The victory of the Bulgarians over the Avars also marked the triumph of the ideas of sobriety. According to the chronicles,
Krum, filled with apprehension, asked the defeated what they thought was the reason for their downfall. Their answer was that their state had declined because of lies, theft, and drunkenness. Krum introduced severe laws in order to avoid this very end. Legislation provided terrible punishment for criminals, and vineyards were uprooted so their fruit could not be made into enticing juice. judging by subsequent information, as with later reformations of this type, the restrictions were met only with the insatiable thirst for wine and fell through soon after.While the emperor inspected his farthest eastern borders, Krum took the chance, invaded the empire, and took the city of Serdica in 809. Centuries later it was to become the capital of the state under the name of Sofia. The conquest was accompanied with the then customary plunder and atrocities, which did not surprise anyone. The valley of the river Strouma also became part of the Bulgarian state.
The rise of the troublesome neighbour concerned the Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus I, who was also one of the able generals of his time. Deciding to dispose of the threat with one blow, he headed a large army towards the Bulgarian capital Pliska in 811. The Bulgarians were caught by surprise, and Krum did not have time to recruit an army. He left his capital, which, in turn, was burnt and pillaged by the enemy. Krum humbly offered peace on several occasions, but Nicephorus arrogantly refused. The outcome of the war, however, was far from decided for the khan, who combined negotiations with energetic preparations. The only route which the Byzantine army could take on its way back south, lay through the passes of the Balkan range. These the Bulgarians blocked, cutting off the narrow paths with felled trees and digging deep trenches. The Byzantine army moved south only after they realized that they were trapped. “There wasn’t a chink to fly through, even if we had been birds,” one of the senior officials moaned desperately. The emperor himself fell in the bloody battle.
Khan Krum raises a toast with a goblet made of the skull of Emperor Nicephorus -14th century miniature.
After the traditions of the steppes, Khan Krum ordered a goblet made of the skull of his enemy encased in gold and silver and used it to raise toasts at the feasts with his entourage. Even if one disregards these picturesque details, the victory indicated two things :
First, the Bulgarian state had become sufficiently stable to pose a serious threat to the empire and to have a significant political role in the European Southeast.
Second, the victory was largely due to the infantry, and this infantry was mainly made up of Slavs. In other words, the difficult process of bringing the two different peoples closer was developing successfully
Krum was elated by what had been achieved. He had visions of Constantinople, the eternal dream of all invaders. He gathered a large army, and had siege equipment made but died of a heart attack at the height of preparations. Byzantium heaved a sigh of relief, regarding his demise as a sign of God’s retribution.
Osmosis Jones
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