Omurtag

   Khan of Bulgaria (qq.v.) from 814-831. His relations with Byzantium (q.v.) were peaceful, in marked contrast to those of his father, Krum (q.v.). He concluded with Leo V (q.v.) a 30-year peace treaty, preserved in a proto-Bulgarian inscription (i.e., in an inscription in Turkic runes such as usually predate the mass introduction of Christianity in 864). Omurtag's aid to Michael II (q.v.) in 823, when the khan forced Thomas the Slav (q.v.) to lift his siege of Constantinople (q.v.), was decisive in ending Thomas's rebellion. Peaceful relations served to increase Byzantine cultural influence in Bulgaria during his reign. At Pliska (q.v.), his capital, he created a palace with a throne room that must have rivaled the audience halls of emperors in Constantinople (q.v.).