Neboulos [SEP] conflict
Neboulos
Neboulos () was a South Slavic or Bulgar military commander in the service of the Byzantine emperor Justinian II (r. 685–695 and 705–711), who defected with many of his men to the Arabs during the crucial Battle of Sebastopolis.
In 688/9, Justinian II forcibly transplanted Slavic populations from the Balkans and settled them in the depopulated Opsician Theme. From them, he recruited a special military corps, allegedly 30,000 strong, which was called in Greek λαός περιούσιος, "the chosen people". In about 690,
Neboulos, who already held the rank of "skribon" and possibly served in the imperial guard, was placed as their commander ("archon"). Neboulos's own origin is disputed between scholars, with some suggesting a Bulgar origin and others a South Slavic one. According to the account of Patriarch Nikephoros, he was chosen from among the nobility of the Slav settlers.
In 692/3, after the corps' training had been completed, they were employed "en masse" by Justinian II in a major campaign against