Gavril Radomir of Bulgaria

Who was Gavril Radomir of Bulgaria?

Gavril Radomir, normally rendered as Gabriel Radomir in English and Gavriil Romanos in Greek, was the ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire from October 1014 to August or September 1015. He was the son of Samuel of Bulgaria. During his father's reign, his cousin Ivan Vladislav and Ivan's entire family were all sentenced by Samuel to death for treason. Gavril's intervention saved them. He is said to have saved his father's life in the disastrous defeat of the Battle of Spercheios, and he was described as a gallant fighter.

Around the same time that Emperor Basil II captured the bulk of Samuel's army, Gavril and his forces defeated the army of Theophylactus Botaniates. Having inherited Samuel's war with the Byzantine Empire, Gavril Radomir raided Byzantine territory, reaching as far as Constantinople. Unfortunately for him, the Byzantines secured the assistance of Ivan Vladislav, who owed his life to Gavril. Ivan murdered Radomir while hunting near Ostrovo, and then took the throne for himself.

Some sources connect Gavrilo Radomir with the medieval dualist sect, Bogomilism, a popular heretic movement that flourished in Macedonia during his and his father's reign.