Vinekh ascends the Bulgarian throne after the defeat of his predecessor Kormisosh by the Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine V, which has led some scholars to assume that he was an usurper.
Around 756 Constantine V campaigns against Bulgaria by land and sea, and defeats the Bulgarian army led by Vinekh at Marcellae (Karnobat).
The defeated monarch sues for peace and undertakes to send his own children as hostages.