Nicholas () was a local ruler () in Bulgaria, and progenitor of the Cometopuli ("the sons of the count") dynasty.
According to the Armenian chronicler Stephen of Taron, the family originated in the Armenian region of Derdjan, where their sons were born. However, Michael Palairet affirms that count Nicholas' family name is Shishman, a family name not of Armenian origin, which centuries later became a Bulgarian royal dynasty.Michael R. Palairet (2016) Macedonia. A Voyage through History (Vol. 1, From Ancient Times to the Ottoman Invasions). Cambridge Scholars Publishing, p. 222, . He was married to Ripsime or Hripsime;David Marshall Lang, The Bulgarians: from pagan times to the Ottoman conquest, Westview Press, 1976, p. 67.Tom Winnifrith, Badlands, Borderlands: A History of Northern Epirus/Southern Albania, Duckworth, 2002, p. 83. the couple had four sons, David, Moses, Aron, and Samuel, who are collectively known as the Cometopuli (from Greek Kometopouloi, "sons of the komes"; Armenian կոմսաձագ Komsajagk). Sometime in the 970s—the exact date is unclear and disputed—the brothers launched a successful rebellion against the Byzantine Empire, that had recently subdued Bulgaria; after the early death of his brothers, Samuel remained as the undisputed leader of Bulgaria, ruling as Tsar from 996 until his death in 1014.
Other than that, nothing is known of Nicholas. He may have ruled Serdica or, according to other sources, was a local count in the region of the modern North Macedonia.Southeastern Europe in the early Middle Ages. Florin Curta. page 241 The family appanage was located above the village of Palatovo, according to legend and a number of archeological data in the neighborhood. Interview with Georgi Georgiev, historian from Dupnitsa
In 992/3, Samuel erected at German, near Lake Prespa, an inscription commemorating his parents and his brother David.
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