Kormisosh
Kanasubigi of Bulgaria
Reign721-738
PredecessorTervel or Sevar
SuccessorSevar or Vineh
HouseVokil clan

Kormisosh (Bulgarian: Кормисош), also known as Kormesiy, Kormesios, Krumesis, Kormisoš, or Cormesius, was a ruler of Bulgaria during the 8th century, recorded in a handful of documents. Modern chronologies of Bulgarian rulers place him either as the successor of Tervel and predecessor of Sevar, or the successor of Sevar and predecessor of Vineh.

Sources

Kormisosh is mentioned in the Nominalia of the Bulgarian Khans,[1] a 9th–11th century document recording early Bulgarian rulers,[2] wherein he is placed between the rulers Sevar and Vineh, is said to have ruled for 17 years, and is assigned to the Vokil clan.[1] The assignment to the Vokil clan is notable given that all of the previous rulers were assigned to the Dulo clan.[1]

Kormisosh is also recorded in the Chronicle of the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes the Confessor, recorded to have variously fought against and allied with the Byzantine Empire. Most notably, he is said to have allied with the emperors Theodosius III (715–717) and Leo III (717–741) against the Umayyad Caliphate, helping to break the Siege of Constantinople (717–718).[3] He is also said to have signed a trade agreement with Theodosius III.[4] Contradictingly,[4] other documents indicate that Kormisosh was a contemporary of Emperor Constantine V (741–775),[4] whom he warred against (at one point Kormisosh's forces are said to have reached Constantinople itself).[5]

Chronology

Some Bulgarian scholars consider the contradictory dates of the two surviving references to Kormisosh to indicate that they refer to two different rulers, placing a "Kormesiy" as reigning between Tervel and Sevar, and a separate "Kormisosh" as reigning between Sevar and Vineh.[6] Most researchers however believe there to have been only one such ruler,[7][8][9][10][11] chronologically misplaced by one of the sources. It is for instance often considered likely that the early placement of Kormisosh in the works of Theophanes is an error and that the Bulgarian ruler actually meant is Tervel.[4]

Fine (1991) and Detrez (2014) place Kormisosh between Sevar and Vineh, reigning 739–756.[7][10] Treadgold (1997) likewise places him between Sevar and Vineh, though dates him to 750–762.[8] Morby (2014) and Curta (2019) however place Kormisosh between Tervel and Sevar and dates his reign to 721–738.[9][11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Gibbon, Edward (1897) The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 6, pp. 546–547
  2. ^ Marcantonio, Angela (2018). The state of the art of Uralic studies: tradition vs innovation. Sapienza Università Editrice. p. 25. ISBN 978-88-9377-066-8.
  3. ^ Sophoulis, Panos (2011). Byzantium and Bulgaria, 775-831. BRILL. p. 91. ISBN 978-90-04-20695-3.
  4. ^ a b c d Noret, Jacques (2004). Philomathestatos: Studies in Greek and Byzantine Texts Presented to Jacques Noret for His Sixty-fifth Birthday. Peeters Publishers. p. 469. ISBN 978-90-429-1459-9.
  5. ^ Gwatkin, Henry Melvill; Whitney, James Pounder; Tanner, Joseph Robson; Previté-Orton, Charles William; Brooke, Zachary Nugent (1966). The Cambridge Medieval History. Macmillan. p. 74.
  6. ^ Andreev, Jordan; Milcho Lalkov (1996). The Bulgarian Khans and Tsars (in Bulgarian). Veliko Tarnovo: Abagar. pp. 29, 32. ISBN 954-427-216-X.
  7. ^ a b Fine, John V. A.; Fine, John Van Antwerp (1991). The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century. University of Michigan Press. pp. 295–296. ISBN 978-0-472-08149-3.
  8. ^ a b Treadgold, Warren T. (1997). A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. p. 871. ISBN 978-0-8047-2630-6.
  9. ^ a b Morby, John (2014). "Bulgaria, Medieval". Dynasties of the World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-251848-4.
  10. ^ a b Detrez, Raymond (2014). Historical Dictionary of Bulgaria. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 7, 78–79, 259–260, 269, 280, 519–520, 543. ISBN 978-1-4422-4180-0.
  11. ^ a b Curta, Florin (2019). Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages (500-1300) (2 vols). BRILL. p. 82. ISBN 978-90-04-39519-0.
Preceded bySevar Khan of Bulgaria 8th century Succeeded byVineh
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