Second Bulgarian Empire - Liberation

Liberation

By the late 12th century the Byzantine dominance in the Balkans came to a halt when Manuel I Komnenus (who had subjugated the Hungarians at Sirmium) died and was replaced by Andronikus I Komnenus and then by a series of incompetent emperors. In 1185 Peter and Ivan Asen (described in some contemporary accounts to be of Cuman or Vlach origin) led a revolt against Byzantine rule and Peter declared himself Tsar Peter IV (also known as Theodore Peter), firmly claiming to inherit the authority of the First Bulgarian Empire. After little more than a year of warfare the Byzantines were forced to acknowledge Bulgaria's independence, though fighting continued. The liberating movement was originated and vigorously prosecuted by Vlachs - either an alternative name for the inhabitants of Moesia or the ancestors of today's Vlachs; it was joined by the Bulgarians, and to some extent by the Cumans from beyond the Danubeā€. The peoples who took part in the rebellion and formed part of the new state certainly included Slavic-speaking Bulgarians and, alongside them, Cumans, Vlachs and Greeks: Peter styled himself "Tsar of the Bulgars and Greeks.

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