Editing Samuel of Bulgaria (section)

=== Rus' invasion and the deposition of Boris II ===
{{main article|Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria}}
[[File:The Chronicle of Ioannis Skylitzis Preslav Attacked.jpg|300px|thumb|left|The Byzantines seize the capital [[Preslav]].]]
During the reign of [[Peter I of Bulgaria|Emperor Peter I]], Bulgaria prospered in a long-lasting peace with Byzantium. This was secured by the marriage of Peter with the Byzantine princess [[Eirene Lakapena|Maria Lakapina]], granddaughter of Byzantine Emperor [[Romanos I Lekapenos]]. However, after Maria's death in 963, the truce had been shaken and it was at this time or later that Peter I sent his sons [[Boris II of Bulgaria|Boris]] and [[Roman of Bulgaria|Roman]] to [[Constantinople]] as honorary hostages, to honor the new terms of the peace treaty.<ref>According to Zlatarski (''History of the Bulgarian state'', I, 2, [http://www.promacedonia.org/vz1b/vz1b_5_3.html pp. 544, 562.]) the sons of Peter I were sent in the Byzantine capital in 963 as one of the term to resettle the peace treaty of 927. According to other historians such as Andreev (''Who is who in Medieval Bulgaria'', p. 41.) the heirs to the Bulgarian throne became hostages per a Bulgarian-Byzantine agreement against the Kievan Rus' in 968.</ref> During these years the Byzantines and Bulgarians had entangled themselves in [[Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria|a war]] with [[Kievan Rus']] Prince [[Sviatoslav I of Kiev|Sviatoslav]], who invaded Bulgaria several times. After a defeat from Sviatoslav, Peter I suffered a stroke and abdicated his throne in 969 (he died the next year). Boris was allowed back to Bulgaria to take his father's throne, restore order and oppose Sviatoslav, but had little success. This was allegedly used by Nicholas and his sons, who were contemplating a revolt in 969.<ref>Skylitzes records:  He [Peter] himself died shortly afterwards, whereupon the sons were sent to Bulgaria to secure the ancestral throne and to restrain the 'children of the counts' from further t. David, Moses, Aaron and Samuel, children of one of the powerful counts in Bulgaria, were contemplating an uprising and were unsettling the Bulgars'</ref>

The Rus' invaded Byzantine Thrace in 970, but suffered a defeat in the [[Battle of Arcadiopolis (970)|Battle of Arcadiopolis]]. The new Byzantine Emperor [[John Tzimiskes]] used this to his advantage. He quickly invaded Bulgaria the following year, defeated the Rus, and conquered the Bulgarian capital Preslav. Boris II of Bulgaria was ritually divested of his imperial insignia in a public ceremony in Constantinople and he and his brother [[Roman of Bulgaria]] remained in captivity. Although the ceremony in 971 had been intended as a symbolic termination of the Bulgarian Empire, the Byzantines were unable to assert their control over the western provinces of Bulgaria. Count Nicholas, Samuel's father, who had close ties to the royal court in [[Preslav]],<ref>Blagoeva, B. ''For the origins of Emperor Samuel'' (''Za proizhoda na tsar Samuil'', ''За произхода на цар Самуил''), Исторически преглед, № 2, 1966, стр. 91–94</ref> died in 970. In the same year<ref name=Cometopuli>"They (the [[Cometopuli]]) make their first appearance under the government of Kekaumenos, the strategos of Larissa ... (980–983)": Adontz. "Samuel l'Armenien", 358.</ref> "the sons of the count" (the Cometopuli) [[David of Bulgaria|David]], [[Moses of Bulgaria|Moses]], [[Aron of Bulgaria|Aaron]] and Samuel rebelled.<ref>Ioannes Scylitzes. ''Historia''. 2, pp. 346–347</ref> The series of events are not clear due to contradicting sources, but it is sure that after 971 Samuel and his brothers were the ''de facto'' rulers of the western Bulgarian lands.

In 973, the Cometopuli (described by [[Thietmar of Merseburg]] simply as ''the Bulgarians'')<ref>Vasilka Tăpkova-Zaimova, Bulgarians by Birth: The Comitopuls, Emperor Samuel and their Successors According to Historical Sources and the Historiographic Tradition, East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450–1450, Brill, 2018, {{ISBN|9004352996}}, p. 156.</ref> sent envoys to the [[Holy Roman Empire|Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto I]] in [[Quedlinburg]] in an attempt to secure the protection of their lands.<ref name=delev>Delev, ''12. The decline of the First Bulgarian Empire'' ('' 12. Zalezat na Parvoto Balgarsko Tsarstvo'' ''12. Залезът на Първото българско царство'').</ref> The brothers ruled together in a [[tetrarchy]].<ref name="Guzelev314315">Bozhilov, Gyuzelev, 1999, pp. 314–315.</ref> David ruled the southernmost regions and led the defense of one of the most dangerous border areas, around [[Thessaloniki]] and [[Thessaly]].<ref name="Guzelev314315" /> The centres of his possessions were [[Prespa (medieval town)|Prespa]] and [[Kastoria]]. Moses ruled from [[Strumica|Strumitsa]],<ref name="Guzelev314315" /> which would be an outpost for attacks on the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] coast and [[Serres]]. Aaron ruled from Sredets,<ref name="Guzelev314315" /> and was to defend the main road from [[Edirne|Adrianople]] to [[Belgrade]], and to attack [[Thrace]]. Samuel ruled northwestern Bulgaria from the strong fortress of [[Vidin]]. He was also to organize the liberation of the conquered areas to the east, including the old capital Preslav.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Petrov |first=P |title=Rebellion of Peter and Boyan in 976 and struggle of the Cometopuli with Byzantium (Vosstanie Petra i Boyana v 976 i borba Komitopulov s Vizantiei, Восстание Петра и Бояна в 976 г. и борьба Комитопулов с Византией) |journal=Byzantinobulgarica |issue=1 |year=1962 |pages=130–132 |language=ru }}</ref> Some records suggest that David played a major role in this tumultuous period of Bulgarian history.<ref>Zlatarski, p. 615.</ref>