Uprising of Peter Delyan - The Treason of Alusian

The Treason of Alusian

The heavy defeat sharply worsened the relations between the two leaders: Alusian was ashamed from the defeat and Petar Delyan suspected a treason. Alusian decided to act first and made a plot against his cousin. He invited Delyan to a feast, where his followers served the Emperor many cups of wine. When Petar II got drunk on the wine the conspirators came down on him and pulled out his eyes with a knife. Thus Alusian became the single leader. In the beginning he undertook active operations but was defeated again and had to flee for his life. Then he set secret negotiations with the Byzantines. After they reached an agreement in the summer of 1041, Alusian pretended to give a decisive battle but when the two armies met he abandoned his troops and changed sides.