He led an army against Dyrrhachium (present-day Durrës, in Albania) and besieged it, but was killed during a counterattack of the city’s defenders.
Within months after Vladislav’s death most of his realm was subjugated by the Byzantine emperor Basil II, with the last independent region (Sirmium) subdued in 1019.
In the year that followed, tsar Gavril Radomir, Samuel’s son and heir, was killed by his cousin, Ivan Vladislav, at the instigation of the Byzantine emperor.
The new Bulgarian ruler negotiated a brief peace as he promised to submit to Basil II in return for the control over Dyrrhachium.
While Vladislav attacked Dyrrhachium, Basil II captured his capital Ohrid, but later, as a result of the Battle of Bitola, was forced to abandon it.