Dobromir Chrysos

Dobromir Chrysos was a Vlach warlord in eastern Macedonia during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Alexios III Angelos. Life Byzantine historian Niketas Choniates reported that Dobromir Chrysos was, despite his Slavic name, a Vlach by birth. Per Bulgarian researcher Dimitar Bechev, he was of mixed Slavic–Vlach origins. He was a leader of local Vlachs and Bulgarian Slavs. Choniates reported that Chrysos and his 500 men were initially on Emperor Alexius III's side, but due to suspicion of leaning towards his fellow Vlachs and wanting to rule independently, he was imprisoned. After his release in 1196, he became Strumica's commander and by the end of the year started a revolt, raiding lands between the rivers Strymon and Vardar. He soon expanded his power over Prosek, where he had an advanced fortification built. Emperor Alexius III launched a campaign against him in the spring of 1197 and laid siege for two months before returning to the capital Constantinople, allowing Dobromir to consolidate control over the area. After Alexius' unsuccessful campaign in the autumn of 1197, he sued for peace and recognized Chrysos' rights to the lands between the Strymon and Vardar, including Strumica and the fortress of Prosek. He was already married, but in order to cement an alliance with him the Emperor offered him a daughter of the Byzantine warlord Manuel Kamytzes. She was forced to divorce her husband and marry Dobromir in 1198.