Vlastimir of Serbia - Aftermath

Aftermath

Vlastimir's three sons successfully fought off an onslaught by Boris I of Bulgaria in 853 or 854 (shortly after the death of Vlastimir), when they captured 12 great boyars and the commander himself, Vladimir, the son of Boris. The Bulgars sought to avenge the previous defeat of Presian 839–842. The two sides made peace, and possibly an alliance. The two younger brothers later revolted against Mutimir, due to undisclosed reasons. Mutimir sent them as prisoners, a guarantee of peace, to the court of Boris I at Pliska. After Mutimir had aided Emperor Basil I (867–886) in the war against the Saracens in 869, and requested that the Emperor baptize his lands, Constantinopolitan priests were sent and a Serbian bishopric was founded. The Christianization is evident in the tradition of theophoric names found in the next generation of Serbian monarchs (e.g. Petar Gojniković, Pavle Branović). The three branches of Vlastimir's sons continue in a succession war over the decades.

The Bulgars under Boris I were persuaded by Moravian Prince Rastislav to attack Louis the German of East Francia. The Bulgar-Slav campaign ended in disaster, and peace was signed in 855. The following year, the Byzantine army led by Michael III and caesar Bardas recaptured Philippopolis (Plovdiv), the region of Zagora and the ports around the Gulf of Burgas on the Black Sea. In 863, the Byzantines invaded the Khanate once again, during a period of famine and natural disasters. Boris I was forced to sign peace, and to convert to Christianity, in return he was gifted Zagora. The Archbishopric of Pliska, the cradle of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, was founded in ca. 870.

A street in Novi Sad is named after him (Ulica Kneza Vlastimira).