;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:6.0pt;margin-left:
0cm;line-height:14.4pt;background:white">Due to the migration of
the Slavs, which took place from the sixties of the 6th century until the
thirties of the 7th century, the city suffered a major destruction. The area
was settled by the Slavic tribe Strumicani who took their name after the
Strymon River, which, in turn, they named Struma. For a short while, the
sclavin of the Strumjani existed as an independent Slavic principality until it
was conquered by Byzantium. During the period from 845 to 855, the Byzantine
military administrator of the Bregalnica-Strumica region was Methodius. Later
on, the Strumica region was conquered by the Bulgarian ruler Boris (852-889).
In 893, according to the Dikanzov List, Clement was appointed “episcope of
Tiveriopolis and Velika”. The Strumica region remained part of the Bulgarian
state until 969 A.D., when following the first uprising lead by the komitopuls
Samuel, Aron, Mojsej and David, it became a part of Czar Samuel’s state. On
July 29, 1014, this region was the setting ground for the battle of Belasica,
in which the Macedonian army lead by tzar Samuel (976-1014) was defeated by the
Byzantines headed by Basil II (976-1025). Having won the battle, the Byzantines
blinded 15,000 captured Macedonian soldiers as a way for Basil II to take
revenge for Theophylactus Botaniates, a Byzantine commander killed by czar
Samuel’s son Gavril Radomir (1014-1015). In 1018, Byzantium took over
Macedonia. It is in the 11th century when written sources for the first time
begin to refer to the city as Strumica. By the end of the 12th century, the
Byzantine central power had weakened and, as a result, many feudal lords broke
away and became independent. Such independent lords in the Strumica region were
Dobromir Hris (1185-1202), and later Dobromir Strez
