History of BulgariaHistory of Bulgaria
Cut-out detail; background removed. Gold coin of Nikephoros I in the Numismatic Museum, Athens, photographed by Francesco Bini. Crown, face and cross are visible. We do not know where this coin was found.
Coin of Nikephoros I

Krum and the battle of 811 · First Tsardom

Krum, Nikephoros and a cup

How does Nikephoros die?

9 scenes · 3 min · Sources · 17

StartListen

Nikephoros takes the Bulgarian capital. Krum keeps resisting. A story of defeat, an unusual cup in the chronicles, and laws known only from a later text.

The palace area at Pliska today. Photograph by Svilen Enev. Conserved stone remains are visible. After the fire, the city was rebuilt and changed; stone buildings replaced wooden ones. Excavations here began in 1899.
Present-day view of the Pliska archaeological reserve. Ruins and conserved masonry from different building phases.

Part 1 · First Tsardom

Pliska burns

In the summer of 811, Emperor Nikephoros I’s army takes Pliska, the Bulgarian capital. As it withdraws, wooden buildings are burned. But the Bulgarian ruler Krum has not been captured. Losing his capital does not end his resistance.

Listen to scene · 1

Synthetic voice · 0:16
Sources · 4
  1. Регионален исторически музей – Шумен НИАР „Плиска“ РИМ – Шумен, official site
  2. Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire, King’s College London Krum 1
  3. Svilen Enev File:Ruins in Pliska Palace 9.JPG Wikimedia Commons
  4. www.bdmundo.com File:National Historical and Archaeological Preserve Pliska (23607833594).jpg Wikimedia Commons
Gold coin of Nikephoros I in the Numismatic Museum, Athens, photographed by Francesco Bini. Crown, face and cross are visible. We do not know where this coin was found.

Part 2 · First Tsardom

A face on gold

Look at the gold coin. It shows Nikephoros with a crown and a cross. An emperor rules an empire: a large state with many regions. Today we call his empire Byzantium. The coin is in a museum in Athens. We do not know where this coin was found.

1 · The face
Nikephoros shown on a coin. This is not a portrait drawn during the battle.
2 · The crown
A crown with a cross appears above the face. This is an image of imperial authority.
3 · The handheld cross
On the left of the photograph is a cross with a long shaft. It is not a sword.

Listen to scene · 2

Synthetic voice · 0:16
Sources · 3
  1. Francesco Bini File:Monete bizantine della collezione di louise riancourt, 41 niceforo I.jpg Wikimedia Commons
  2. Theophanes Confessor; ed. Carl de Boor Theophanis chronographia Leipzig: B. G. Teubner · 1883 · I · AM 6303
  3. Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire, King’s College London Krum 1
Varbitsa Pass today, photographed by Izvora. Modern road and woodland; not an identified exact battlefield.
A second present-day view of Varbitsa Pass. Supplementary terrain view, with no reconstruction of troops.
Geographic context, without historical bordersGeographic context, without historical borders12
Geographic context, without historical borders

Part 3 · First Tsardom

Wooden barriers in the mountains

South of Pliska lie the Balkan Mountains. A pass is a way through mountains. Varbitsa Pass is a proposed location of the final battle. Other places are discussed too. The map therefore shows an approximate area, without an exact trail of the armies.

Theophanes writes a chronicle: an account of events arranged by year. He reports that the Bulgars block exits with wooden barriers. The captured capital is behind the imperial army, but obstacles lie ahead. The accounts disagree about the campaign’s length.

Listen to scene · 3

Synthetic voice · 0:31
Sources · 5
  1. Steven Runciman A History of the First Bulgarian Empire. Book II, Chapter I: An Emperor’s Skull London: G. Bell & Sons · 1930 · 57, 69-70
  2. Theophanes Confessor; ed. Carl de Boor Theophanis chronographia Leipzig: B. G. Teubner · 1883 · I · AM 6303
  3. Kirił Marinow A scorched earth: The fate of the Bulgarian economic background during the expedition of Nikephoros I Genikos of 811 Balcanica Posnaniensia. Acta et studia · 2020 · 27 · 17-46
  4. OpenStreetMap contributors Pliska outer city
  5. Wikimedia geographical database contributors Varbitsa Pass
Miniature 50 from the Manasses Chronicle, fourteenth century. Nikephoros’s campaign and a scene described as his capture. This is a later account in pictures.

Part 4 · First Tsardom

The morning of defeat

The anonymous campaign account describes an attack on the camp while Byzantine soldiers are still asleep. The army is defeated. Nikephoros dies in July 811. His son Staurakios is gravely wounded. Some soldiers manage to escape.

Who exactly kills the emperor? The surviving accounts give no certain answer.

Listen to scene · 4

Synthetic voice · 0:20
Sources · 6
  1. Leonora Neville Chronicle of 811 Guide to Byzantine Historical Writing. Cambridge University Press · 2018 · 81-84
  2. Ангел Николов Хан Крум във византийската традиция: страшни слухове, дезинформация и политическа пропаганда PDF Щрихи към балканското средновековие: Изследвания в памет на проф. Николай Кочев. София: Институт по балканистика, БАН / Парадигма · 2009 · Studia balcanica 27 · 107-116
  3. Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire, King’s College London Krum 1
  4. Unknown fourteenth-century illuminator; scan from Ivan Dujcev, Miniatures from the Manasses Chronicle (1962) File:50-manasses-chronicle.jpg Wikimedia Commons
  5. Steven Runciman A History of the First Bulgarian Empire. Book II, Chapter I: An Emperor’s Skull London: G. Bell & Sons · 1930 · 57, 69-70
  6. Theophanes Confessor; ed. Carl de Boor Theophanis chronographia Leipzig: B. G. Teubner · 1883 · I · AM 6303

Part 5 · First Tsardom

Activity: what is established?

What can we say confidently after the battle story?

  1. Nikephoros dies in the defeat of 811.
  2. Krum personally kills Nikephoros.
  3. The place where Nikephoros was killed is known.
  4. An eyewitness painted the miniature in 811.
Why is that?

The death of Nikephoros is established. The precise killer and location are not. A later picture cannot replace testimony from the time of the battle.

Correct · Nikephoros dies in the defeat of 811.

  1. Ангел Николов Хан Крум във византийската традиция: страшни слухове, дезинформация и политическа пропаганда PDF Щрихи към балканското средновековие: Изследвания в памет на проф. Николай Кочев. София: Институт по балканистика, БАН / Парадигма · 2009 · Studia balcanica 27 · 107-116
  2. Steven Runciman A History of the First Bulgarian Empire. Book II, Chapter I: An Emperor’s Skull London: G. Bell & Sons · 1930 · 57, 69-70
  3. Unknown fourteenth-century illuminator; scan from Ivan Dujcev, Miniatures from the Manasses Chronicle (1962) File:50-manasses-chronicle.jpg Wikimedia Commons

Listen to scene · 5

Synthetic voice · 0:03
Sources · 3
  1. Ангел Николов Хан Крум във византийската традиция: страшни слухове, дезинформация и политическа пропаганда PDF Щрихи към балканското средновековие: Изследвания в памет на проф. Николай Кочев. София: Институт по балканистика, БАН / Парадигма · 2009 · Studia balcanica 27 · 107-116
  2. Steven Runciman A History of the First Bulgarian Empire. Book II, Chapter I: An Emperor’s Skull London: G. Bell & Sons · 1930 · 57, 69-70
  3. Unknown fourteenth-century illuminator; scan from Ivan Dujcev, Miniatures from the Manasses Chronicle (1962) File:50-manasses-chronicle.jpg Wikimedia Commons
Miniature 51 in the Manasses Chronicle, fourteenth century. Krum with guests and a vessel being offered; a later image of the cup story, not evidence of a surviving object.

Part 6 · First Tsardom

The vessel being offered

In the miniature, Krum sits on the left; someone offers him a vessel from the right. A miniature is a small picture in a book. This one dates from the fourteenth century, centuries after the battle. Theophanes reports a cup made from Nikephoros’s skull, covered with silver outside. He says Slavic chiefs drank from it.

We do not know whether such a cup existed. The account may repeat older stories about enemies. The later picture cannot settle this question.

1 · Krum in the picture
The seated ruler on the left is Krum according to the miniature description. This is not a verified portrait made in his lifetime.
2 · The offered vessel
The standing figure holds a vessel. The image presents the cup story; it does not prove a real object’s material or shape.
3 · The guests
People gather around the table. Their individual names have not been established here.

Listen to scene · 6

Synthetic voice · 0:27
Sources · 3
  1. Theophanes Confessor; ed. Carl de Boor Theophanis chronographia Leipzig: B. G. Teubner · 1883 · I · AM 6303
  2. Ангел Николов Хан Крум във византийската традиция: страшни слухове, дезинформация и политическа пропаганда PDF Щрихи към балканското средновековие: Изследвания в памет на проф. Николай Кочев. София: Институт по балканистика, БАН / Парадигма · 2009 · Studia balcanica 27 · 107-116
  3. Unknown fourteenth-century illuminator; scan from Ivan Dujcev, Miniatures from the Manasses Chronicle (1962) File:51-manasses-chronicle.jpg Wikimedia Commons

Part 7 · First Tsardom

Activity: put events in order

Arrange these events from earliest to latest.

  1. Nikephoros’s army takes Pliska
  2. Nikephoros dies in battle
  3. The feast miniature is painted
  4. Excavations begin at Pliska
Why is that?

Pliska falls before the defeat in 811. The miniature dates from the fourteenth century. Excavations begin in 1899. This order does not require an exact count of days between capture and battle.

Correct order

  1. Nikephoros’s army takes Pliska
  2. Nikephoros dies in battle
  3. The feast miniature is painted
  4. Excavations begin at Pliska
  1. Регионален исторически музей – Шумен НИАР „Плиска“ РИМ – Шумен, official site
  2. Ангел Николов Хан Крум във византийската традиция: страшни слухове, дезинформация и политическа пропаганда PDF Щрихи към балканското средновековие: Изследвания в памет на проф. Николай Кочев. София: Институт по балканистика, БАН / Парадигма · 2009 · Studia balcanica 27 · 107-116
  3. Unknown fourteenth-century illuminator; scan from Ivan Dujcev, Miniatures from the Manasses Chronicle (1962) File:51-manasses-chronicle.jpg Wikimedia Commons

Listen to scene · 7

Synthetic voice · 0:03
Sources · 3
  1. Регионален исторически музей – Шумен НИАР „Плиска“ РИМ – Шумен, official site
  2. Ангел Николов Хан Крум във византийската традиция: страшни слухове, дезинформация и политическа пропаганда PDF Щрихи към балканското средновековие: Изследвания в памет на проф. Николай Кочев. София: Институт по балканистика, БАН / Парадигма · 2009 · Studia balcanica 27 · 107-116
  3. Unknown fourteenth-century illuminator; scan from Ivan Dujcev, Miniatures from the Manasses Chronicle (1962) File:51-manasses-chronicle.jpg Wikimedia Commons
Page 144 of the Suda printed in Milan in 1499, via Gallica and Commons. This is the entry on Aristotle, not the account of Krum’s laws.

Part 8 · First Tsardom

Orders in an old book

For “Krum’s laws” we have only an account in the Suda, a tenth-century Byzantine encyclopedia. An encyclopedia is a book of many short articles. It describes penalties for false accusation and theft. It also tells of uprooting vines and sufficient help for people in need.

According to the Suda, Krum issues these orders after speaking with captive Avars. The Avars were a people with their own state. We do not know whether this conversation happened. Krum’s actual laws have not survived.

Listen to scene · 8

Synthetic voice · 0:31
Sources · 4
  1. Anonymous Byzantine compilers; translated by Kiril Galev; edited by David Whitehead Suda: Bulgars Suda On Line, University of Kentucky · 2012 · Adler beta 423
  2. Десислава Найденова Историческата достоверност на Лексикона „Суда“ като източник за законодателството на хан Крум PDF Старобългарска литература. Институт за литература, БАН · 2006 · 167-180
  3. Steven Runciman A History of the First Bulgarian Empire. Book II, Chapter I: An Emperor’s Skull London: G. Bell & Sons · 1930 · 57, 69-70
  4. Anonymous compilers; Milan printers Demetrios Chalkokondyles, Joannes Bissolus and Benedictus Mangius; digitisation via Gallica File:SudaArist.jpg Wikimedia Commons

Part 9 · First Tsardom

Activity: match the roles

Match each name with its role in this story.

  1. Pliska · The captured and burned capital
  2. Theophanes · The chronicler who reports the cup
  3. Suda · The encyclopedia with the laws account
  4. The feast miniature · A fourteenth-century picture
Why is that?

Pliska is the place. Theophanes is the chronicler. The Suda is the encyclopedia with the laws account. The miniature is a later picture of the feast.

  1. Регионален исторически музей – Шумен НИАР „Плиска“ РИМ – Шумен, official site
  2. Theophanes Confessor; ed. Carl de Boor Theophanis chronographia Leipzig: B. G. Teubner · 1883 · I · AM 6303
  3. Anonymous Byzantine compilers; translated by Kiril Galev; edited by David Whitehead Suda: Bulgars Suda On Line, University of Kentucky · 2012 · Adler beta 423
  4. Unknown fourteenth-century illuminator; scan from Ivan Dujcev, Miniatures from the Manasses Chronicle (1962) File:51-manasses-chronicle.jpg Wikimedia Commons

Listen to scene · 9

Synthetic voice · 0:03
Sources · 4
  1. Регионален исторически музей – Шумен НИАР „Плиска“ РИМ – Шумен, official site
  2. Theophanes Confessor; ed. Carl de Boor Theophanis chronographia Leipzig: B. G. Teubner · 1883 · I · AM 6303
  3. Anonymous Byzantine compilers; translated by Kiril Galev; edited by David Whitehead Suda: Bulgars Suda On Line, University of Kentucky · 2012 · Adler beta 423
  4. Unknown fourteenth-century illuminator; scan from Ivan Dujcev, Miniatures from the Manasses Chronicle (1962) File:51-manasses-chronicle.jpg Wikimedia Commons

A new find for your collection

The death of Nikephoros is an established event. The cup and the laws need their sources named and their limits explained.

PliskaPliska: the rampart, palace and inscriptionFollow another change in power.Georgi Ivanov · BaikonurInto orbit, without dockingKazanlak Tomb · KazanlakHands beneath the dome

People in this story

KrumNikephoros ITheophanesStaurakiosKrum · Rulers

Sources

  1. Kirił Marinow A scorched earth: The fate of the Bulgarian economic background during the expedition of Nikephoros I Genikos of 811 Balcanica Posnaniensia. Acta et studia · 2020 · 27 · 17-46
  2. Unknown fourteenth-century illuminator; scan from Ivan Dujcev, Miniatures from the Manasses Chronicle (1962) File:50-manasses-chronicle.jpg Wikimedia Commons
  3. Francesco Bini File:Monete bizantine della collezione di louise riancourt, 41 niceforo I.jpg Wikimedia Commons
  4. Unknown fourteenth-century illuminator; scan from Ivan Dujcev, Miniatures from the Manasses Chronicle (1962) File:51-manasses-chronicle.jpg Wikimedia Commons
  5. Svilen Enev File:Ruins in Pliska Palace 9.JPG Wikimedia Commons
  6. www.bdmundo.com File:National Historical and Archaeological Preserve Pliska (23607833594).jpg Wikimedia Commons
  7. Anonymous compilers; Milan printers Demetrios Chalkokondyles, Joannes Bissolus and Benedictus Mangius; digitisation via Gallica File:SudaArist.jpg Wikimedia Commons
  8. Десислава Найденова Историческата достоверност на Лексикона „Суда“ като източник за законодателството на хан Крум PDF Старобългарска литература. Институт за литература, БАН · 2006 · 167-180
  9. Leonora Neville Chronicle of 811 Guide to Byzantine Historical Writing. Cambridge University Press · 2018 · 81-84
  10. Ангел Николов Хан Крум във византийската традиция: страшни слухове, дезинформация и политическа пропаганда PDF Щрихи към балканското средновековие: Изследвания в памет на проф. Николай Кочев. София: Институт по балканистика, БАН / Парадигма · 2009 · Studia balcanica 27 · 107-116
  11. OpenStreetMap contributors Pliska outer city
  12. Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire, King’s College London Krum 1
  13. Регионален исторически музей – Шумен НИАР „Плиска“ РИМ – Шумен, official site
  14. Steven Runciman A History of the First Bulgarian Empire. Book II, Chapter I: An Emperor’s Skull London: G. Bell & Sons · 1930 · 57, 69-70
  15. Anonymous Byzantine compilers; translated by Kiril Galev; edited by David Whitehead Suda: Bulgars Suda On Line, University of Kentucky · 2012 · Adler beta 423
  16. Theophanes Confessor; ed. Carl de Boor Theophanis chronographia Leipzig: B. G. Teubner · 1883 · I · AM 6303
  17. Wikimedia geographical database contributors Varbitsa Pass

Images

Francesco Bini · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Francesco Bini. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Gold coin of Nikephoros I in the Numismatic Museum, Athens, photographed by Francesco Bini. Crown, face and cross are visible. We do not know where this coin was found. Cut-out detail; background removed.

Svilen Enev · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Svilen Enev. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. The palace area at Pliska today. Photograph by Svilen Enev. Conserved stone remains are visible. After the fire, the city was rebuilt and changed; stone buildings replaced wooden ones. Excavations here began in 1899. Processed image.

www.bdmundo.com · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

www.bdmundo.com. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. Present-day view of the Pliska archaeological reserve. Ruins and conserved masonry from different building phases. Processed image.

Francesco Bini · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Francesco Bini. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Gold coin of Nikephoros I in the Numismatic Museum, Athens, photographed by Francesco Bini. Crown, face and cross are visible. We do not know where this coin was found. Processed image.

Izvora · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Izvora. Wikimedia Commons, Public domain. Varbitsa Pass today, photographed by Izvora. Modern road and woodland; not an identified exact battlefield. Processed image.

Izvora · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Izvora. Wikimedia Commons, Public domain. A second present-day view of Varbitsa Pass. Supplementary terrain view, with no reconstruction of troops. Processed image.

Unknown fourteenth-century illuminator · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Unknown fourteenth-century illuminator; scan from Ivan Dujcev, Miniatures from the Manasses Chronicle (1962). Wikimedia Commons, Public domain. Miniature 50 from the Manasses Chronicle, fourteenth century. Nikephoros’s campaign and a scene described as his capture. This is a later account in pictures. Processed image.

Unknown fourteenth-century illuminator · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Unknown fourteenth-century illuminator; scan from Ivan Dujcev, Miniatures from the Manasses Chronicle (1962). Wikimedia Commons, Public domain. Miniature 51 in the Manasses Chronicle, fourteenth century. Krum with guests and a vessel being offered; a later image of the cup story, not evidence of a surviving object. Processed image.

Anonymous compilers · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Anonymous compilers; Milan printers Demetrios Chalkokondyles, Joannes Bissolus and Benedictus Mangius; digitisation via Gallica. Wikimedia Commons, Public domain. Page 144 of the Suda printed in Milan in 1499, via Gallica and Commons. This is the entry on Aristotle, not the account of Krum’s laws. Processed image.

Geographic context, without historical borders

Tom Patterson · Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso · Public domain · Natural Earth

Open source

Full attribution

Tom Patterson · Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso