asil again invaded
Bulgaria; defeated Samuel's army; and, in an act of matchless cruelty,
blinded 14,000 Bulgarian soldiers. From 1018 until 1185 all of Bulgaria
was under Byzantine rule.

The eleventh and twelfth centuries witnessed a period of extreme
hardship for the country. Byzantine domination was harsh and punitive.
Monetary taxes, which added to the already heavy burdens of the
peasantry, were levied in 1040. Bulgarian feudalism was replaced by
Byzantine feudalism. The Byzantine church itself was a vehicle of
oppression as it was later to become under Turkish rule; the church
owned entire estates and villages and the people who inhabited them.
There were a series of revolts during the eleventh century, but none
were successful in overthrowing Byzantine tyranny. During this period
the first and second crusades made their way through the Balkan
Peninsula, wreaking havoc among the local populations.

The Second Bulgarian Kingdom was established in 1186 and lasted until
1396, when--like the First Bulgarian Kingdom--it was conquered by a
powerful enemy and neighbor. Ironically, history came full circle to
spell defeat for the Bulgarians. In the twelfth century, when the
Byzantine Empire was declining because of internal weakness, the
Bulgarians were able to free themselves from domination. In the
fourteenth century, when Bulgaria itself was weakened by domestic
strife, it was conquered by an enemy whose oppression was greater than
that of the Byzantine Empire: the Ottoman Turks.

At the close of the twelfth century the internal situation in Bulgaria
was deteriorating. Taxes had been increased, and the burden borne by the
peasants became still heavier. The feudal lords openly began to proclaim
their independence from Byzantium, whose empire was by now steadily
declining. Bulgaria was surrounded by its enemies: the Ottoman Turks,
the Magyars, and the Normans. In 1183 the Magyars invaded, penetrating
as far as Sofia. Realizing the vulnerability of the Byzantine Empire,
the Bulgarians rebelled under the leadership of two brothers, Asen and
Peter. The brothers first liberated northeastern Bulgaria and then
proceeded into Thrace, where they were opposed by Isaac Angel, then
emperor of Byzantium. In 1187 a peace treaty was concluded in which
Byzantium conceded autonomy to Bulgaria.

Despite the peace treaty, however, the Bulgarians continued to wage war
against the empire, hoping to regain northern Bulgaria and Macedoni