Georgi Vojtech
Georgi Vojtech ( Middle Greek Γεώργιος ὁ Βοϊτάχος , Bulgarian Георги Войтех ; † 1072 ) was a Bulgarian aristocrat and rebel against the Byzantine Emperor Michael VII.
Life
Vojtech officiated under Emperor Romanus IV. As Exarchos in Skopje , the capital of the theme Bulgaria . In 1072 he led an uprising by local Bulgarian magnates who were dissatisfied with Byzantine rule and, in particular, the tax burden imposed by the imperial finance minister Nikephoritzes . Their goal was to restore the Bulgarian Empire , which fell in 1018 . The opportunity for this was favorable, because after the defeat at Manzikert by the Seljuks and the loss of Bari to the Normans , the Byzantine Empire was on the defensive on several fronts and was also weakened by internal turmoil.
Since the rebels were unable to cope with the Byzantine superiority alone, Vojtech asked the Grand Župan of the Serbian principality of Zeta (Dioclitia), Mihailo Vojislavljević , for arms help. In return, his son Konstantin Bodin , who was descended from the Bulgarian royal house Komitopuli through his mother , was given the throne name Peter III. in autumn 1072 in Prizren to Tsar crowned the Bulgarians.
When trying to quell the revolt, suffered the from Apulia back ordered Strategos Nikiforos Karantenos and the Dux of Skopje, Damianos Dalassenos , a heavy defeat. While Vojtech stayed behind as a commander in Skopje, Bodin marched with his troops on Niš and took the city. His voivode Petrilos and his mercenaries conquered the old Bulgarian capital of Ohrid and sacked Kastoria .
In the meantime, a large Byzantine force under General Michael Saronites appeared outside Skopje and began a siege . Vojtech assessed his situation as hopeless and surrendered, but regretted this a little later and sent a secret message to Bodin with the request to attack the Byzantines in the rear. Bodin wanted to rush to the aid of the trapped , but was ambushed in the southern blackbird field and was taken prisoner. Georgi Vojtech was also arrested, severely tortured and died on the way to Constantinople .
swell
- Skylitzes Continuatus 163-166
literature
- Paul Stephenson: Byzantium′s Balkan Frontier. A Political Study of the Northern Balkans 900-1204. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2000, ISBN 0-521-77017-3 , pp. 142-143, 308.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Georgi Vojtech |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Γεώργιος ὁ Βοϊτάχος (Middle Greek); Георги Войтех (Bulgarian) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Bulgarian rebel against the Byzantine Emperor Michael VII. |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 10th century or 11th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1072 |