This map illustrates the reign of Krum the Fearsome (Bulgarian: Крум Страшни), the ruler of Bulgaria from c. 800 to 814. Known for his formidable military campaigns, Krum doubled the size of medieval Bulgaria, extending its borders from the Dnieper to the Middle Danube and from the Tatra Mountains to Adrianople. After Charlemagne’s defeat of the Avar Khaganate in 803, the Bulgarians turned on the Avars themselves, seizing their lands in 805 and pushing Bulgaria’s frontier to the borders of the Frankish Empire.
In 811, Krum’s forces crushed an invading Byzantine army, killing Emperor Nicephorus I and opening the way for expansion southward into Thrace. The following years saw him besiege Constantinople (813), ravaging the surrounding countryside. Plans for a renewed assault in 814 were cut short when Krum died, reportedly of a cerebral hemorrhage, ending one of the most dynamic and expansionist reigns in Bulgaria’s early medieval history.
About the Author
Related Images
Map of the Bulgarian Empire under Samuil, 997 - 1014
Map of the First Bulgarian Empire under Simeon the Great
Map of the Trade Networks in the Middle Ages, c. 1200
Roman Rule in the Balkans, c. 200 CE
Map of Christian Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, c. 1000
Map of Byzantine Constantinople
Cite This Work
APA Style
Netchev, S. (2023, January 23). Map of the Bulgarian Empire under Krum the Fearsome, 803-814. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/16895/map-of-the-bulgarian-empire-under-krum-the-fearsom/
Chicago Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Map of the Bulgarian Empire under Krum the Fearsome, 803-814." World History Encyclopedia, January 23, 2023. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/16895/map-of-the-bulgarian-empire-under-krum-the-fearsom/.
MLA Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Map of the Bulgarian Empire under Krum the Fearsome, 803-814." World History Encyclopedia, 23 Jan 2023, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/16895/map-of-the-bulgarian-empire-under-krum-the-fearsom/.
