agentblack

After the fall of the First Bulgarian Empire in 1018 the area formed part of the Byzantine Empire, but local uprisings were followed by devastating nomad incursions and a series of invasions by the Normans from southern Italy. The Bogomil heresy also flourished.
Largely for reasons of defence the area had been divided into two Byzantine duchies, and the revolt which led to the creation of the Second Bulgarian Empire began in the eastern duchy, in the wild Balkan Range.

Here it was not lead by Bulgarians but by Vlachs, the Romanian-speaking nomads who had migrated into theses mountains during the period of Byzantine domination. Two Vlach leaders, the brothers Peter and Asen, were apparently insulted by a Byzantine courtier and so raised the standard of revolt. With the help of Cuman nomads from the Danube plain they drove out the Byzantines, but it is not clear, however, what role the Bulgarians took in this struggle. The Vlachs were nimble mountain folk armed with bows and javelins, while the Cumans were, of course, horse archers, so perhaps the settled Bulgarians provided administrative and technical skills.

I still fail to understand the appeal of Lord of the Rings. I've tried to read it three or four times, and each time get defeated by the tedious and plodding story. This isn't because I'm some hyperactive malcontent with a worse attention deficit disorder than Tom Cruise, although I would forgive you for thinking so.

The decline of the 'Abbsis Caliphate coincided with unrest in many regions and a shift in trade patterns. One result was the decline of Iraq's wealth and potential, and an increase in that of Egypt. A virtual collapse of central authority in tenth century Syria and and the Jazra (Upper Mesopotamia) led to a revival in the power of Arab bedouin tribes who established several small though cultured states close to the Byzantine frontier.
In Egypt, as in Syria, Christians still formed the majority of the population, but here civilians took almost no part in warfare.
In fact, Egypt, Libya and Syria together formed the cuturally brilliant but militarily weak Ftimid Caliphate. It's armies were almost entirely non-Egyptian and increasingly mercenary. Furthermore, they were split between Sunni Muslim Turks, Armenian Christians, Africans (whose fanatical loyalty to the Caliph was personal rather than religious), and several other mutually antagonistic groups.
Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, was, in some ways, now considered a 'frontier' zone. Mecca, Medina and the Red Sea coast were usually under Egyptian authority, while those who ruled Iraq ruled most of the Gulf coast. The centre of the Arabian peninsula was dominated by local tribes and followers of the puritanical and revolutionary Qarmati movement.

There are far better stories in history books anyway. They tend to have the edge, because they have no talking trees, no thieving midgets, or any magic. Face facts, elves are very very Silly.

History also has far more violence, as well as TOWERS OF SKULLS. Win!

If Timur is remembered for anything it is for his use of terror as a military or political weapon. He was not alone in trying to have rival rulers assassinated, nor was massacre rare in Middle Eastern warfare following the Mongols' arrival on the scene. But whereas Genghis Khan butchered coldly and with a specific end in view, Timur indulged in acts of apparently pointless sadism.

One of Timur's most savage practices was the erection of towers formed of severed human heads. Some could still be seen when Clavijo visited Iran, and he described them as being 'tall as the height to which one might cast a stone, which were entirely constructed from men's skulls set in clay'. In Sabzawar live captives were cemented between clay and bricks to form 'minarets'.