Tsar Samuil
The long waves of penetration of the Slavs towards the end of the 7th century AD resulted in an entirely different situation - Macedonia acquired new inhabitants and became a Slav territory. The Sclavinia was their first form of social organization and structure. Then they fell under the Byzantine and Bulgarian empires. Following the fall of the Bulgarian Empire and the decline of the Byzantine Empire, Samuil, a skilled military leader and statesman, established the first Macedonian state (976-1018). Samuil's Empire comprised the whole of Macedonia, Thessaly, Epirus, Albania and the former coastal Sclaviniae of Duklja, Travunja, Zahumlje and the Neretva region, and also Serbia (t.e. Rashka) and a considerable part of Bulgaria. In this large empire, the most numerous subjects were the Macedonian Slavs, the Slavs in Greece and Peloponnesus, and only then Bulgarians, followed by Serbs, Croats and finally Romaioi (Byzantines), Albanians and Vlachs.
Heading this conglomeration of people was Tsar Samuil, who was crowned by the Roman Pope, because Samuil was in a constant conflict with the Byzantine Empire, and the crown of the Bulgarian rules was in Constantinople. This crowning gave an international character and recognition to Samuil's Empire. The attribute "Bulgarian" is explained by the practice of the Roman Pope to give a title to the crown which was identified with the territory of an already recognized empire, and Samuil's Empire extended over the territory of the Bulgarian Empire which has collapsed.
Following the final subjugation of Samuil's state in 1018, the Byzantine Empire dealt fiercely with the Macedonian population, particularly those living in the towns: they were banished and aliens were brought in their place. The Byzantine Empire also placed the Archbishopric of Ohrid under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchstate of Constantinople, and the Greek hierarchs started suppressing Slavonic written documents, Slav hagiographies, etc. It was considered thta with the eradication of the Archbishopric of Ohrid the traditions cherished by the Macedonian people would also be eradicated.
