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Telerig
View on WikipediaTelerig (Bulgarian: Телериг) was the ruler of Bulgaria from 768 to 777.
Key Information
Life
[edit]Although Telerig is first mentioned by Byzantine sources in 774, he is considered as the immediate successor of Pagan, who was murdered in 768. In May 774, Byzantine Emperor Constantine V embarked on a major expedition against Bulgaria, led his field army on land and dispatched a fleet of 2,000 ships carrying horsemen towards the Danube Delta. The fleet disembarked in the vicinity of Varna, but Constantine did not press his potential advantage and inexplicably retreated.
Shortly afterwards, both sides signed a truce promising the cessation of hostilities. However, in October 774, Telerig sent an army of 12,000 men to raid Berzitia, Macedonia, and transfer its population to Bulgaria. Collecting a large army of 80,000 troops, Constantine surprised the Bulgarians and won a resounding victory. The subsequent attack on Bulgaria failed since the imperial fleet had encountered contrary winds in the Black Sea.
Telerig then sent a secret emissary to Constantine that indicated his intention to flee Bulgaria and to seek refuge with the emperor and sought assurances of hospitality and a list of Byzantines who might help him. Telerig succeeded in having Constantine betray his own agents in Bulgaria, who were duly rounded up and executed. The expected Byzantine retaliation failed to materialise, as Constantine died in 775. In spite of his apparent success, Telerig found it necessary to flee to the new Byzantine emperor, Leo IV the Khazar, in 777. The Byzantine government gave Telerig asylum and the title of patrikios. Telerig converted to Christianity under the name of Theophylaktos and married a cousin of Empress Irene of Athens.
The 17th-century Volga Bulgar compilation Ja'far Tarikh (a work of disputed authenticity) represents Dilyarek (Telerig) as the son of the former ruler Teles (Telets).
Legacy
[edit]Telerig Nunatak, on Greenwich Island, in the South Shetland Islands, in Antarctica, is named after Telerig.
In fiction
[edit]Telerikh is a major character in Harry Turtledove's "Islands in the Sea" (1989). The short story of alternate history originally appeared in Alternatives, edited by Robert Adams, and was reprinted in Departures and The Best Alternate History Stories of the Twentieth Century.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Byzantium and Bulgaria, 775-831, Panos Sophoulis, BRILL, 2011, ISBN 9004206957, pp. 71–72.
- ^ Word and Power in Mediaeval Bulgaria, Ivan Biliarsky, BRILL, 2011, ISBN 9004191453, p. 211.
- ^ Reading the Middle Ages: Sources from Europe, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, Barbara H. Rosenwein, University of Toronto Press, 2013, ISBN 1442606029, p. 160.
- ^ Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1250, Florin Curta, Cambridge University Press, 2006, ISBN 0521815398, pp. 162–163.
- ^ A Concise History of Bulgaria, R. J. Crampton, Cambridge University Press, 2005, ISBN 1139448234, p. 270.
Sources
[edit]- Mosko Moskov, Imennik na bălgarskite hanove (novo tălkuvane), Sofia 1988.
- Jordan Andreev, Ivan Lazarov, Plamen Pavlov, Koj koj e v srednovekovna Bălgarija, Sofia 1999.
- (primary source), Bahshi Iman, Djagfar Tarihi, vol. III, Orenburg 1997.
Telerig
View on GrokipediaBackground and Rise to Power
Historical Context of the Bulgarian Khaganate
The Bulgarian Khaganate emerged from the migrations of the Proto-Bulgars, a Turkic-speaking nomadic confederation originating in the Pontic-Caspian steppes. In the early 7th century, these groups formed part of Old Great Bulgaria under Khan Kubrat (r. circa 632–665), a vassal state of the Western Turkic Khaganate that achieved brief independence following the latter's collapse around 630. However, Khazar incursions fragmented Old Great Bulgaria by the 660s, prompting Kubrat's sons to lead splinter groups in various directions; Asparuh, the fifth son, migrated westward with approximately 50,000 warriors and their families, crossing the Dnieper River and advancing toward the Danube Delta.[2][3] Asparuh established the khaganate's core in 680–681 by defeating a Byzantine army under Emperor Constantine IV at the Battle of Ongal near the Danube mouth, exploiting Byzantine distractions from Arab sieges and internal religious strife. This victory compelled Constantine IV to recognize Bulgarian control over the lands between the Danube and Balkan Mountains via a treaty in 681, marking the formal founding of the state with Pliska as its fortified capital. The khaganate's dual leadership structure—featuring a khagan for spiritual and eastern affairs alongside a khan for military matters—reflected Central Asian Turkic traditions, though Asparuh primarily used the khan title. The polity integrated Bulgar elites as a ruling minority over a Slavic majority, incorporating seven Slavic tribes through alliances and subjugation, while maintaining a mobile cavalry-based military of some 10,000–20,000 warriors.[4][2] Successive rulers consolidated the khaganate amid perennial Byzantine conflicts, with Khan Tervel (r. 700–721) aiding Emperor Justinian II's restoration in 705, earning the title caesar and territorial concessions, only for tensions to reignite under later emperors. By the mid-8th century, under Kormisiy (r. 721–738) and Sevar (r. 738–753), internal clan rivalries and Byzantine raids under Constantine V (r. 741–775) strained the state, culminating in the brief rule of Pagan (r. 753–768), marked by failed defenses against annual Byzantine incursions totaling over 80,000 troops in some campaigns. This era of khaganate stability relied on tribute extraction from Slavs, raids into Thrace, and diplomatic maneuvering, setting the stage for Telerig's ascension in 768 amid espionage and power struggles.[5][2]Ascension to the Throne
Telerig ascended to the throne as Khan of Bulgaria circa 768, emerging from a period of internal anarchy that followed the assassination of his predecessor Telets in 763. This turbulent phase involved rapid successions and Bulgarian defeats against Byzantine forces led by Emperor Constantine V, including a major loss at Anchialus in 763.[6]
The instability stemmed from factional strife among Bulgar nobility and Slavic elements, resulting in short-lived rulers such as Sabin (deposed in 766) and Umor (ruled briefly in 766), whose policies often sought accommodation with Byzantium but failed to consolidate power. Telerig's rise halted this decline, reorganizing Bulgarian military capabilities amid ongoing threats.[7][6]
Contemporary Byzantine sources, including Theophanes the Confessor, do not detail the precise manner of Telerig's accession—whether through noble election, tribal assembly, or force—but his rule is first noted in chronicles around 774 during diplomatic exchanges with Constantinople. This lack of specificity reflects the limited Bulgar records, with Byzantine accounts focusing primarily on external conflicts rather than internal Bulgarian politics.[8]

