Alusian, Tsar of Bulgaria

Abt 995 -

• Name	Alusian
  Suffix	Tsar of Bulgaria
  Birth	Abt 995  [1]
  Gender	Male
  Siblings	1 sibling
  + 1. Trajan, Khan of Western Bulgaria + 2. Alusian, Tsar of Bulgaria ,   b. Abt 995
  Person ID	I21276	Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of AP, Ancestor of DGH, Ancestor of JTS, Ancestor of LD, Ancestor of LMW, Ancestor of TSW, Ancestor of TWK, Ancestor of WPF
  Last Modified	19 Dec 2017

  
  

  Father	Iwan Wladislav, Tsar of Western Bulgaria,   b. Abt 975   d. Feb 1018, Dyrrhachium, Albania (Age ~ 43 years)
  Mother	Marija,   b. Abt 975   d. Aft 1029 (Age ~ 55 years)
  Family ID	F5458	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Children	+ 1. (Unknown daughter of Alusian of Bulgaria)   d. Bef 1065
  Family ID	F13121	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	19 Dec 2017

  
  

• Notes

  From Wikipedia: Alusian was the second son of Emperor Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria (r. 1015–1018) by his wife Maria. Together with his older brother Presian II he attempted to resist Bulgaria's annexation by the Byzantine Empire in 1018 but eventually had to surrender to Emperor Basil II (r. 976–1025) in the same year. In the Byzantine Empire Alusian joined the ranks of the court aristocracy and was appointed governor (strat?gos) of the theme of Theodosioupolis. Alusian increased his wealth by marrying a rich member of the Armenian nobility, but in the later 1030s he lost the favor of Emperor Michael IV the Paphlagonian (r. 1034–1041) and his brother, the powerful parakoimomenos John the Orphanotrophos. Alusian was deprived of certain estates and fined a hefty amount for alleged misdeeds. Hearing of the successful uprising of his second cousin Peter Delyan against the emperor in 1040, Alusian fled the Byzantine court and joined Peter's ranks. Alusian was welcomed by Peter, who gave him an army with which to attack Thessalonica. The siege however was raised by the Byzantines, and the Bulgarian army was defeated. Alusian barely escaped and returned to Ostrovo. One night in 1041, during dinner, Alusian took advantage of Peter's inebriation and cut off his nose and blinded him with a kitchen knife. Since Alusian was of the blood of Tsar Samuel (r. 997–1014), he was quickly proclaimed emperor in Peter's place by his troops, but conspired to desert to the Byzantines. As the Bulgarian and Byzantine troops were preparing for battle, Alusian deserted to the enemy, surrendering the blinded Peter Delyan to the emperor. As a reward, his possessions and lands were restored to him and he was given the high court rank of magistros. The same title had been granted earlier to other deposed emperors of Bulgaria, namely Boris II in 971 and Presian II in 1018. Alusian's subsequent fate is unknown, but his descendants, the Alousianoi, continued to prosper in the ranks of the Byzantine aristocracy until the 14th century.

  
  

• Sources

  [S49] Genealogics by Leo Van de Pas, continued by Ian Fettes and Leslie Mahler.