1.
Pomorie
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Pomorie is a town and seaside resort in southeastern Bulgaria, located on a narrow rocky peninsula in Burgas Bay on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is situated in Burgas Province,20 km away from the city of Burgas and 18 km from the Sunny Beach resort, the ultrasaline lagoon Lake Pomorie, the northernmost of the Burgas Lakes, lies in the immediate proximity. The town is the centre of the eponymous Pomorie Municipality. Pomorie is an ancient city and today an important tourist destination, as of December 2009, it has a population of 13,569 inhabitants. Pomorie was founded by the Ancient Greeks under the name Anchialos, deriving from Ancient Greek anchi-, in Latin, this was rendered as Anchialus. The Bulgars called the town Tuthom, though its common name in Bulgarian was Анхиало. During the Ottoman rule, the town was called Ahyolu, in 1934 the town was renamed to Pomorie, from the Bulgarian po- and more, corresponding to one of the two etymologies of the original Greek name. Possibly founded in the 5th or 4th century BC as a colony of Apollonia and it was briefly captured by Messembria in the 2nd century BC, but reconquered by Apollonia and its fortified walls destroyed. The western Black Sea coast was conquered by the Romans under Marcus Licinius Crassus in 29-28 BC after continuous campaigns in the area since 72-71. The fortified wall was rebuilt, as evidenced by Ovid in 9 AD en route to Tomis. As the Odrysian kingdoms self-independence was abolished in 45 AD, Anchialos became part of the Roman province of Thrace and was proclaimed a city under Emperor Trajan. Anchialos acquired the appearance of a Roman city and throve in the 2nd and 3rd century under the Severan Dynasty, serving as the most important import and export station of Thrace. However, the invasion of tribes from the north meant an end to this prosperity in the middle of the 3rd century. Diocletian stayed in the city between 28 and 30 October 294 and his and Constantine the Greats reforms restored the citys prosperity for a while, as the proximity to the new capital of Constantinople made Anchialos a key food supply centre. Theodoric the Great passed through the city in 476 on the way to Adrianople, the bishopric of Anchialus was originally a suffragan of the metropolitan see of Hadrianopolis in Haemimonto, capital of the Roman province of Haemimontus. The first bishop of the see whose name is known is 2nd-century Sotas, timotheus was at the Council of Sardica in 343/344. Sebastianus was one of the bishops at the First Council of Constantinople of 381, sabbatius was a signatory of the decree of the Patriarch of Constantinople against simoniacs in 459. Paulus was at the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, jacobus was a contemporary of Patriarch Tarasios of Constantinople
2.
First Bulgarian Empire
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The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state that existed in southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded circa 681 when Bulgar tribes led by Asparukh moved to the north-eastern Balkans, there they secured Byzantine recognition of their right to settle south of the Danube by defeating – possibly with the help of local South Slavic tribes – the Byzantine army led by Constantine IV. At the height of its power, Bulgaria spread from the Danube Bend to the Black Sea, as the state solidified its position in the Balkans, it entered into a centuries-long interaction, sometimes friendly and sometimes hostile, with the Byzantine Empire. Bulgaria emerged as Byzantiums chief antagonist to its north, resulting in several wars, Byzantium had a strong cultural influence on Bulgaria, which also led to the eventual adoption of Christianity in 864. After the disintegration of the Avar Khaganate, the country expanded its territory northwest to the Pannonian Plain, later the Bulgarians confronted the advance of the Pechenegs and Cumans, and achieved a decisive victory over the Magyars, forcing them to establish themselves permanently in Pannonia. During the late 9th and early 10th centuries, Simeon I achieved a string of victories over the Byzantines, thereafter, he was recognized with the title of Emperor, and proceeded to expand the state to its greatest extent. After the annihilation of the Byzantine army in the battle of Anchialus in 917, the Byzantines, however, eventually recovered, and in 1014, under Basil II, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Bulgarians at the Battle of Kleidion. By 1018, the last Bulgarian strongholds had surrendered to the Byzantine Empire, and it was succeeded by the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1185. After the adoption of Christianity, Bulgaria became the center of Slavic Europe. Old Bulgarian became the lingua franca of much of Eastern Europe, in 927, the fully independent Bulgarian Patriarchate was officially recognized. The Bulgars and other tribes in the empire gradually adopted an essentially foreign Slavic language. Since the late 9th century, the names Bulgarians and Bulgarian gained prevalence and became permanent designations for the local population, the First Bulgarian Empire became known simply as Bulgaria since its recognition by the Byzantine Empire in 681. Some historians use the terms Danube Bulgaria, First Bulgarian State, during its early existence, the country was also called the Bulgar state or Bulgar qaghanate. Between 864 and 917/927, the country was known as the Principality of Bulgaria or Knyazhestvo Bulgaria, in English language sources, the country is often known as the Bulgarian Empire. The eastern Balkan Peninsula was originally inhabited by the Thracians who were a group of Proto-Indo-European tribes, the whole region as far north as the Danube River was gradually incorporated into the Roman Empire by the 1st century AD. The decline of the Roman Empire after the 3rd century AD, nonetheless, it never relinquished the claim to the whole region up to the Danube. A series of administrative, legislative, military and economic reforms somewhat improved the situation, the group of Slavs that came to be known as the South Slavs was divided into Antes and Sclaveni who spoke the same language. The Slavic incursions in the Balkans increased during the half of Justinian Is reign and while these were initially pillaging raids
3.
Byzantine Empire
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It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
4.
Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria
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Sviatoslavs invasion of Bulgaria refers to a conflict beginning in 967/968 and ending in 971, carried out in the eastern Balkans, and involving the Kievan Rus, Bulgaria, and the Byzantine Empire. The allies then turned against each other, and the military confrontation ended with a Byzantine victory. The Rus withdrew and eastern Bulgaria was incorporated into the Byzantine Empire, in 927, a peace treaty had been signed between Bulgaria and Byzantium, ending many years of warfare and establishing forty years of peace. By 965/966, the warlike new Byzantine emperor Nikephoros II Phokas refused to renew the annual tribute that was part of the peace agreement, preoccupied with his campaigns in the East, Nikephoros resolved to fight the war by proxy and invited the Rus ruler Sviatoslav to invade Bulgaria. Sviatoslavs subsequent campaign greatly exceeded the expectations of the Byzantines, who had regarded him only as a means to diplomatic pressure on the Bulgarians. The Rus prince conquered the regions of the Bulgarian state in the northeastern Balkans in 967–969, seized the Bulgarian tsar Boris II. Sviatoslav intended to continue his drive south against Byzantium itself, which in turn regarded the establishment of a new and powerful Russo-Bulgarian state in the Balkans with great concern. After stopping a Rus advance through Thrace at the Battle of Arcadiopolis in 970, the Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes led an army north into Bulgaria in 971 and captured Preslav, the capital. After a three-month siege of the fortress of Dorostolon, Sviatoslav agreed to terms with the Byzantines, Tzimiskes formally annexed Eastern Bulgaria to the Byzantine Empire. The early decades of the century were dominated by Tsar Simeon, Simeons death in May 927 was soon followed by a rapprochement between the two powers, formalized with a treaty and a marriage alliance later that same year. Simeons second son and successor, Peter I, married Maria, the granddaughter of the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos, an annual tribute was agreed to be paid to the Bulgarian ruler in exchange for peace. The agreement was kept for almost forty years as peaceful relations suited both sides, Bulgaria, despite the barrier formed by the Danube, was still menaced in its northern reaches by steppe peoples, the Magyars and the Pechenegs. They launched raids throughout Bulgaria, occasionally reaching Byzantine territory as well, the Byzantine–Bulgarian peace nevertheless meant less trouble from the north, as many Pecheneg raids had been sponsored by the Byzantines. Peters reign, although lacking the military splendour of Simeons, was still a golden age for Bulgaria, with a flourishing economy, at the same time, military reforms created a much more effective and offensively-oriented army. The Byzantines did not neglect the Balkans, working steadily to improve their contacts with the peoples of central and eastern Europe, upon the sudden death of Emperor Romanos II in 963, Nikephoros Phokas usurped the throne from Romanos infant sons and became senior emperor as Nikephoros II. Nikephoros, a prominent member of the Anatolian military aristocracy, also focused mostly on the East, leading his army personally in campaigns that recovered Cyprus, thus things stood when a Bulgarian embassy visited Nikephoros in late 965 or early 966 to collect the tribute owed. He had the envoys beaten and sent them home with threats and insults and he proceeded with his troops to Thrace, where he staged an elaborate parade as a display of military strength and sacked a few Bulgarian border forts. Nikephoros decision to effect a breach of relations with Bulgaria was also in response to the recent treaty that Peter I had signed with the Magyars
5.
Uprising of Peter Delyan
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The Uprising of Peter Delyan, which took place in 1040–1041, was a major Bulgarian rebellion against the Byzantine Empire. It was the largest and best-organised attempt to restore the former Bulgarian Empire until the rebellion of Ivan Asen I, after Byzantine troops conquered Bulgaria in 1018, Basil II wisely decided not to change the Bulgarian taxation system in order to placate the population. Although the Bulgarian Patriarchate was downgraded to Archbishopric, its head remained an ethnic Bulgarian till Basil IIs death in 1025, under the rule of Emperor Romanos III the population was forced to pay its taxes in coin rather than in goods-in-kind, which caused poverty and widespread unrest. In 1040, Peter Delyan, who claimed to be a descendant of Samuil of Bulgaria escaped from Constantinople and began roaming throughout the Bulgarian lands, eventually reaching Morava and Belgrade. The rebellion broke out in Belgrade, where Delyan was proclaimed Emperor of Bulgaria assuming the name of the sainted Emperor Peter I, the Bulgarians moved southwards towards the last political centres of their Empire, Ohrid and Skopje. On their way the population joined them, accepted Peter Delyan for its Emperor. In the same time local Bulgarians from the Dyrrhachium area gathered around the soldier Tihomir, the existence of two separate rebel camps became an actual threat for the success of the rebellion. He deliberately used the parrots because the two used to be the coat-of-arms of the Comitopuli House. As he had greater influence than his rival, Delyan was unanimously chosen as leader, with his enlarged army Petar II advanced to the south, surprised and defeated the Byzantine Emperor Michael IV the Paphlagonian at Thessaloniki taking his treasury. One of Michaels commanders the Bulgarian Manuel Ivats, probably a son of Samuils boyar Ivats joined Peter II, after the victory the Bulgarian troops under the voivoda Kavkan captured Dyrrachium on the Adriatic Sea and some forces penetrated deep into Thessaly eventually reaching Corinth. Albania, Epirus and most of Macedonia were conquered, another Bulgarian army led by Antim marched deep to the south and defeated the Byzantine commander Alakaseus in the battle of Thebes in Boeotia. Upon the news of the Bulgarian success the Byzantine population of Athens, the decisive actions of the rebels caused serious anxiety in Constantinople where plans for crushing the rebellion were hastily discussed. Soon the news for the Bulgarian uprising reached Armenia, where the descendents of the last Bulgarian Emperors were deported, the most respected of them was the son of the last Emperor Ivan Vladislav, Alusian. Disguised as a mercenary he reached Constantinople and despite the security measures managed to go to Bulgaria in September 1040. The appearance of a new pretendent for the throne meant new tensions among the rebels, in the beginning Alusian did not dare to reveal his origin but tried to find devoted supporters of his kin. He proved his claims with a spot on his right elbow. Petar II Delyan warmly welcomed his cousin although he knew that Alusian might be a candidate for the crown. He gave him a 40,000 strong army to seize Thessaloniki but he failed, the defeat cost 15,000 dead and Alusian fled from the battle field leaving his arms and armour
6.
Second Bulgarian Empire
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The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1396. It was succeeded by the Principality and later Kingdom of Bulgaria in 1878, until 1256, the Second Bulgarian Empire was the dominant power in the Balkans, defeating the Byzantine Empire in several major battles. In 1205 Emperor Kaloyan defeated the newly established Latin Empire in the Battle of Adrianople and his nephew Ivan Asen II defeated the Despotate of Epiros and made Bulgaria a regional power again. During his reign, Bulgaria spread from the Adriatic to the Black Sea, in the late 13th century, however, the Empire declined under constant invasions by Mongols, Byzantines, Hungarians, and Serbs, as well as internal unrest and revolts. The 14th century saw a recovery and stability, but also the peak of Balkan feudalism as central authorities gradually lost power in many regions. Bulgaria was divided into three parts on the eve of the Ottoman invasion, despite strong Byzantine influence, Bulgarian artists and architects created their own distinctive style. In the 14th century, during the known as the Second Golden Age of Bulgarian culture, literature. The capital city Tarnovo, which was considered a New Constantinople, became the main cultural hub. The name most frequently used for the empire by contemporaries was Bulgaria, during Kaloyans reign, the state was sometimes known as being of both Bulgarians and Vlachs. Pope Innocent III and other such as the Latin Emperor Henry mentioned the state as Bulgaria. In modern historiography, the state is called the Second Bulgarian Empire, Second Bulgarian Tsardom, the existing tax system, laws, and the power of low-ranking nobility remained unchanged until his death in 1025. The autocephalous Bulgarian Patriarchate was subordinated to the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople and downgraded to an archbishopric centred in Ohrid, while retaining its autonomy, Basil appointed the Bulgarian John I Debranin as its first archbishop, but his successors were Byzantines. The Bulgarian aristocracy and tsars relatives were given various Byzantine titles, despite hardships, the Bulgarian language, literature, and culture survived, surviving period texts refer to and idealize the Bulgarian Empire. Most of the conquered territories were included in the themes Bulgaria, Sirmium. The initial centre of the resistance was the theme of Bulgaria, in what is now Macedonia, where the massive Uprising of Peter Delyan, both were quelled with great difficulty by Byzantine authorities. These were followed by rebellions in Paristrion and Thrace, the disastrous rule of the last Comnenian emperor Andronikos I worsened the situation of the Bulgarian peasantry and nobility. The first act of his successor Isaac II Angelos was to impose a tax to finance his wedding. In 1185, two brothers from Tarnovo, Theodore and Asen, asked the emperor to enlist them into the army and grant them land
7.
Hungarian invasions of Europe
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The westward raids were stopped only with the Magyar defeat of the Battle of Lechfeld of 955, which led to a new political order in Western Europe centered on the Holy Roman Empire. Georgius Monachus work mentions that around 837 the Bulgarian Empire sought an alliance with the Hungarians, constantine Porphyrogenitus wrote in his work On Administering the Empire that the Khagan and the Bek of the Khazars asked the Emperor Teophilos to have the fortress of Sarkel built for them. In the 10th century, Ahmad ibn Rustah wrote that earlier, in 860–861, Hungarian soldiers attacked Saint Cyrils convoy but the meeting is said to have ended peacefully. Saint Cyril was traveling to the Khagan at Chersonesos Taurica, which had captured by the Khazars. Muslim geographers recorded that the Magyars regularly attacked the neighboring East Slavic tribes, there is some information about Hungarian raids into the eastern Carolingian Empire in 862. In 881, the Hungarians and the Kabars invaded East Francia, in 892, according to the Annales Fuldenses, King Arnulf of East Francia invaded Great Moravia and the Magyars joined his troops. After 893, Magyar troops were conveyed across the Danube by the Byzantine fleet, in 894, the Magyars invaded Pannonia in alliance with King Svatopluk I of Moravia. Around 896, probably under the leadership of Árpád, the Hungarians crossed the Carpathians, in 899, these Magyars defeated Berengars army in the Battle of Brenta River and invaded the northern regions of Italy. They pillaged the countryside around Treviso, Vicenza, Verona, Brescia, Bergamo and they also defeated Braslav, Duke of Lower Pannonia. In 901, they attacked Italy again, in 902, they led a campaign against northern Moravia and defeated the Moravians whose country was annihilated. Almost every year after 900 they conducted raids against the Catholic west, in 905, the Magyars and King Berengar formed an amicitia, and fifteen years passed without Hungarian troops entering Italy. The Magyars defeated no fewer than three large Frankish imperial armies between 907 and 910, as follows, in 907 they defeated the invading Bavarians near Brezalauspurc, destroying their army, successfully defending Hungary and laying Great Moravia, Germany, France and Italy open to Magyar raids. On 3 August 908 the Hungarians won the battle of Eisenach, Egino, Duke of Thuringia was killed, along with Burchard, Duke of Thuringia and Rudolf I, Bishop of Würzburg. The Magyars defeated Louis the Childs united Frankish Imperial Army at the first Battle of Lechfeld in 910, smaller units penetrated as far as Bremen in 915. In 919, after the death of Conrad I of Germany, in 921, they defeated King Berengars enemies at Verona and reached Apulia in 922. Between 917 and 925, the Magyars raided through Basel, Alsace, Burgundy, Provence, in 926, they ravaged Swabia and Alsace, campaigned through present-day Luxembourg and reached as far as the Atlantic Ocean. In 927, Peter, brother of Pope John X, called on the Magyars to rule Italy and they marched into Rome and imposed large tribute payments on Tuscany and Tarento. In 933, a substantial Magyar army appeared in Saxony but was defeated by Henry I at Merseburg, Magyar attacks continued against Upper Burgundy and against Saxony
8.
Battle of Pressburg
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This battle is considered one of the most significant battles in the History of Hungary, and marks the conclusion of the Hungarian conquest. Despite being written 600 years after the events, it is based on manuscripts written at the time of the battle and this started a war between the Hungarians and Germans that lasted until 910. Prior to the Battle of Pressburg, most fighting was between the Hungarians and the Bavarians, with the exception of the Hungarian campaign in Saxony of 906, after losing Pannonia, Luitpold, Margrave of Baveria allied with Bavarias former enemy Mojmir II of Moravia. In 902 the Hungarian armies, probably led by Kurszán, defeated Great Moravia and this interrupted Bavarias trade routes to Northern and Eastern Europe. This was a blow and was one of the reasons that caused Luitpold to believe a campaign against the Hungarians was necessary. He also could not reconcile the loss of Bavarian control over Pannonia, Moravia and Bohemia, several events strengthened Luitpolds resolve to start a campaign against the Hungarians. During the last Hungarian attacks against Bavaria, Luitpolds forces defeated some of their units in battles, including Laibach. In 904, the Bavarians assassinated Kurszán after feigning a desire for a treaty to which they invited him to negotiate. After these setbacks, for a time the Hungarians did not attack Bavaria and these events and the belief the Hungarians were afraid of his forces convinced Luitpold the time was right to expel the Hungarians from the territories formerly belonging to Bavaria. The nominal leader of the Bavarian army was Louis the Child, since he was under the age of majority, the actual commander was Luitpold. An experienced military leader, Luitpold successfully fought the Moravians and achieved some success against raiding Hungarian units. Many historians believe the commander of the Hungarian forces was Árpád, Grand Prince of the Hungarians and it is more likely they were led by the same unknown, but brilliant commander who led them during the battles of Brenta, Eisenach, Rednitz and Augsburg. These battles, part of the Hungarian invasions of Europe, were their greatest triumphs and this conclusion is supported by analysis of these battles using existing sources. Despite this feat, some claim the Hungarians lost this battle. After 933 it becomes clear the Hungarians no longer had the great, another example that shows how the previous leadership was lacking is the Battle of Lechfeld. The Hungarian commanders, Bulcsú and Lél, did not maintain discipline, after the successful counterattack resulted in their defeat, the commanders could not prevent their troops from fleeing and dispersing. The German troops and inhabitants captured the fleeing Hungarian troops and executed them by hanging in Regensburg and these defeats were caused by the loss of military discipline and the Hungarian commanders lack of authority and competence. The commanders resorted to measures to motivate the soldiers to fight, for example during the Siege of Augsburg in 955
9.
Battle of Kleidion
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The Battle of Kleidion took place on July 29,1014 between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire. It was the culmination of the nearly half-century struggle between the Byzantine Emperor Basil II and the Bulgarian Emperor Samuil in the late 10th and early 11th centuries, the result was a decisive Byzantine victory. The battle took place in the valley between the mountains of Belasitsa and Ograzhden near the modern Bulgarian village of Klyuch, the decisive encounter occurred on July 29 with an attack in the rear by a force under the Byzantine general Nikephoros Xiphias, who had infiltrated the Bulgarian positions. The ensuing battle was a defeat for the Bulgarians. Bulgarian soldiers were captured and reputedly blinded by order of Basil II, Samuel survived the battle, but died two months later from a heart attack, reportedly brought on by the sight of his blind soldiers. The heirs of Samuel could not subsequently hold off the Byzantine advance, the origins of the conflict date back to the 7th century, when the Bulgars under Khan Asparukh established a state along the Danube in one of the provinces of the Eastern Roman Empire. As a result, the Bulgarian state was forced to fight a series of wars with Byzantium in order to secure its continued existence, in 968, Bulgaria was invaded from the north by the Kievan Prince Sviatoslav. By that time, the Bulgarian Empire, which had threatened the existence of Byzantium under the reign of Simeon, had lost much of its power. This war had resulted in the Bulgarian Emperor Boris II being forced to renounce his Imperial title in Constantinople, when the Byzantine emperor Basil II ascended the throne in 976, he made the destruction of independent Bulgaria his first ambition. Opposing him were the Western Bulgarians, now led by Samuel of Bulgaria, Basil IIs first campaign was disastrous, the emperor barely escaping with his life when the Bulgarians annihilated the Byzantine army in the Gates of Trajan Pass in 986. However, his invasion of southern Greece, that reached as far as Corinth, the next phase of the war began in 1000, when Basil, having secured his own position, launched a series of offensives against Bulgaria. He secured Moesia, and in 1003, his forces took Vidin, the next year, Basil inflicted a heavy defeat on Samuel in the Battle of Skopie. By 1005, Basil had regained control of Thessaly and parts of southern Macedonia, despite some successes, these did not achieve any permanent results, nor did they force Basil to abandon his campaigns in Bulgaria. In the words of Byzantine historian John Skylitzes, The Emperor Basil II continued to invade Bulgaria each year and destroy, Samuel could not stop him in the open field or engage the Emperor in a decisive battle, and suffered many defeats and began to lose his strength. The culmination of the war came in 1014, when Samuel, at the head of his army, Samuel knew that the Byzantine army would have to invade the country through a series of mountain passes, and so took precautions to bar them. Samuel heavily fortified the slopes of the Belasitsa mountain to the south. The wide valley of the Strumitsa River was a convenient place for attack, the Bulgarians disposed a strong guard to keep the pass safe. In addition, the Bulgarian ruler chose Strumitsa for his defensive base — it was located on the road from Thessaloniki leading to Thrace to the east, the rugged terrain to the south was dotted with earthworks and walls guarded by strong Bulgarian units
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