Peter I (Church Slavonic:Петръ А҃;Bulgarian:Петър I; died 30 January 970) was theemperor (tsar) ofBulgaria from 27 May 927 to 969. FacingBogomilism and rebellions by his brothers and also byČaslav Klonimirović early on in his reign, Peter secured more success later in life; he ensured the retreat of the invading Rus by inciting Bulgaria's allies, thePechenegs, to attackKiev itself. Traditionally seen as a weak ruler who lost land and prestige, recent scholarship challenges this view, emphasizing the empire's affluence and internal peace. Considered a good ruler during the Middle Ages, his name was adopted by later leaders trying to restoreBulgarian independence under Byzantine rule to emphasize legitimacy and continuity.

Peter I Петър І
Seal of Emperor Peter I with Irene Lekapene
Emperor of Bulgaria
Reign	927–969
Predecessor	Simeon I
Successor	Boris II
Died	30 January 970
Spouse	Irene Lekapene
Issue	Boris II Roman
House	Krum's dynasty
Father	Simeon I
Mother	George Sursuvul' sister

Peter I was the son ofSimeon I of Bulgaria by his second marriage to the sister ofGeorge Sursuvul. Peter had been born early in the 10th century, but it appears that his maternal uncle was very influential at the beginning of his reign. In 913 Peter may have visited the imperial palace atConstantinople together with his older brother Michael. For unspecified reasons, Simeon had forced Michael to become a monk and had named Peter as his successor.

To prove himself a worthy successor to his father both at home and in the eyes of foreign governments, Peter began his reign with a military offensive intoByzantine Thrace in 927 which was the last campaign of theByzantine–Bulgarian war of 913–927. Nevertheless, he followed up his quick successes by secretly negotiating a peace treaty before the Byzantine government had a chance to retaliate. TheByzantine EmperorRomanos I Lakapenos eagerly accepted the proposal for peace and arranged for a diplomatic marriage between his granddaughterMaria and the Bulgarian monarch. In October 927 Peter arrived near Constantinople to meet Romanos and signed the peace treaty, marrying Maria on 8 November in the church of theZoödochos Pege. To signify the new era in Bulgaro-Byzantine relations, the princess was renamed Eirene ("peace"). The extensivePreslav Treasure is thought to represent part of the dowry of the princess. The treaty of 927 actually represents the fruit of Simeon's military successes and diplomatic initiatives, ably continued by his son's government. Peace was obtained with the frontiers restored to those defined in treaties of 897 and 904. The Byzantines recognised the Bulgarian monarch's title of emperor (basileus,tsar) and theautocephalus status of the Bulgarian patriarchate, while the payment of an annual tribute to Bulgaria by the Byzantine Empire was renewed.^[1]

The initial successes of Peter's reign were followed by several minor setbacks. Around 930, Peter faced a revolt led by his younger brother Ivan, who was defeated and sent into exile in Byzantium. Soon afterwardsPeter's older brother Michael escaped from his monastery and led a more formidable rebellion, which terminated with his early death. The youngest brother, Benjamin (also called Bojan), was accused of being awerewolf andmagician by theItalian BishopLiutprand of Cremona, but he apparently posed no threat to Peter's authority.

Perhaps taking advantage of these challenges to Peter's rule, thePrince of SerbiaČaslav Klonimirović escaped the Bulgarian capitalPreslav in 933 and, with tacit Byzantine support, managed to raise a Serbian revolt against Bulgarian rule.^[2] The revolt succeeded and Serbia recovered its independence. Peter may have had to also face the incursions of theMagyars, who had been defeated and forced intoPannonia by his father in 896. Perhaps after an initial defeat, Peter came to terms with the enemy and now used Magyar groups as his allies against Serbia. Various Magyar clans and chieftains appear to have begun to settle in what was still Bulgarian territory north of theDanube, where they may have become Bulgarianfederates, enjoying independence from theÁrpád dynasty. This arrangement paved the way for the eventual loss of the region to the Magyars, although that happened over the half-century following Peter's death. Peter apparently allowed these groups to cross Bulgaria and raid Byzantine territories in Thrace andMacedonia, perhaps as an underhanded reaction against Byzantine support for the Serbian rebellion.

Peter I presided over a long and relatively peaceful reign, albeit one poorly illuminated by foreign or native sources. In spite of the challenges he encountered soon after his accession and the critical situation at the very end of his life, Peter's Bulgaria appears to have been prosperous and increasingly well organized, with an administrative apparatus noted by foreign travelers and confirmed by the numerous finds of imperial seals. Peter was particularly generous towards the Church, which he endowed lavishly throughout his reign. The emperor's generosity reached such an extent that it was seen as a corrupting factor by even Orthodox clerics, likeCosmas Presbyter. Others chose a path away from the temptations of the secular world, most notably SaintIvan of Rila, but their ascetic existence still drew the attention of the monarch. Luxury and social tensions may have contributed to the spread ofBogomilism, which Peter duly undertook to combat, soliciting the advice of famous hermits and even his uncle-in-law,Patriarch Theophylact of Constantinople.

Relations with the Byzantine Empire worsened after the death of Peter's wife in the mid-960s. Victorious over theArabs, EmperorNikephoros II Phokas refused to pay the annual tribute to Bulgaria in 966, complaining of the Bulgarian alliance with the Magyars, and he undertook a show of force at the Bulgarian border. Dissuaded from a direct attack against Bulgaria, Nikephoros II dispatched a messenger to theRus princeSviatoslav Igorevich to arrange a Rus attack against Bulgaria from the north.

Sviatoslav readily launched a campaign with a vast force of 60,000 troops, routed the Bulgarians on theDanube, and defeated them in abattle near Silistra, seizing some 80 Bulgarian fortresses in 968. Stunned by the success of his ally and suspicious of his actual intentions, Emperor Nikephoros II hastened to make peace with Bulgaria and arranged the marriage of his wards, the underage emperorsBasil II andConstantine VIII, to two Bulgarian princesses. Two of Peter's sons were sent to Constantinople as both negotiators and honorary hostages. In the meantime Peter managed to secure the retreat of the Rus forces by inciting Bulgaria's traditional allies, thePechenegs, to attack Kiev itself.

In spite of this temporary success and the reconciliation with Byzantium, Bulgaria faced a new invasion by Sviatoslav in 969. The Bulgarians were defeated again, and Peter suffered a stroke, which led him to abdicate and become a monk. He died on 30 January 970.

Compared with the military success of his father's reign, Peter has been traditionally considered a weak ruler, who lost lands and prestige, allowed his military forces to decline while his country was ravaged by foreign invaders, and turned Bulgaria into a Byzantine satellite governed by Byzantine agents in the persons of his empress and her retinue. This view has been questioned by more recent scholarship, which emphasizes the affluence and internal peace enjoyed by Bulgarian society during his long reign, re-evaluates the relationship between Bulgaria and its semi-nomadic neighbors (Magyars and Pechenegs), and questions the allegedly sinister role of Romanos' granddaughter and her retinue.^[3] While Peter's reign witnessed the spread of Bogomilism, its origins were more demographic (perhaps inspired byPaulicians settled earlier by Byzantine emperors in Thrace) than social, and theBulgarian Orthodox Church canonized him as a saint. Peter was considered a good ruler in theMiddle Ages, and whenBulgaria fell under Byzantine rule (1018–1185), later leaders that attempted to restore Bulgarian independence adopted his name to emphasize legitimacy and continuity (bothPeter Delyan andConstantine Bodin adopted the royal name of Peter in their attempts to regain the throne from the Byzantines).

By his marriage toMaria Lakapena (renamed Eirene), Peter I had several children, including:

• Plenimir
• Boris II, who succeeded as emperor of Bulgaria in 969
• Roman, who succeeded as emperor of Bulgaria in 977

• Fine, John V. A. Jr. (1991) [1983].The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.ISBN 0-472-08149-7.
• (in Bulgarian) Jordan Andreev, Ivan Lazarov, Plamen Pavlov,Koj koj e v srednovekovna Bălgarija, Sofia 1999.
• The Bulgarian State in 927-969 : the epoch of Tsar Peter I. Leszka, Mirosław J.,, Marinow, Kirił,, Genova, Lyubomira,, Majer, Marke,, Mękarski, Artur,, Zytka, Michal (First ed.). [Łodź, Poland]. 5 February 2019.ISBN 978-8323345459.OCLC 1078891613.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)