Presian Inscription, sixth plate, Archeological Museum,
Philippi,
Greece () was the ruler of
Bulgaria in 836–852.
The composite picture of the Byzantine sources indicates that Presian I was the son of Zvinica (
Zbēnitzēs), who was a son of
Omurtag. In several older studies Presian is identified with his short-lived predecessor
Malamir and it is assumed that this single character survived until the 850s as the direct predecessor of Boris I. This is very unlikely, as Malamir is attested as having been succeeded by his nephew (the son of his brother Zvinica), while Boris I was preceded by his father Presian. Zlatarski resolved the problems in the fragmentary sources by determining that Malamir's unnamed nephew and successor was in fact Presian, and Boris I was the latter's son.
Presian may have been young and inexperienced at the time of his accession, and state affairs may have been dominated by the minister (
kaukhanos) Isbul, as under Presian's uncle Malamir. Soon after Presian's accession the Slavs in the vicinity of
Thessalonica rebelled against the
Byzantine Empire in 837. Emperor
Theophilos sought Bulgarian support in putting down the rebellion, but simultaneously arranged for his fleet to sail through the
Danube delta and undertake a clandestine evacuation of some of the Byzantine captives settled in trans-Danubian Bulgaria by
Krum and Omurtag. In retaliation Isbul campaigned along the
Aegean coasts of
Thrace and
Macedonia and captured the city of
Philippi, where he set up a surviving memorial inscription set up in a local church. Isbul's campaign may have resulted in the establishment of Bulgarian suzerainty over the Slavic tribe of the
Smoljani.
Presian's reign apparently coincides with the extension of Bulgarian control over the Slavic tribes in and around Macedonia. However, Presian's campaigns against the
Serbs in about 839–842 failed miserably. By the end of Presian's reign Serbia and Bulgaria lived in an uneasy peace.
The 17th century
Volga Bulgar compilation
Ja'far Tarikh, a work of disputed authenticity, represents Birdžihan (i.e., Presian) as the son of Sabanša (i.e., Zvinica), which may lend support to the interpretation of his origins now dominant in Bulgarian historiography.
Honour
Presian Ridge on
Livingston Island in the
South Shetland Islands,
Antarctica is named after Presian I of Bulgaria.
See also
