Rubuta ci gaba don wannan sakin layi - an sake farfado da juriya na Bulgarian a ƙarƙashin mulkin daular Cometopuli, amma sabon Sarkin sarakuna Basil II () ya sanya ƙaddamar da Bulgarians ya zama babban burinsa. Yaƙin Basil na farko da ya kai wa Bulgaria, ya sa aka ci shi a Ƙofar Trajan
Ka yi haƙuri. A cikin 'yan shekaru masu zuwa, sarkin ya damu da tashin hankali na cikin gida a Anatolia, yayin da Bulgarians suka faɗaɗa masarautarsu a cikin Balkans. Yaƙin ya ci gaba 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 yakin Kleidion a shekara ta 1014 an hallaka Bulgarian: an kama sojojin su, kuma an ce 99 daga cikin maza 100 sun makanta, tare da mutum na ɗari ya bar ido ɗaya don ya iya jagorantar 'yan uwansa gida. Sa'ad da Sarki Samuil ya ga ragowar rundunarsa mai ƙarfi, ya yi mamaki sosai. A shekara ta 1018, ƙauyukan Bulgarian na ƙarshe sun ba da kansu, kuma ƙasar ta zama ɓangare na Daular. Wannan nasarar ta dawo da iyakar Danube, wanda ba a gudanar da shi ba tun zamanin Sarkin sarakuna Heraclius.