ABSTRACT
With the defeat of the Bulgarians and the annihilation of their state there begins in 1018 a period of one hundred and sixty seven years which is badly documented. The Byzantine historians deal very little with Bulgaria, now a portion of the Empire, and such information as they give is often contained in sub-clauses and phrases of sentences and paragraphs dealing primarily with other matters. One of the developments which may certainly be ascribed to this dark period is the growth in importance of the Vlach population. The influx of Pechenegs and Cumans turned Bulgaria into a battle ground between Byzantium and these Turkish tribes; and we hear of no expressions of Bulgarian national self-consciousness or of rebellion until 1073. It has long been realized that any other interpretation involves the twisting of the sources until they bear no relationship to the ascertainable facts about the origin and development of the 'second Bulgarian Empire'.
