1.
Silistra
–
Silistra is a port city in northeastern Bulgaria. The city lies on the bank of the lower Danube river. Silistra is the center of the Silistra Province and one of the important cities of the historical region of Southern Dobrudzha. Silistra is a cultural, industrial, transportation, and educational center of northeastern Bulgaria. There are many landmarks including a richly-decorated Late Roman tomb, remains of the Medieval fortress, an Ottoman fort. The name Silistra is possibly derived from the root of the old Thracian name of the part of the Danube Istrum. By another theory, the name comes from the Latin words silo and stra, meaning awl. Silistra is in the part of Bulgaria on the southern bank of the Danube River. It is located in the Bulgarian part of Dobrudzha, the municipality of Silistra covers an area of 516 km2 and includes the city and 18 villages. The area of the city-proper is 27.159 km2, Silistra is 431 km from Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria,141 km from Varna, and 119 km from Ruse. The Romans built a fortress in AD29 on the site of an earlier Thracian settlement and kept its name, the earliest saints of Bulgaria are Roman soldiers executed at Durostorum during the Diocletian Persecution, including St. Dasius and St. Julius the Veteran. Durostorum became an important military center of the Roman province of Moesia, in 388, Durostorum became the seat of a Christian bishopric and a center of Christianity in the region. Roman general Flavius Aëtius was born in the town in 396, after the Roman Empire split into the Eastern and Western empires, the town became part of the Byzantine Empire. As part of the Bulgarian Empire Durostolon was known as Drastar in Medieval times, around the end of the 7th century, the town was incorporated into the First Bulgarian Empire and the bishop of Drastar was proclaimed the first patriarch of Bulgaria. In 895, the Hungarians, allies of the Byzantines, besieged the Bulgarian army under the command of Simeon I the Great in the fortress of the town but were repulsed. The next year the Hungarians were decisively defeated in the battle of Southern Buh, the town was captured by the forces of Sviatoslav I of Kiev in 969, but two years later it was taken by the Byzantines during the Battle of Dorostolon. It was renamed Theodoropolis, after military saint Theodore Stratelates, who is said to have come to the aid of Emperor John I Tzimiskes during the battle. In 976, Tsar Samuel restored Bulgarian rule in the region until 1001, in 1186, after the Rebellion of Asen and Peter, the town became part of the Second Bulgarian Empire and renamed Drastar
2.
Bulgaria
–
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, with a territory of 110,994 square kilometres, Bulgaria is Europes 16th-largest country. Organised prehistoric cultures began developing on current Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period and its ancient history saw the presence of the Thracians, Greeks, Persians, Celts, Romans, Goths, Alans and Huns. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for five centuries. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 led to the formation of the Third Bulgarian State, the following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both world wars. In 1946 it became a one-party socialist state as part of the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc, in December 1989 the ruling Communist Party allowed multi-party elections, which subsequently led to Bulgarias transition into a democracy and a market-based economy. Bulgarias population of 7.2 million people is predominantly urbanised, most commercial and cultural activities are centred on the capital and largest city, Sofia. The strongest sectors of the economy are industry, power engineering. The countrys current political structure dates to the adoption of a constitution in 1991. Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic with a high degree of political, administrative. Human activity in the lands of modern Bulgaria can be traced back to the Paleolithic, animal bones incised with man-made markings from Kozarnika cave are assumed to be the earliest examples of symbolic behaviour in humans. Organised prehistoric societies in Bulgarian lands include the Neolithic Hamangia culture, Vinča culture, the latter is credited with inventing gold working and exploitation. Some of these first gold smelters produced the coins, weapons and jewellery of the Varna Necropolis treasure and this site also offers insights for understanding the social hierarchy of the earliest European societies. Thracians, one of the three primary groups of modern Bulgarians, began appearing in the region during the Iron Age. In the late 6th century BC, the Persians conquered most of present-day Bulgaria, and kept it until 479 BC. After the division of the Roman Empire in the 5th century the area fell under Byzantine control, by this time, Christianity had already spread in the region. A small Gothic community in Nicopolis ad Istrum produced the first Germanic language book in the 4th century, the first Christian monastery in Europe was established around the same time by Saint Athanasius in central Bulgaria. From the 6th century the easternmost South Slavs gradually settled in the region, in 680 Bulgar tribes under the leadership of Asparukh moved south across the Danube and settled in the area between the lower Danube and the Balkan, establishing their capital at Pliska
3.
Byzantine
–
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.
Byzantine Empire
–
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
5.
Kievan Rus'
–
Kievan Rus was a loose federation of East Slavic tribes in Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century, under the reign of the Rurik dynasty. The modern peoples of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia all claim Kievan Rus as their cultural ancestors, according to Russian historiography the first ruler to start uniting East Slavic lands into what has become known as Kievan Rus was Prince Oleg. He extended his control from Novgorod south along the Dnieper river valley to protect trade from Khazar incursions from the east, Sviatoslav I achieved the first major expansion of Kievan Rus territorial control, fighting a war of conquest against the Khazars. Vladimir the Great introduced Christianity with his own baptism and, by decree, extended it to all inhabitants of Kiev and beyond. Kievan Rus reached its greatest extent under Yaroslav the Wise, his sons assembled and issued its first written legal code, the state declined beginning in the late 11th century and during the 12th century, disintegrating into various rival regional powers. The state finally fell to the Mongol invasion of the 1240s. During its existence, Kievan Rus was known as the land of the Rus, in Greek as Ῥωσία, in Old French as Russie, Rossie, in Latin as Russia, and from the 12th century also Ruthenia. Various etymologies have been proposed, including Ruotsi, the Finnish designation for Sweden, and Ros, the term Kievan Rus was coined in the 19th century in Russian historiography to refer to the period when the centre was in Kiev. Later, the Russian term was rendered into Belarusian and Ukrainian as Кіеўская Русь Kijeŭskaja Rus’ and Ки́ївська Русь Kyivska Rus’, prior to the emergence of Kievan Rus in the 9th century AD, the lands between the Baltic Sea and Black Sea were primarily populated by eastern Slavic tribes. In the northern region around Novgorod were the Ilmen Slavs and neighboring Krivichi, who occupied territories surrounding the headwaters of the West Dvina, Dnieper, to their north, in the Ladoga and Karelia regions, were the Finnic Chud tribe. In the south, in the area around Kiev, were the Poliane, a group of Slavicized tribes with Iranian origins, the Drevliane to the west of the Dnieper, and the Severiane to the east. To their north and east were the Vyatichi, and to their south was forested land settled by Slav farmers, controversy persists over whether the Rus’ were Varangians or Slavs. This uncertainty is due largely to a paucity of contemporary sources, attempts to address this question instead rely on archaeological evidence, the accounts of foreign observers, legends and literature from centuries later. To some extent the controversy is related to the myths of modern states in the region. According to the Normanist view, the Rus were Scandinavians, while Russian and Ukrainian nationalist historians generally argue that the Rus were themselves Slavs. Normanist theories focus on the earliest written source for the East Slavs, nevertheless, archaeological evidence from the area suggests that a Scandinavian population was present during the 10th century at the latest. On balance, it likely that the Rus proper were a small minority of Scandinavians who formed an elite ruling class. Liutprand of Cremona, who was twice an envoy to the Byzantine court, identifies the Russi with the Norse, leo the Deacon, a 10th-century Byzantine historian and chronicler, refers to the Rus as Scythians and notes that they tended to adopt Greek rituals and customs
6.
John I Tzimisces
–
John I Tzimiskes was the senior Byzantine Emperor from 11 December 969 to 10 January 976. An intuitive and successful general, he strengthened the Empire and expanded its borders during his short reign, John I Tzimiskes was born into the Kourkouas clan, a family of Armenian origin. Scholars have speculated that his nickname Tzimiskes was derived either from the Armenian Chmushkik, meaning red boot, or from an Armenian word for short stature. A more favorable explanation is offered by the medieval Armenian historian Matthew of Edessa, Khozan was located in the region of Paghnatun, in the Byzantine province of Fourth Armenia. Tzimiskes was born sometime in 925 to a member of the Kourkouas family. Both the Kourkouai and the Phokadai were distinguished Cappadocian families, several of their members had served as prominent army generals, most notably the great John Kourkouas, who conquered Melitene and much of Armenia. Contemporary sources describe Tzimiskes as a short but well-built man, with reddish blonde hair and beard. He seems to have joined the army at an early age, the latter is also considered his instructor in the art of war. Partly because of his connections and partly because of his personal abilities, Tzimiskes quickly rose through the ranks. He was given the political and military command of the theme of Armenia before he turned twenty-five years old and his marriage to Maria Skleraina, daughter of Pantherios Skleros and sister of Bardas Skleros, linked him to the influential family of the Skleroi. Little is known about her, she died before his rise to the throne, the contemporary historian Leo the Deacon remarks that she excelled in both beauty and wisdom. The Byzantine Empire was at war with its neighbors, the various autonomous and semi-autonomous emirates emerging from the break-up of the Abbasid Caliphate. The most prominent among them was the Hamdanid Emirate of Aleppo, Armenia served as the borderland between the two Empires, and Tzimiskes successfully defended his province. He and his troops joined the part of the army. Nikephoros justified his name with a series of victories, moving the borders further east with the capture of about 60 border cities including Aleppo, by 962 the Hamdanids had sued for peace with favorable terms for the Byzantines, securing the eastern border of the Empire for some years. Tzimiskes distinguished himself during the war both at the side of his uncle and at leading parts of the army to battle under his personal command and he was rather popular with his troops and gained a reputation for taking the initiative during battles, turning their course. On the death of Emperor Romanos II in 963, Tzimiskes urged his uncle to seize the throne, to solidify his position, Tzimiskes married Theodora, a daughter of Emperor Constantine VII. He proceeded to justify his usurpation by repelling the invaders of the Empire
7.
Svyatoslav I of Kiev
–
He also conquered numerous East Slavic tribes, defeated the Alans and attacked the Volga Bulgars, and at times was allied with the Pechenegs and Magyars. His decade-long reign over the Kievan Rus was marked by expansion into the Volga River valley, the Pontic steppe. By the end of his life, Sviatoslav carved out for himself the largest state in Europe. In contrast with his mothers conversion to Christianity, Sviatoslav remained a pagan all of his life. The Primary Chronicle records Sviatoslav as the first ruler of the Kievan Rus with a name of Slavic origin, the name Sviatoslav, however, is not recorded in other medieval Slavic countries. Nevertheless, Sveinald is the Old East Norse cognate with the Slavic form as attested in the Old East Norse patronymic of Sviatoslavs son Vladimir and this patronymic naming convention continues in Icelandic and in East Slavic languages. Even in Rus, it was attested only among the members of the house of Rurik, as were the names of Sviatoslavs immediate successors, Vladimir, Yaroslav, and Mstislav. Some scholars see the name of Sviatoslav, composed of the Slavic roots for holy and glory, as an artificial derivation combining the names of his predecessors Oleg, virtually nothing is known about Sviatoslavs childhood and youth, which he spent reigning in Novgorod. Sviatoslavs father, Igor, was killed by the Drevlians around 945, Sviatoslav was tutored by a Varangian named Asmud. The tradition of employing Varangian tutors for the sons of ruling princes survived well into the 11th century, Sviatoslav appears to have had little patience for administration. His life was spent with his druzhina in permanent warfare against neighboring states, nor did he have a tent, rather spreading out a horse-blanket under him and setting his saddle under his head, and all his retinue did likewise. Sviatoslavs appearance has been described very clearly by Leo the Deacon, following Deacons memories, Sviatoslav was a blue-eyed male of average height but of stalwart build, much more sturdy than Tzimiskes. He shaved his head and his beard but wore a bushy mustache. He preferred to dress in white, and it was noted that his garments were much cleaner than those of his men and he wore a single large gold earring bearing a carbuncle and two pearls. Sviatoslavs mother, Olga, converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity at the court of Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus in 957, however, Sviatoslav remained a pagan all of his life. In the treaty of 971 between Sviatoslav and the Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes, the Rus are swearing by Perun, according to the Primary Chronicle, he believed that his warriors would lose respect for him and mock him if he became a Christian. The allegiance of his warriors was of paramount importance in his conquest of an empire that stretched from the Volga to the Danube, very little is known of Sviatoslavs family life. It is possible that he was not the son of his parents
8.
Battle of Ongal
–
The Battle of Ongal took place in the summer of 680 in the Ongal area, an unspecified location in around the Danube delta near the Peuce Island, present-day Tulcea County, Romania. The battle had a significance and influence not only for Balkan. In 632, Khan Kubrat united the Bulgars into the state of Old Great Bulgaria in Patria Onoguria along the coasts of the Black Sea, after his death in the 660s his sons divided his kingdom amongst themselves. The third and fourth sons Isperih and Kuber marched westward and settled in the Ongal area on the banks of the Danube. Eventually the Avars fought back and after Isperih consolidated his rule they launched an attack against the Byzantine lands to the south, during that time Byzantium was at war with the Arabs who had recently besieged the capital Constantinople. However, in 680 the Byzantines defeated the Arabs and concluded a peace treaty, after this success the emperor Constantine IV was free to move against the Bulgars and led an army against Isperih. In the meantime the Bulgarian leader made an alliance with the Seven Slavic tribes for protection against the Byzantines. The Bulgars had built wooden ramparts in the area near the Peuce Island. The marshes forced the Byzantines to attack from a position and in smaller groups. With continuing attacks from the ramparts, the Bulgar defense eventually forced the Byzantines into a rout, many of the Byzantine soldiers perished. According to popular belief, the emperor had leg pain and went to Nessebar to seek treatment, the troops thought that he fled the battlefield and in turn began fleeing. When the Bulgars realised what was happening, they attacked and defeated their discouraged enemy, after the victory, the Bulgars advanced south and seized the lands to the north of Stara Planina. In 681 they invaded Thrace defeating the Byzantines again, Constantine IV found himself in a dead-lock and asked for peace. It became a cultural and spiritual centre of Slavic Europe through most of the Middle Ages, Ongal Peak in Tangra Mountains on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named for the historical Ongal area. Атанас Пейчев и колектив,1300 години на стража, Военно издателство, Йордан Андреев, Милчо Лалков, Българските ханове и царе, Велико Търново,1996. Пламен Павлов, Историята - далечна и близка, Велико Търново,2010
9.
Battle of Anchialus (708)
–
The Battle of Anchialus occurred in 708 near the town of Pomorie, Bulgaria 42°33′N 27°39′E. In 705, the Bulgarian Khan Tervel helped the ex-emperor of Byzantium, to show his gratitude, Justinian gave the Bulgarians an enormous quantity of gold, silver and silk as well as the Zagore area, located between Stara Zagora, Sliven and the Black Sea. Three years later, Justinian II considered himself strong enough to invade Bulgaria, the Byzantines reached the Anchialus fortress and set their camp there unaware of the fact that the Bulgarian army was in the vicinity. While the invaders were gathering food, Tervel and his cavalry charged the outermost Byzantine troops, in the same time the infantry attacked the camp. The Byzantines were surprised and confused, most of them perished in the battle or were captured as well as many horses, the emperor was one of the very few who managed to reach the fortress and escaped to Constantinople on a ship. The Bulgarians secured the new territorial gains for centuries, Атанас Пейчев и колектив,1300 години на стража, Военно издателство, София1984. Йордан Андреев, Милчо Лалков, Българските ханове и царе, Велико Търново,1996
10.
Battle of Marcellae
–
The Battle of Marcellae took place in 792 at Markeli, near the modern town of Karnobat in south eastern Bulgaria. It is not to be confused with the battle at the same place. In the last quarter of the 8th century Bulgaria overcame the internal crisis after the end of the rule of the Dulo. The khans Telerig and Kardam managed to consolidate the central authority, the Bulgarians finally had the opportunity to intensify their campaigns in Macedonia and annex the region and its Slavic population to their state. In 789 they penetrated deep into the valley of the Struma river and heavily defeated the Byzantines, in order to distract the Bulgarian attention from Macedonia, the Byzantine emperor Constantine VI started a campaign in northern Thrace in April 791. The armies met near the fortress of Provat and the Byzantines were forced to retreat but their defeat was not decisive, in the summer of the next year Constantine VI led his army north and on 20 July was confronted by the Bulgarians under Kardam near the border castle Marcelae. The Bulgarians had built ramparts blocking the roads to the Rish Pass, for several days the emperor did not dare to attack but by the end of July he was convinced by false astrologists that the stars boded victory and attacked. Before the beginning of the battle, while awaiting the Byzantine assault, due to the rugged terrain the advancing Byzantine army broke its order. Taking advantage of that mistake, Kardam ordered a counterattack which brought the Bulgarians a great success, the Bulgarian cavalry went round the Byzantines and cut their way back to their fortified camp and the fortress of Marcellae. The Bulgarians took the supplies, the treasury and the tent of the emperor and they chased Constantine VI to Constantinople, killing a great number of soldiers. Many Byzantine commanders and officers perished in the battle, a weapon called arkani was used by the Bulgarians in this battle, the arkani consisted of a long pole with an attachment similar to a lasso at one end. It was an excellent weapon against cavalry as the rider could easily be pulled out of the saddle by a skilled warrior, after the defeat Constantine VI had to conclude peace with Kardam and had to pay tribute. Four years later the emperor stopped the payment, leading to a new war in Thrace which ended without a decisive battle, the hostilities between Bulgaria and Byzantium continued under Kardams successor Krum. The victory had great political significance, the decades of crisis were finally overcome, the Byzantines were forced once again to pay tribute to the Khans. Bulgaria entered the 9th century consolidated, stronger and united which was an important factor for the string of victories scored by Krum against the Byzantines, chronographia - Greek Sources for Bulgarian History, volume III. Eagle and Lion, Bulgarian-Byzantine Wars 7th-13th centuries, military Tactics of the Bulgarians 7th-9th centuries. Foundation and Consolidation of the Bulgarian State, History of the Bulgarian state in the Middle Ages. History of the First Bulgarian Empire
11.
Krum
–
Krum was the Khan of Bulgaria from sometime after 796 but before 803 until his death in 814. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper and his able and energetic rule brought law and order to Bulgaria and developed the rudiments of state organisation. Krum was a Bulgar chieftain from Pannonia and his background and the surroundings of his accession is unknown. It has been speculated that Krum might have been a descendant of the old Bulgar royal house of Kubrat and this resulted in the establishment of a common border between the Frankish Empire and Bulgaria, which would have important repercussions for the policy of Krums successors. Krum engaged in a policy of territorial expansion, in 807 Bulgarian forces defeated the Byzantine army in the Struma valley. In 809 Krum besieged and forced the surrender of Serdica, slaughtering the garrison of 6,000 despite a guarantee of safe conduct. This victory provoked Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I to settle Anatolian populations along the frontier to protect it and to attempt to retake and refortify Serdica, in early 811, Nikephoros I undertook a massive expedition against Bulgaria, advancing to Marcellae. Here Krum attempted to negotiate on July 11,811, and his army somehow avoided Bulgarian ambushes in the Balkan Mountains and made its way into Moesia. They managed to take over Pliska on July 20, as only a small, here Nikephoros helped himself to the treasures of the Bulgarians while setting the city afire and turning his army on the population. A new diplomatic tentative from Krum was rebuffed and he reached their capital, seized it and devastated it. His savagery went to the point that he ordered to bring their children, got them tied down on earth. While Nikephoros I and his army pillaged and plundered the Bulgarian capital, Krum mobilized as many soldiers as possible, giving weapons even to peasants and this army was assembled in the mountain passes to intercept the Byzantines as they returned to Constantinople. At dawn on July 26, the Bulgarians managed to trap the retreating Nikephoros in the Vărbica pass and it is said that Krum had the Emperors skull lined with silver and used it as a drinking cup. Staurakios was forced to abdicate after a reign, and he was succeeded by his brother-in-law Michael I Rangabe. In 812 Krum invaded Byzantine Thrace, taking Develt and scaring the population of nearby fortresses to flee towards Constantinople, from this position of strength, Krum offered a return to the peace treaty of 716. Unwilling to compromise his regime by weakness, the new Emperor Michael I refused to accept the proposal, to apply more pressure on the Emperor, Krum besieged and captured Mesembria in the autumn of 812. In February 813 the Bulgarians raided Thrace but were repelled by the Emperors forces, encouraged by this success, Michael I summoned troops from the entire Byzantine Empire and headed north, hoping for a decisive victory. Krum led his army south towards Adrianople and pitched camp near Versinikia, Michael I lined up his army against the Bulgarians, but neither side initiated an attack for two weeks
12.
Battle of Pliska
–
The Byzantines plundered and burned the Bulgar capital Pliska which gave time for the Bulgarians to block passes in the Balkan Mountains that served as exits out of Bulgaria. The final battle took place on 26 July 811, in some of the passes in the part of the Balkans. There, the Bulgarians used the tactics of ambush and surprise attacks to effectively trap and immobilize the Byzantine forces, thus annihilating almost the whole army. After the battle, Krum encased Nicephoruss skull in silver, and this is one of the best documented instances of the custom of the skull cup. The Battle of Pliska was one of the worst defeats in Byzantine history, when Nicephorus I became emperor in 802, he planned to reincorporate Bulgar-held territory back into the empire. In 807 he launched a campaign but only reached Odrin and achieved nothing because of a conspiracy in his capital and that attempted attack, however, gave reason for the Bulgar Khan Krum to undertake military operations against the Byzantine Empire. The main objective was an extension to the south and south-west, in the next year a Bulgar army penetrated the Struma Valley and defeated the Byzantines. The Bulgar troops captured 1,100 litres of gold and killed many soldiers including all strategoi. In 809 the Khan personally besieged the fortress of Serdica and seized the city. In 811, the Byzantine Emperor organised a campaign to conquer Bulgaria once. He gathered an army from the Anatolian and European themata. The conquest was supposed to be easy, and most of the officials and aristocrats accompanied him, including his son Stauracius. The whole army consisted of around 80,000 soldiers, the army gathered in May, and by 10 July had set up camp at the fortress of Marcelae near the Bulgarian frontier. Nicephorus intended to confuse them and over the ten days launched several supposed attacks. Krum assessed the situation and estimated that he could not repulse the enemy and offered peace, Theophanes wrote that the Emperor, was deterred from his own ill thoughts and the suggestions of his advisors who were thinking like him. Some of his military chiefs considered the invasion of Bulgaria to be imprudent and too risky, in June he invaded the Bulgarian lands and marched through the Balkan passes towards the capital of Pliska. On 20 July Nicephorus divided the army into three columns, each marching by a different route towards Pliska and he met little resistance and after three days he reached the capital where the Byzantines met an army of 12,000 elite soldiers who guarded the stronghold. The Bulgarians were defeated and most of them perished, another hastily assembled army of 50,000 soldiers had a similar fate
13.
Battle of Versinikia
–
The Battle of Versinikia was fought in 813 between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire, near the city of Adrianople in contemporary Turkey. Despite being vastly outnumbered the Bulgarians were victorious, resulting in the dethroning of Michael I Rangabe by Leo V the Armenian, the battle was a major success and further strengthened the Bulgarian position after their decisive victory over Nicephorus I two years earlier. In fact, after the battle they de facto control of the whole of Eastern Thrace with the exception of a few castles that remained in Byzantine control. For the first time in the Bulgarian history, the way to Constantinople was opened, unfortunately for them, the great Khan Krum died in the height of the preparation for the final siege of the Byzantine capital on 13 April 814. After the great victory over the Byzantine army of emperor Nicephorus I in the battle of Pliska in 811, Nicephorus son Staurakios, who was seriously wounded in the battle, was deposed in the autumn of the same year, after a palace coup d’état. Michael I Rangabe, curopalates during the reign of Nicephorus I, was proclaimed emperor, Bulgaria, which also suffered heavy losses and great material damage during Nicephorus campaign, also had to reorganize its army and resources and was not able to advance until next year. The Bulgarian attacks were concentrated mainly in Thrace but also along the valley of Strymōn river, many towns were seized and their population was sent far to the north in Bulgaria across the Danube. The attack created such panic among the Byzantine population that several towns were emptied even without being attacked by the Bulgarians. The attempts of Michael I to resist were fruitless - he organized an army, in the meantime the Bulgarians continued to strike Thrace but in the autumn of 812 they were offered peace. The Bulgarian delegation was led by Dobromir but the Byzantine Emperor refused to conclude due to his foul advisors suggestions as Theophanes says. In response to the refusal the Bulgarians besieged Mesembria and they had excellent siege machines built by an Arab emigrant and soon captured the town where they found 36 copper siphons used to throw the famous Greek fire and a large quantity of gold and silver. Despite the loss of Mesembria, the Byzantines were unwilling to settle peace, during the winter of 812 -813 Khan Krum started intense preparations for an attack against Byzantium and Michael I was preparing for defense. In February 813 Bulgarian forces made several raids in Thrace. The retreat was considered by the Byzantine Emperor as a victory according to Gods providence, the Byzantines again summoned an enormous army gathered from all themes of their Empire including the guards of the Syrian passes. Due to an unrest in the army, the campaign was delayed, the departure was a celebration and the population of the city including the Empress accompanied the troops outside the city wall. They even gave presents to the commanders and invoked them to guard the Emperor. The Byzantine army marched to the north but did not take any actions to take back Mesembria, on 4 May there was a solar eclipse which frightened the Byzantine soldiers and lowered their morale. They encamped in the vicinity of Adrianople where the looted and robbed its own country
14.
Simeon I of Bulgaria
–
Simeon I the Great ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeons successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever and his reign was also a period of unmatched cultural prosperity and enlightenment later deemed the Golden Age of Bulgarian culture. During Simeons rule, Bulgaria spread over a territory between the Aegean, the Adriatic and the Black Sea, and the new Bulgarian capital Preslav was said to rival Constantinople and it was at the Preslav Literary School in the 890s that the Cyrillic alphabet was developed. Halfway through his reign, Simeon assumed the title of Emperor, Simeon was born in 864 or 865, as the third son of Knyaz Boris I of Krums dynasty. As Boris was the ruler who Christianized Bulgaria in 865, Simeon was a Christian all his life and he took the name Simeon as a novice in a monastery in Constantinople. During the decade he spent in the Byzantine capital, he received excellent education and studied the rhetoric of Demosthenes and he also learned fluent Greek, to the extent that he was referred to as the half-Greek in Byzantine chronicles. He is speculated to have been tutored by Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople, meanwhile, Vladimir had succeeded Boris, who had retreated to a monastery, as ruler of Bulgaria. Vladimir attempted to reintroduce paganism in the empire and possibly signed a pact with Arnulf of Carinthia. Boris had Vladimir imprisoned and blinded, and then appointed Simeon as the new ruler and it is not known why Boris did not place his second son, Gavril, on the throne, but instead preferred Simeon. With Simeon on the throne, the peace with the Byzantine Empire established by his father was about to end. The Bulgarians sought protection by Simeon, who in turn complained to Leo, however, the Byzantine emperor ignored his embassy. The Bulgarians took most of the Khazar mercenary guardsmen prisoners and killed many archons, however, instead of continuing his advance to the Byzantine capital, Simeon quickly withdrew his troops to face a Magyar invasion from the north. These events were called the first trade war in medieval Europe by Bulgarian historians. Leo VI may have concluded an agreement with Arnulf to make sure that the Franks did not support Simeon against the Magyars. In addition, the talented commander Nikephoros Phokas was called back from southern Italy to lead an army against Bulgaria in 895 with the mere intention to overawe the Bulgarians. Simeon, unaware of the threat from the north, rushed to meet Phokas forces, instead, the Byzantines offered peace, informing him of both the Byzantine foot and maritime campaign, but intentionally did not notify him of the planned Magyar attack. Once notified of the invasion, Simeon headed north to stop the Magyars. Simeons two encounters with the enemy in Northern Dobruja resulted in Magyar victories, forcing him to retreat to Drǎstǎr
15.
Battle of Boulgarophygon
–
The result was an annihilation of the Byzantine army which determined the Bulgarian victory in the trade war of 894–896. Simeon would go on to inflict a number of defeats on the Byzantines in pursuit of his ultimate goal, the peace treaty that was signed as a result of the battle confirmed the Bulgarian domination in the Balkans. Despite a number of setbacks against most neighbouring countries, Boris I managed to preserve Bulgarian territorial integrity. It was also decided that his third son Simeon, born after the Christianization and these events ruined the Byzantine hopes to exert influence over the newly Christianized country, and emperor Leo VI soon had a chance to retaliate. That move affected not only private interests but also the commercial importance of Bulgaria. The ousting of the merchants from Constantinople, which was a destination of trade routes from all over Europe. The merchants complained to Simeon I, who in turn raised the issue with Leo VI, the Byzantines hastily assembled a large army under the generals Prokopios Krenites and Kourtikios, which included the Imperial Guard that consisted of Khazar mercenaries. In the ensuing battle in the Theme of Macedonia, probably around Adrianople, most of the Khazars were captured and Simeon had their noses cut and sent them in the capital for shame of the Romans. Simeon I, who was at the Byzantine-Bulgarian border facing the general Nikephoros Phokas, had to march northwards to confront them and his army was defeated by the Magyars somewhere in Dobruja and Simeon himself had to flee to the strong fortress Drastar. The Magyars looted and pillaged unopposed, reaching the outskirts of the capital Preslav, then Simeon pretended that he wanted to negotiate and put forward the issue of prisoner exchange. The Byzantines sent Leo Choirosphaktes in Preslav to negotiate the terms, as Simeon needed time to address the Magyar threat, he deliberately prolonged the negotiations and Choirosphaktes was repeatedly refused an audience. In the meantime Simeon allied with the Pechenegs, while the people even appealed to his father Boris I, in the decisive battle the Magyars suffered a devastating defeat, but the victorious Bulgarians were themselves said to have lost 20,000 riders. That was the victory in the battlefield Boris I ever achieved. As a result of defeat, the Magyars had to move westwards and settle in Pannonia. The Byzantines transferred all themes and tagmata, i. e. all forces that were fighting the Arabs, the army was commanded by the Domestic of the Schools Leo Katakalon, who lacked the ability of Phokas. The two armies clashed at Boulgarophygon in the summer of 896 and the Byzantines were thoroughly routed, a Byzantine historian wrote, Among the casualties was the protovestiarios Theodosius, the second-in-command of the army, while Leo Katakalon managed to escape with a few other survivors. The Byzantine defeat was so grave that one their soldiers retired from society, gaining the upper hand, Simeon I led the Bulgarian troops to Constantinople, burning villages en route. The Bulgarians were stopped just outside Constantinople and Simeon I agreed to negotiate, under the treaty, the Byzantines also ceded an area between the Black Sea and Strandzha to the Bulgarian Empire, while the Bulgarians also promised not to invade Byzantine territory
16.
Battle of Achelous (917)
–
The battle was one of the worst disasters ever to befall a Byzantine army, and conversely one of the greatest military successes of Bulgaria. Among the most significant consequences was the recognition of the Imperial title of the Bulgarian monarchs. After the Bulgarian victory in the War of 894–896 the Byzantines were forced to pay tribute to Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria, in 912 when the Byzantine emperor Leo VI died, his brother Alexander refused to pay tribute to the Bulgarians. Simeon saw an opportunity to wage a new war and fulfill his ambitions to conquer Constantinople, at some point, the patriarch and Simeon even met outside the walls of Constantinople, performing a coronation ceremony. Thereafter, Simeon began using the title Tsar of the Bulgarians, after a plot in the Byzantine court in 914 however, the new regent Zoe, Constantines mother, rejected the marriage. In answer the Bulgarians raided Eastern Thrace, adrianople opened its gates to Simeon in September 914, and its population recognised Simeon as their ruler, while the Byzantine army was occupied in the east. In the next year the Bulgarian armies attacked the areas of Dyrrhachium, both sides carefully prepared for a decisive end of the conflict. Empress Zoe wanted to make a peace settlement with the Arabs and to engage the whole army of the East in a war with Simeon. Thus the Byzantines were forced to fight alone and this was a very large army by contemporary standards, and its goal was the elimination of the Bulgarian threat from the north. The Byzantine commanders were convinced that their strategy would be successful, morale was raised as the soldiers vowed by the miraculous Cross to die for one another. The spirit of the army was raised as the troops were paid in advance. The Byzantines had tried to pay some Pecheneg tribes to attack, but Romanus would not agree to transport them across the Danube, the size of the Bulgarian army under Simeon I of Bulgaria is unknown. However Miracula Sancti Georgii points that the Bulgarian army in the battle of Achelous was allied with Hungarian and Pecheneg troops, in addition Bulgarian forces under Marmais were deployed near the western borders with the Serb principalities to prevent possible unrest. The Byzantine army marched northwards and set its camp in the vicinity of the fortress of Anchialus. Leo Phocas intended to invade Moesia and meet the Pechenegs and Lecapenuss troops in Dobrudzha, Simeon swiftly concentrated his army on the heights around the fortress. The Byzantine generals planned to outflank the right Bulgarian wing in order to detach Simeons troops from the Balkan Passes. The Bulgarian ruler concentrated his most powerful forces in the two wings and left the centre relatively weak in order to surround the enemy when the centre would yield to the Byzantine attack. Simeon himself was in charge of large cavalry reserves hidden behind the hills which were intended to strike the decisive blow, the Byzantine attack was fierce and it was not long before the Bulgarians began slowly to retreat
17.
Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria
–
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
18.
Battle of Arcadiopolis (970)
–
The Battle of Arcadiopolis was fought in 970 between a Byzantine army under Bardas Skleros and a Rus army, the latter also including allied Bulgarian, Pecheneg and Magyar contingents. In the preceding years, the Rus ruler Sviatoslav had conquered Bulgaria, the Rus force had been advancing through Thrace towards Constantinople when it was met by Skleros force. Having fewer men than the Rus, Skleros prepared an ambush, the Byzantines then feigned retreat, and succeeded in drawing off the Pecheneg contingent into the ambush, routing it. The remainder of the Rus army then panicked and fled, and he followed this up with a show of military strength, by sending a small force to raze a number of Bulgarian border posts in Thrace. It was a declaration of war, but Nikephoros forces were largely preoccupied in the East. Thus the emperor turned to the traditional Byzantine expedient of turning one of the peoples living further north, in modern-day Ukraine and he sent an ambassador, the patrikios Kalokyros, to Sviatoslav, ruler of the Rus with whom the Byzantines had maintained close relations. Sviatoslav enthusiastically responded, and invaded Bulgaria in 967 or 968 in a devastating raid and this forced the Bulgarian tsar, Peter I, to the negotiating table, agreeing to terms favourable to Byzantium. However, this brief sojourn also awakened in Sviatoslav the desire to conquer Bulgaria and he returned in force in July or August 969 and conquered the country within a few months. Nikephoros scheme had backfired dramatically, instead of peace, a new and formidable foe had appeared in the Balkans, the emperor, however, was murdered in December 969, and it fell to his successor, John I Tzimiskes, to deal with the Rus threat. Sviatoslav now turned his sights on Byzantium, and to Johns entreaties for peace he allegedly answered that the Empire should abandon its European territories to him and they were to winter in Thrace and raise an army, whilst sending spies to discover Sviatoslavs intentions. At the news of this, a powerful Rus force, along with many Bulgarians, after sacking the city of Philippopolis in Thrace, they bypassed the heavily defended city of Adrianople and turned towards Constantinople. The size of the Rus army, and whether it comprised the entirety of Sviatoslavs forces or just a division, is unclear, Skleros then quickly assembled a force of ten to twelve thousand men and set out to meet the Rus. The two armies met near Arcadiopolis, some 80 km west of Constantinople, the Byzantine detachment quickly came into contact with the Rus army, and charged the Pecheneg contingent. The Byzantines executed an orderly retreat, turning at intervals to charge back at the pursuing Pechenegs. This conflict was fierce and bloody, taxing the discipline and endurance of the small Byzantine force. According to Leo the Deacon, at one point one of the Pechenegs charged Bardas himself and delivered a blow on his helmet. Bardas young brother Constantine came to his rescue, killing the Pecheneg, when the two opposing forces reached the place of the ambush, Bardas ordered the trumpets blown and the two concealed Byzantine divisions attacked the Pechenegs from the flanks and the rear. Cut off from aid and surrounded, the Pechenegs began to panic, the Byzantines were unable to exploit this victory or pursue the remnants of the Rus army, since Bardas Phokas rose in revolt in Asia Minor
19.
Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria
–
The struggle began with the incorporation of eastern Bulgaria after the Russo–Byzantine War. Bulgarian resistance was led by the Cometopuli brothers, who based in the western regions of the Bulgarian Empire led it until its fall under Byzantine rule in 1018. As the Byzantine-Bulgarian relations deteriorated by the end of the 960s, the four brothers David, Moses, Aron and Samuel of the Cometopuli dynasty ruled in the free territories and in 976 launched a major offensive against the Byzantines to regain the lost lands. Soon the youngest brother Samuel took the whole authority following the deaths of his three eldest brothers, Samuel proved to be a successful general inflicting a major defeat on the Byzantine army commanded by Basil II at the Gates of Trajan and retaking north-eastern Bulgaria. His successful campaigns expanded the Bulgarian borders into Thessaly and Epirus, in 997 Samuel was proclaimed Emperor of Bulgaria after the death of the legitimate ruler, Roman. By the end of the millennium the fortunes of war turned into Byzantine favour, the Byzantines under Basil II, a successful general and experienced soldier, slowly got the upper hand and from 1001 started to seize a number of important areas and towns. The Bulgarians were unable to stop the annual Byzantine campaigns which devastated the country, in 1014 the Byzantines won the decisive battle of Kleidion and Samuel died a few weeks later. Tsar Samuels reign was followed by the reigns of his son Gavril Radomir. All local lords, who surrendered, were transferred either to Constantinople or to Anatolia, Bulgaria lost its independence and remained subject to Byzantium for more than a century and a half, until 1185. Its western part was transformed into one of the many Byzantines provinces, the Byzantines responded in the spring of the following year and refused to pay the annual tribute to Bulgaria. In that situation Nikephoros II Phokas turned to the means of Byzantine diplomacy. The noble Kalokyros to whom the mission was entrusted was successful, in 969 he returned to Bulgaria and soon after that Peter I suffered an epileptic stroke, abdicated and died on 30 January 970 as a monk. He was succeeded by his eldest son Boris II who had little choice but to cooperate with Sviatoslav and he was treated well and John Tzimiskes pretended to have come to liberate the Bulgarians from the Rus. However, when Sviatoslav was finally defeated, Boris II was taken to Constantinople where he had to abdicate and he had to surrender the imperial insignia - the golden crown and the red boots - which the placed in the cathedral Hagia Sophia. In return he received the title magister and his brother Roman was castrated because the Byzantines needed to assure that the Krum dynasty would die away. For John Tzimiskes that was a great triumph, the three-century old Byzantine dream to eliminate the Bulgarian state and restore the imperial borders along the Danube seemed to have come true. These territories were ruled by the four brothers David, Moses, Aron and Samuel, information for the period between 971 and 976 in primary sources is very scarce. In 986, after securing his own position in Byzantium, emperor Basil II gathered a 30, 000-man army, marched on the Bulgarian city of Sofia and laid siege to it
20.
Battle of the Gates of Trajan
–
The Battle of the Gates of Trajan was a battle between Byzantine and Bulgarian forces in the year 986. It took place in the pass of the name, modern Trayanovi Vrata, in Sofia Province. It was the largest defeat of the Byzantines under Emperor Basil II, after the unsuccessful siege of Sofia he retreated to Thrace, but was surrounded by the Bulgarian army under the command of Samuil in the Sredna Gora mountains. The Byzantine army was annihilated and Basil himself barely escaped, fifteen years after the fall of the Bulgarian capital Preslav, the victory at the Gates of Trajan extended the Bulgarian successes achieved since 976. Later on Tsar Samuil moved the capital from Preslav in the northeast to Ohrid in the southwest, the memory of the great victory over Basil II was preserved thirty years later in the Bitola inscription of Ivan Vladislav, the son of Aron. In addition to the Bitola inscription where the victory of Samuil, commander of the Bulgarian army, is mentioned in summary form, several medieval historians have written accounts for the battle. Not only Byzantine historians wrote accounts for the battle, it was recorded by the Arab chronicler Yahaya of Antioch. More details can be found in the sermon of Saint Photius of Thessaly. In 971, the Byzantine emperor John Tzimiskes forced the captured Bulgarian emperor Boris II to abdicate, the Byzantines had occupied only the eastern parts of Bulgaria, to the west, the four sons of the count of Sredets Nikola continued to rule western Bulgaria. They ruled the territories in a tetrarchy residing in four separate cities in order to fight the Byzantines with higher efficiency. The war against Bulgaria was the first major undertaking carried out by Basil II after his ascension to the throne in 976, although the Bulgarian attacks had begun in that year. One of the reasons for the ten years of inaction was the policy of one of the strongest nobles in Byzantium, Basil, who de facto ruled the Byzantine Empire in the first years of his namesake. During that time, the objective of the government in Constantinople was to crush the rebellion of the military commander Bardas Skleros in Asia Minor between 976 and 979. The local Byzantine governors were left alone to cope with the Bulgarian threat, for one decade in offensive after 976 the Bulgarians achieved major successes. Samuil managed to liberate north-eastern Bulgaria, between 982 and 986 the Bulgarians occupied the main city of Thessaly, Larissa. The constant Bulgarian attacks forced Basil II to take serious actions, in 986, Basil II led a campaign with 30,000 soldiers. The commanders of the armies did not take part in the campaign because they were fighting with the Arabs. The Byzantines marched from Odrin via Plovdiv to reach Sredets, according to Leo Diaconus the objective of their Emperor was to subdue the Bulgarians with one strike
21.
Battle of Thessalonica (995)
–
The Battle of Thessalonica occurred in 995 or earlier, near the city of Thessalonica, Greece. The battle was part of the long Bulgarian–Byzantine war of the late 10th, the Bulgarians under their ruler, Tsar Samuil, succeeded in ambushing and destroying the Byzantine garrison of Thessalonica, killing its commander, Gregory Taronites, and capturing his son Ashot. After the great victory in the Battle of Trajans Gates, after having secured his rule over most of the northern Balkans, he led a campaign against Thessalonica, Byzantiums second largest city, held by the doux Gregory Taronites. The exact date of this campaign, and the subsequent battle, is unclear, an Armenian source puts it as early as 991, while the account of John Skylitzes, on which the dating by traditional accounts relies, implies it happened in 996. However, as John Chaldos is attested as doux in Thessalonica in 995/6 in succession to Taronites, Samuil sent a small detachment towards the city, while the main body of his army remained behind to carefully prepare an ambush for the Byzantine army. As the Bulgarian raiding party approached Thessalonica, Gregory Taronites sent out his son, Ashot, with the vanguard to make contact with them, Ashot engaged the Bulgarian raiding party and drove them back, but was drawn into the ambush and encircled with his men. His father, following up with the main Byzantine force, rushed to his rescue, Ashot Taronites was taken captive and taken to Bulgaria, where shortly after he was wed to Samuils daughter Miroslava. He was named governor of Dyrrhachium, from where he escaped on board Byzantine ships to Constantinople. In Thessalonica, Taronites was succeeded by John Chaldos, who fell victim to a Bulgarian ambush and was captured in 996. After that, emboldened by his successes, Samuil ventured south and he captured Larissa and reached Corinth, after which he learned about the approach of a Byzantine army under Nikephoros Ouranos and returned north. The two armies met at the Spercheios river, where Samuil was defeated, the long Byzantine-Bulgarian conflict, however, would go on until the final defeat of Bulgaria in 1018. Йордан Андреев, Милчо Лалков, Българските ханове и царе, Велико Търново,1996, basil II and the Governance of Empire. Krieg und Kriegführung in Byzanz, die Kriege Kaiser Basileios II, wortley, John, ed. John Skylitzes, A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811-1057
22.
Battle of Spercheios
–
The Battle of Spercheios took place in 997 AD, on the shores of the Spercheios river near the city of Lamia in central Greece. It was fought between a Bulgarian army led by Tsar Samuil, that in the year had penetrated south into Greece. The Byzantine victory virtually destroyed the Bulgarian army, and stopped its raids in the southern Balkans, the major historical source on the battle comes from Greek historian John Skylitzes whose Synopsis of Histories contains a biography of the then reigning Byzantine Emperor, Basil II. After the success of the Bulgarians in the Battle of the Gates of Trajan in 986, Byzantium descended into a civil war, Tsar Samuil took advantage of the situation. He managed to seize many castles in the surroundings of Byzantiums second largest city, in 991 the Byzantines managed to capture Roman of Bulgaria but this did not stop Samuil who was now de facto the only emperor of Bulgaria. In 996 Samuil defeated the forces of the strategos of Thessalonica and marched to the south, eventually threatening Larissa, on his way back he met a Byzantine army on the opposite side of the Spercheios river, led by the Domestic of the West, Nikephoros Ouranos. Basil II had appointed Ouranos commander of all Balkan and Greek territories of the Byzantine Empire and he followed the Bulgarian army and confronted it after the Bulgarians went through the Thermopylae pass on the river of Spercheios. Due to heavy rainfalls, the river had swollen and flooded an area on both shores. The Bulgarians camped on the shore and the Byzantines on the northern. The two armies remained thus encamped for several days, Samuil was confident that the Byzantines could not cross, and neglected taking measures to protect his camp. Ouranos however, sought and found a ford, leading his army across during the night, the Bulgarians were not able to put up effective resistance, and the larger part of their army was destroyed and captured. Samuil himself was wounded and he and his son Gavril Radomir evaded capture by feigning death among the bodies of their slain soldiers while around 12,000 of their men were said to be captured. After nightfall they set off to Bulgaria and in the Pindus mountains gathered what was left of their army, due to the difficult 400 km journey to Ochrid his arm healed at an angle of 140°. According to Yahya of Antioch, Nikephoros Ouranos returned to Constantinople with one thousand heads of Bulgarian soldiers, the battle was a major defeat of the Bulgarian army. At first Samuil showed readiness for negotiations but upon the news of the death of Bulgarias official ruler Roman in prison, he proclaimed himself as sole legitimate tsar, although Samuil initially managed to recover the Byzantines decisively took the lead in the war. In 1014 they decisively defeated the Bulgarians and conquered the country, according to Skylitzes the victory was entirely Ouranos achievement and Basil II is credited with little besides appointing him to the office of Domesticos. Йордан Андреев, Милчо Лалков, Българските ханове и царе, Велико Търново,1996
23.
Battle of Skopje
–
The Battle of Skopje occurred in the vicinity of the city of Skopje in 1004. In 1003, Basil II launched a campaign against the First Bulgarian Empire, eventually, Basil II reached the vicinity of Skopje and learned that the camp of the Bulgarian army was situated very close on the other side of the Vardar river. Samuil of Bulgaria relied on the waters of the river. Strangely the circumstances were the same as at the battle of Spercheios seven years earlier, the Byzantines managed to find a ford, crossed the river and attacked the heedless Bulgarians at night. Unable to resist effectively the Bulgarians soon retreated, leaving the camp, Йордан Андреев, Милчо Лалков, Българските ханове и царе, Велико Търново,1996
24.
Battle of Kleidion
–
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
25.
Uprising of Peter Delyan
–
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
26.
Battle of Thessalonica (2nd 1040)
–
The battle of Thessalonica took place in the fall of 1040 near the city of Thessalonica in contemporary Greece between the Bulgarians and the Byzantines. The battle ended with a Byzantine victory, the most influential of these was Alusian, the second son of the last Bulgarian Emperor Ivan Vladislav. Dressed as a soldier he went to Constantinople from where he managed to get to Bulgaria despite the strict control. His arrival would mean more tensions in the camp because Alusian could also claim the throne. Peter II Delyan welcomed his cousin although he knew that Alusian might be a candidate for his crown. Peter II gave Alusian a 40, 0000-strong army to attack Thessalonica, Alusian proved to be an incapable general, when he reached the city he attacked the Byzantine army with his tired troops. The Bulgarians could not fight effectively and were defeated and they suffered heavy casualties -15,000 perished in the battle. Alusian fled from the battlefield, leaving his army behind, the catastrophe at Thessalonica worsened the relations between Peter Delyan and Alusian. The latter was ashamed from the defeat and Delyan suspected treason, Alusian decided to act first and after a feast in the beginning of 1041 he blinded the Emperor. After that Alusian tried to continue the rebellion, but defeated once more, he decided to change sides and abandoned his army again, an act that was richly rewarded in Constantinople. Although blind, Peter Delyan faced the Byzantines with the rest of the Bulgarian army but was defeated in the battle of Ostrovo later that year, Йордан Андреев, Милчо Лалков, Българските ханове и царе, Велико Търново,1996
27.
Second Bulgarian Empire
–
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
28.
Battle of Tryavna
–
The Battle of Tryavna occurred in 1190, in the mountains around the contemporary town of Tryavna, central Bulgaria. The result was a Bulgarian victory over the Byzantine Empire, which secured the successes achieved since the beginning of the Rebellion of Asen, until 1189, both sides observed the truce. The Bulgarians used this time to organize their administration and military. However, the relations between the Crusaders and the Byzantines smoothed, and the Bulgarian proposal was evaded, the Byzantines prepared a third campaign to avenge the Bulgarian actions. Like the previous two invasions, they managed to overcome the passes of the Balkan mountains and they made a bluff indicating that they would pass near the sea by Pomorie, but instead headed west and passed through the Rishki Pass to Preslav. The Byzantine army next marched westwards to besiege the capital at Tarnovo, at the same time, the Byzantine fleet reached the Danube in order to bar the way of Cuman auxiliaries from the northern Bulgarian territories. The siege of Tarnovo was unsuccessful, the defense of the city was led by Asen himself and the morale of his troops was very high. The Byzantine morale, on the hand, was quite low for several reasons. This was used by Asen, who sent an agent in the guise of a deserter to the Byzantine camp. The man told Isaac II that, despite the efforts of the Byzantine navy, the Byzantine Emperor panicked and immediately called for a retreat through the nearest pass. The Bulgarian Emperor deduced that his opponent would go through the Tryavna Pass, the Byzantine army slowly marched southwards, their troops and baggage train stretching for kilometers. The Bulgarians reached the pass before them and staged an ambush from the heights of a narrow gorge, in panic, the Byzantines broke up and began a disorganized retreat, prompting a Bulgarian charge, who slaughtered everyone on their way. Isaac II barely escaped, his guards had to cut a path through their own soldiers, the Byzantine historian Niketas Choniates wrote that only Isaac Angelos escaped and most of the others perished. The battle was a catastrophe for the Byzantines. It was thrown in the river by a Byzantine cleric but was recovered by the Bulgarians and these trophies later became the pride of the Bulgarian Treasure and were carried around the capital, Tarnovo, during official occasions. The victory was important for Bulgaria. Up to that moment, the official Emperor was Peter IV, officially, Peter preserved his title and ruled from Preslav, but the state now governed by Ivan Asen I. In the next two years, he liberated many lands to the west and south-west including Sofia and Niš and his troops looted Thrace and the Byzantines were powerless to resist the Bulgarian attacks
