history of bulgaria - Under Byzantine rule
Byzantium ruled Bulgaria from 1018 to 1185, subordinating the independent Bulgarian Orthodox Church to the authority of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople but otherwise interfering little in Bulgarian local affairs.

After the death of the soldier-emperor Basil II, the empire entered into a period of instability. There were rebellions against Byzantine rule in 1040-41 at the wars with the Normans and the 1070s and the 1080s, at the time of the wars with the Seljuk Turks. After that the Komnenos dynasty came into succession and reversed the decline of the empire. During this time the empire experienced a century of stability and progress, though it was the time of the Crusades.

In 1180 the last of the capable Komnenas - Manuel I Komnenas died, and was replaced by the relatively incompetent Angeloi dynasty, allowing Bulgarians to regain their freedom.

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