death_place death_date module title ethnicity birth_date known_for article_title name occupation
peritheorion 7 july 1345 yes 1344 battles = byzantine civil war peritheorion † allegiance = serbian kingdom/empire serviceyears = 1341 -- '' sebastokratōr '' bulgarian c. 1305 quasi-independent 1345 lord in the rhodope area , 1343 -- momchil
 momchil brigand , military leader
momchil

momchil -lrb- , ; c. 1305 -- 7 july 1345 -rrb- was a 14th-century bulgarian brigand and local ruler .
initially a member of a bandit gang in the borderlands of bulgaria , byzantium and serbia , momchil was recruited by the byzantines as a mercenary .
through his opportunistic involvement in the byzantine civil war of 1341 -- 1347 , where he played the various sides against each other , he became ruler of a large area in the rhodopes and western thrace .
momchil achieved initial successes against turks and byzantines alike , setting turkish ships on fire and almost managing to kill one of his main opponents at the time , john vi kantakouzenos .
despite this , he was defeated and killed by a joint byzantine -- turkish army in 1345 .
due to his opposition to the turks , he is remembered in popular south slavic legend as a fighter against the turkish invasion of the balkans .
