Krum

Krum Крум
Khan of Bulgaria
A 14th century depiction of Krum
Reign	803–814
Predecessor	Kardam
Successor	Omurtag
Died	13 April 814(814-04-13)
Spouse	Unknown
Issue	Omurtag Budim
House	"Krum's dynasty" (possibly Dulo)

Krum (Bulgarian: Крум, Greek: Κρούμος/Kroumos) was the Khan of Bulgaria from sometime after 796 but before 803 until his death in 814. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper and from Odrin to the Tatra Mountains. His able and energetic rule brought law and order to Bulgaria and developed the rudiments of state organisation.

Krum was a Bulgar chieftain from Pannonia. His background and the surroundings of his accession is unknown. It has been speculated that Krum might have been a descendant of the old Bulgar royal house of Kubrat.

Around 805, Krum defeated the Avar Khaganate to destroy the remainder of the Avars and to restore Bulgar authority in Ongal again, the traditional Bulgar name for the area north of the Danube across the Carpathians covering Transylvania and along the Danube into eastern Pannonia. This resulted in the establishment of a common border between the Frankish Empire and Bulgaria, which would have important repercussions for the policy of Krum's successors.

Krum engaged in a policy of territorial expansion. In 807 Bulgarian forces defeated the Byzantine army in the Struma valley. In 809 Krum besieged and forced the surrender of Serdica, slaughtering the garrison of 6,000 despite a guarantee of safe conduct. This victory provoked Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I to settle Anatolian populations along the frontier to protect it and to attempt to retake and refortify Serdica, although this enterprise failed.