Samuel (died October 6, 1014, Prilep [now in Macedonia]) was the tsar (997–1014) of the first Bulgarian empire.
Samuel began his effective rule in the 980s in what is now western Bulgaria and Macedonia. (See Researcher’s Note: Macedonia: a contested name.) He then conquered Serbia and further extended his power into northern Bulgaria, Albania, and northern Greece. He established his capital in Ohrid and revived the Bulgarian patriarchate. In the 980s he defeated the Byzantine emperor Basil II (the “Bulgar Slayer”) near Sofia, but from 997—the date of Samuel’s coronation as Bulgarian tsar—the intermittent struggle with the Byzantines went against him. On July 29, 1014, Basil overwhelmed Samuel in the Battle of Belasitsa (Battle of Kleidion). At Basil’s order, the Bulgarian prisoners (said to number 15,000) were blinded and returned to Samuel, who is said to have fainted from shock and died. He was succeeded by his son Gavril (murdered in 1015) and a nephew Ivan (killed in battle in 1018), after which Bulgaria became a Byzantine province.