Peter II Delyan (Bulgarian Petăr II Deljan) was the leader of the Bulgarian revolt against the Byzantine Empire and was proclaimed emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria 1040�1041. His original name may have been simply Deljan, in which case he assumed the name Peter II upon his accession, commemorating the sainted Emperor Peter I (Petăr I), who had died in 970. The year of his birth is uncertain, but probably not long after 1000, and before 1014; he may have died in 1041.

Life

Peter II Delyan was the son of Emperor Gabriel Radomir (Gavril Radomir) of Bulgaria by an unnamed sister of King Stephen I of Hungary.

Peter's mother was expelled while pregnant from the Bulgarian court before the accession of Gabriel Radomir, but given Delyan's subsequent career, it is likely that he had been born and remained in Bulgaria with his father (see Fine, reference below).

After the murder of Gabriel Radomir in 1015 and the conquest of Bulgaria by the Byzantine Empire in 1018, Delyan was taken captive to Constantinople and became a servant of an unidentified member of the Byzantine aristocracy. He later escaped and went to his mother's country of Hungary, from which he re-entered Bulgaria and raised a revolt against Byzantine rule, taking advantage of the discontent over the imposition of taxes in coin by the Byzantine government. Delyan was proclaimed emperor (tsar) in Belgrade under the name Peter II by being raised atop a shield by leaders of the resistance, and perhaps enjoyed some support from Hungary.

Peter II Delyan took Niљ and Skopje, first co-opting and then eliminating another potential leader in the person of one Tihomir, who had led a rebellion in the region of Durazzo. After this Peter II marched on Thessalonica, where the Byzantine Emperor Michael IV was staying. Michael fled, leaving his treasury to a certain Michael Ivac. The latter, who was probably a son of Ivac, a general under Samuel of Bulgaria, promptly turned over the bulk of the treasury to Peter outside the city. Thessalonica remained in Byzantine hands, but Macedonia, Durazzo, and parts of northern Greece were taken by Peter II's forces. This inspired further Slavic revolts against Byzantine rule in Epirus and Albania.

Peter II Delyan's successes ended, however, with the interference of his cousin Alusian. Alusian, whose father Ivan Vladislav had murdered Peter's father Gabriel Radomir in 1015, joined Peter II's ranks as an apparent deserter from the Byzantine court, where he had been disgraced. Alusian was welcomed by Peter II, who gave him an army with which to attack Thessalonica. The siege, however, was raised by the Byzantines, and the army was defeated. Alusian barely escaped and returned to Ostrovo.

One night, during dinner, Alusian took advantage of Peter II's inebriation, and cut off his nose and blinded him with a kitchen knife in 1041. Since Alusian was of the blood of Samuel, he was quickly proclaimed emperor in Peter II's place by his troops, but he conspired to defect to the Byzantines. As the Bulgarian and Byzantine troops were preparing for battle, Alusian deserted to the enemy and headed for Constantinople, where his possessions and lands were restored to him, and he was rewarded with the high courtly rank of magistros.

Meanwhile, though blind, Peter II Delyan resumed command of the Bulgarian forces, but the Byzantine Emperor Michael IV determined to take advantage of the situation and advanced against them. In an obscure battle near Ostrovo, the Byzantines defeated the Bulgarian troops and Peter II Delyan was captured and taken to Constantinople, where he was perhaps executed.

Norse sagas refer to the participation of the future Norwegian King Harald Hardrеda, who allegedly cut down Peter II in the field of battle as a member of the Varangian Guard. This tradition may be supported by a laconic reference in the so-called "Bulgarian Apocryphal Chronicle". In either case, Peter II Delyan may have perished in 1041.

• John V.A. Fine Jr., The Early Medieval Balkans, Ann Arbor, 1983.