Sabin of Bulgaria

The military defeat had sealed the fate of Telets, who is lynched together with his supporters by his rebellious subjects in 765.

Some scholars think that Sabin, his successor, was omitted from the Namelist of Bulgarian Rulers because he was a Slav, but his name could indicate Latin or even Iranian origins.

He was related by marriage to Kormisosh, who was either a father-in-law or a brother-in-law of Sabin.

Since the relation is by marriage, Sabin would not have actually belonged to the Vokil clan.

Sabin rises to the throne after the murder of Telets in 765 and represents that part of the Bulgarian nobility which is seeking a policy of accommodation with the Empire.

Accordingly, he swiftly dispatches secret emissaries to Emperor Constantine V, seeking to reestablish peace.

When the negotiations are discovered, the Bulgarians rebelled and hold an assembly in which they accuse Sabin of causing Bulgaria's enslavement by the Empire.

Sabin, deserted by his supporters, flees to Mesembria (Nesebăr) in 766, whence he goes to …

…Constantinople, where he is received by the emperor, who arranges for the transfer of Sabin's family from Bulgaria.

Umor reigns for only forty days in 766 and belongs to the Ukil clan, according to the Namelist of Bulgarian Rulers, which makes him a relative of the former rulers Vinekh and possibly Kormisosh.

The Byzantine sources indicate that his predecessor Sabin had entrusted Bulgaria to Umor, but give no details of his short reign or fate.

Some scholars speculate that he was a champion of the peace party like his discredited predecessor, and that he may have likewise fled to the Empire.

The Byzantine chronicler Patriarch Nikephoros records that Toktu, who succeeds Umor, was "a Bulgarian, and a brother of Bayan".

Although this suggests that Bayan was a man of some importance, nothing more is definitely known about Toktu's basis of support.

Toktu is assumed to have been a member of that faction of the Bulgarian nobility which advocates a hostile policy towards the Empire.

However, before Toktu managed to implement any recorded policy, he is faced with a rebellion and attempts to flee the country.

Unlike his predecessor Sabin, Toktu tries to flee northwards, but is caught and killed together with his brother Bayan and their supporters near the Danube.

Pagan, Toktu’s successor, has been identified as a member of that faction of the Bulgarian aristocracy that seeks to establish peaceful relations with the Empire.