Omurtag (or Omortag) (Омуртаг; original Μορτάγων and Ομουρτάγ) was a Great Khan (Kanasubigi) of Bulgaria from 814 to 831. He is known as "the Builder".
In the very beginning of his reign he signed a 30-year peace treaty with the neighboring Byzantine Empire which remained in force to the end of his life. Omurtag successfully coped with the aggressive policy of the Frankish Empire to take Bulgaria's north-western lands and suppressed the unrest among several Slavic tribes. He made administrative reforms which increased the power and the authority of the central government. His reign was marked with a strong development of Bulgarian architecture with a number of significant construction projects.
After the death of Khan Krum there was a short period of political instability in the country. Some sources mention that Bulgaria was ruled by three nobles - "Dukum" (Δούκουμος; may be identical with Omurtag), "Ditseng" ( Δίτζενγος; from Bulgar Di-jevğu/jabğu? according to Peter B. Golden), it could also rather be a title of Tsokos, according to H. Grégoire, compare ičirgü-boulias; and "Tsog" (Τζóκος?; compare Bulgar Coğ, ǰoɣ 'funeral feast'). It's been theorized that any of these names may also be synonyms with one another - who were recorded as persecutors of the Christians in the Byzantine sources. Several theories exist about the events in that period. According to them, those three nobles were either Krum's generals with a major role in the government but without assuming the throne; or regents to the infant Omurtag. The historians usually accept as a compromise the view of Professor Vasil Gyuzelev that Omurtag succeeded his father after short disturbances in the government.
Byzantine–Bulgarian Treaty of 815
After the abrupt death of Khan Krum there were many Bulgarian troops in Thrace defending different strategic locations. The Byzantine Emperor Leo V the Armenian made use of the short crisis in the summer of 814 and led his troops against the Bulgarians.
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Krum (Крум, Κροῦμος/Kroumos), often referred to as Krum the Fearsome (Крум Страшни) was the Khan of Bulgaria from sometime between 796 and 803 until his death in 814. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper and from Odrin to the Tatra Mountains. His able and energetic rule brought law and order to Bulgaria and developed the rudiments of state organization. Krum was a Bulgar chieftain from Pannonia. His family background and the surroundings of his accession are unknown.
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople. It survived the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in the Mediterranean world.
Plovdiv (Пловдив, ˈpɫɔvdif) is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace, behind the state capital Sofia. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub in Bulgaria and was the European Capital of Culture in 2019. The city is an important economic, transport, cultural, and educational center. Plovdiv joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2016.