brandy/brandy.html |archive-date = 21 October 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> and an [[Antarctica|Antarctic]] peak on [[Livingston Island]] of the [[South Shetland Islands]] was named [[Simeon Peak]] in his honour by the [[Antarctic Place-names Commission]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://apc.mfa.government.bg/peaks/simeon.htm |title=Bulgarian Antarctic Gazetteer: Simeon Peak |publisher=Antarctic Place-names Commission. Republic of Bulgaria, Ministry of Foreign Affairs |access-date=25 March 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070204040647/http://apc.mfa.government.bg/peaks/simeon.htm |archive-date = 4 February 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Timeline ==
{{collapse top |bg=#ccddcc |title=Timeline of Simeon I's life}}
{{Simeon I of Bulgaria timeline}}
{{collapse bottom}}
== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist}}
== References ==
* {{cite book
|title = Bulgaria: illustrated history
|last = Dimitrov
|first = Bozhidar
|author-link = Bozhidar Dimitrov
|chapter = Bulgaria – a predominant power in the European East 893–967 AD
|publisher = Borina
|year = 1994
|___location = Sofia
|isbn = 954-500-044-9
}}
* {{The Early Medieval Balkans}}
* {{cite book
| author = Gibbon, Edward
| title = The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
| year = 1788–1789
| publisher = Strahan & Cadell
| ___location = London
| volume = V
| chapter = Chapter LV, The Bulgarians, the Hungarians and the Russians
| chapter-url = https://www.gutenberg.org/files/894/894-h/894-h.htm
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Lalkov
|first = Milcho
|title = Rulers of Bulgaria
|chapter = Tsar Simeon the Great (893–927)
|publisher = Kibea
|isbn = 954-474-098-8
|year = 1997
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Runciman
|first = Steven
|author-link = Steven Runciman
|title = A history of the First Bulgarian Empire
|url = http://www.promacedonia.org/en/sr/index.html
|chapter-url = http://www.promacedonia.org/en/sr/sr_3_1.htm
|chapter = Emperor of the Bulgars and the Romans
|publisher = [[George Bell & Sons]]
|___location = [[London]]
|oclc = 832687
|year = 1930
}}
* Todorov, Boris. "The value of empire: tenth-century Bulgaria between Magyars, Pechenegs and Byzantium," Journal of Medieval History (2010) 36#4 pp 312–326
* [https://www.academia.edu/924341 Nikolov, Angel. "The Perception of the Bulgarian Past in the Court of Preslav around 900 AD.," in ''State and Church: Studies in Medieval Bulgaria and Byzantium''. Ed. by V. Gjuzelev and K. Petkov. American Research Center in Sofia: Sofia, 2011, 157–171]
* [https://www.academia.edu/3111271 Nikolov, Angel. "Making a new basileus: the case of Symeon of Bulgaria (893–927) reconsidered," in ''Rome, Constantinople and Newly converted Europe. Archeological and Historical Evidence''. Vol. I. Ed. by M. Salamon, M. Wołoszyn, A. Musin, P. Špehar. Kraków-Leipzig-Rzeszów-Warszawa, 2012, 101–108]
=== In Bulgarian ===
* {{cite book
|last = Bakalov
|first = Georgi
|author2=Milen Kumanov
|title = Elektronno izdanie – Istorija na Bǎlgarija
|publisher = Trud, Sirma
|year = 2003
|___location = [[Sofia]]
|isbn = 954528613X
|oclc = 62020465
|language = bg
}}
* {{cite book
|title = Simeon Veliki – epoha i ličnost
|last = Bogdanov
|first = Ivan
|___location = Sofia
|language = bg
|year = 1973
|oclc = 71590049
}}
* {{cite book
|title = Car Simeon Veliki (893–927) zlatnijat vek na srednovekovna Bǎlgarija
|last = Bozhilov
|first = Ivan
|language = bg
|year = 1983
|publisher=Izdatelstvo na Otečestvenija front
|___location = Sofia
|oclc = 1323835
}}
* {{cite book
|title = Istorija i civilizacija za 11. klas
|last = Delev
|first = Petǎr
|author2=Valeri Kacunov |author3=Plamen Mitev |author4=Evgeniya Kalinova |author5=Iskra Baeva |author6=Boian Dobrev
|chapter = 9 Bǎlgarskata dǎržava pri Car Simeon; 10 Zlatnijat vek na bǎlgarskata kultura
|year = 2006
|language = bg
|publisher = Trud, Sirma
|isbn = 954-9926-72-9
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Ivanova
|first = Klimentina
|author2=Svetlina Nikolova
|url = http://www.promacedonia.org/zv/
|title = Tǎržestvo na slovoto. Zlatnijat vek na bǎlgarskata knižnina
|publisher = Agata-A
|___location = Sofia
|isbn = 978-954-540-005-6
|year = 1995
|language = bg
}}
* {{BBKL|s/s4/symeon_z_v_b|band=11|first=Klaus-Peter|last=Todt|artikel=Symeon, Zar|spalten=345–350}}
* {{cite book
|title = Bǎlgarski hroniki
|last = Tsanev
|first = Stefan
|author-link = Stefan Tsanev
|chapter = 10 (889–912) Zlatnijat vek. Knjaz Rasate-Vladimir, car Simeon Veliki; 11 (912–927) Kǎrvavijat vek. Simeon – car na bǎlgari i romei
|publisher = Trud, Žanet 45
|language = bg
|year = 2006
|___location = Sofia, [[Plovdiv]]
|isbn = 954-528-610-5
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Zlatarski
|first = Vasil
|author-link = Vasil Zlatarski
|title = Istorija na bǎlgarskata dǎržava prez srednite vekove. Tom I. Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo
|url = http://www.promacedonia.org/vz1b/index.html
|edition = 2
|chapter = 2 Ot slavjanizacijata na dǎržavata do padaneto na Pǎrvoto carstvo (852–1018): 4 Borba s Vizantija za političesko nadmoštie
|publisher = Nauka i izkustvo
|___location = Sofia
|year = 1971
|orig-year = 1927
|language = bg
|oclc = 67080314
}}
* {{cite book
|title = Bǎlgarite i Bǎlgarija
|publisher = Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Trud, Sirma
|chapter = 1.2 Bǎlgarite stavat hristijani. Izborǎt na knjaz Boris I
|year = 2005
|language = bg
}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite journal |last1=Stoyanov |first1=Aleksandr |title=The Size of Bulgaria's Medieval Field Armies: A Case Study of Military Mobilization Capacity in the Middle Ages |journal=Journal of Military History |date=July 2019 |volume=83 |issue=3 |pages=719–746 |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=31h&AN=137192875&site=eds-live&scope=site}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category|Simeon I of Bulgaria}}
* {{cite web|url= http://sitemaker.umich.edu/mladjov/files/bulgarian_rulers.pdf |title=Detailed list of Bulgarian rulers }} {{small|(96.2 KB)}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070401081631/http://synpress-classic.dveri.bg/03-2003/simeon-petar.htm ''The Realm of War and the Realm of Peace''], an article by Georgi Todorov {{in lang|bg}}
* {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810191244/http://www.mfa.government.bg/history_of_Bulgaria/audio/krai%20bosfora.mp3 |date=10 August 2007 |title="Noise Is Being Made Near the Bosphorus"}}, {{in lang|bg}} [http://www.slovo.bg/showwork.php3?AuID=14&WorkID=1376&Level=2 lyrics]
* {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070828150006/http://www.ordosimeoni.org/ |date=28 August 2007 |title=OrdoSimeoni, Order of Simeon the Great}}
{{s-start}}
{{succession box|before=[[Vladimir of Bulgaria|Vladimir]]|title=[[List of Bulgarian monarchs|Tsar of Bulgaria]]|after=[[Peter I of Bulgaria|Peter I]]|years=893–927}}
{{s-end}}
{{Bulgarian monarchs}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simeon 01 Of Bulgaria}}
[[Category:860s births]]
[[Category:927 deaths]]
[[Category:9th-century Bulgarian monarchs]]
[[Category:10th-century Bulgarian tsars]]
[[Category:Bulgarian people of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars]]
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