Kammala jumla mai zuwa: An sake farfado da juriya na Bulgarian a karkashin jagorancin daular Cometopuli, amma sabon sarki Basil II (ya yi sarauta 976<unk>1025 AD) ya sanya ƙaddamar da Bulgarians ya zama babban burinsa. Fitowar farko ta Basil a kan Bulgaria duk da haka ya haifar da mummunan rauni a
Ƙofofin Trajan. A cikin 'yan shekaru masu zuwa, sarkin zai damu da tawaye na cikin gida a Anatolia, yayin da Bulgarians suka faɗaɗa masarautarsu a cikin Balkans. Yaƙin ya kasance kusan kusan shekaru ashirin. Nasarorin Byzantine na Spercheios da Skopje sun raunana sojojin Bulgaria, kuma a cikin kamfen na shekara-shekara, Basil ya rage ƙaƙƙarfan Bulgarian. A ƙarshe, a Yaƙin Kleidion a shekara ta 1014 an ci Bulgarian gaba ɗaya. An kama sojojin Bulgaria, kuma an ce 99 daga cikin kowane mutum 100 sun makance, tare da sauran mutum ɗari da aka bari tare da ido ɗaya don ya jagoranci 'yan uwansa gida. Sa'ad da Sarki Samuil ya ga ragowar rundunarsa mai ƙarfi, ya yi mamaki sosai. A shekara ta 1018, ƙauyukan Bulgaria na ƙarshe sun miƙa wuya, kuma ƙasar ta zama sashen daular. Wannan babbar nasara ta mayar da iyakar Danube, wanda ba a riƙe shi ba tun zamanin sarki Heraclius.