Battle of Rusokastro
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Rusokastro occurred on July 18, 1332 near the village of Rusokastro
, Bulgaria
between the armies of the Bulgarian
and Byzantine Empire
s. The result was a Bulgarian victory.
and Byzantium
, Michael Asen III and Andronikos III Palaiologos
, signed a secret treaty against Serbia
. While Michael Asen III was fighting against the Serbs
in 1330, the Byzantines
invaded Thrace
and captured the Bulgarian towns there. Following the defeat of Bulgaria
in the Battle of Velbazhd the Byzantines
got a firm foothold there.
in Asia Minor
. In the Bulgarian Empire, there were internecine struggles as well but the new Emperor Ivan Alexander
knew that the decisive confrontation with Byzantium was yet to come and decided to improve his relations with the Serbs. In 1332, he concluded a peace treaty with them which lasted till his death. The treaty was secured with a marriage between the Serb king Stefan Dushan
and the sister of the Emperor, Elena
. In the summer of the same year, the Byzantines gathered an army and without a declaration of war headed towards Bulgaria, looting and plundering the villages on their way. The Byzantines seized several castles because Ivan Alexander's attention was focused towards fighting the rebellion of his uncle Belaur
in Vidin
. He tried to negotiate with the enemy but ultimately failed. The Emperor decided to act swiftly during the course of five days whereby his cavalry covered 230 km to reach Aitos and face the invaders.
had troops of 8,000 while the Byzantines
were only 3,000. There were negotiations between the two rulers but the Bulgarian emperor deliberately prolonged them because he was awaiting reinforcements. In the night of July 17 they finally arrived in his camp (3,000 cavalry
men) and he decided to attack the Byzantines the next day. Andronikos III Palaiologos
had no choice but to accept the fight. The Byzantine army consisted of 16 squads and six of them made up the first column. The right wing was commanded by the protostrator
, the left wing was under the megas papias Alexios Tzamplakon
, and the center was commanded personally by the emperor. The army formed a wide front in two lines with the flanks positioned behind the center forming a crescent.
The battle began at six in the morning and continued for three hours. The Byzantines tried to prevent the Bulgarian cavalry from surrounding them, but their manoeuvre failed. The cavalry moved round the first Byzantine line leaving it for the infantry and charged the rear of their flanks. After a fierce fight the Byzantines were defeated, ran away from the battlefield and hid in Rusokastro. The Bulgarian army surrounded the fortress and at noon on the same day Ivan Alexander sent envoys to continue the negotiations.
The Bulgarians returned their lost lands in Thrace
and strengthened the positions of their empire. The eight-year old son and successor of the Bulgarian emperor Michael Asen was married to the daughter of Andronikos, Maria, confirming the peace between the two countries.
This battle was considered by the medieval Bulgarian historians as a great triumph of emperor Ivan Alexander
. That was the last major battle between Bulgaria and Byzantium as their seven-century rivalry for domination on the Balkan was soon to come to an end after the fall of the two Empires under Ottoman
domination.
Rusokastro Rock at the north entrance to McFarlane Strait
in the South Shetland Islands
, Antarctica is named after “the settlement and medieval fortress of Rusokastro in Southeastern Bulgaria.”
Rusokastro
Rusokastro is a village in the municipality of Kameno, in Burgas Province, in southeastern Bulgaria.-References:...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
between the armies of the Bulgarian
Second Bulgarian Empire
The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state which existed between 1185 and 1396 . A successor of the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before gradually being conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th-early 15th century...
and Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
s. The result was a Bulgarian victory.
Origins of the conflict
In 1328, the emperors of BulgariaBulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
, Michael Asen III and Andronikos III Palaiologos
Andronikos III Palaiologos
Andronikos III Palaiologos, Latinized as Andronicus III Palaeologus was Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341, after being rival emperor since 1321. Andronikos III was the son of Michael IX Palaiologos and Rita of Armenia...
, signed a secret treaty against Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. While Michael Asen III was fighting against the Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
in 1330, the Byzantines
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
invaded Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
and captured the Bulgarian towns there. Following the defeat of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
in the Battle of Velbazhd the Byzantines
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
got a firm foothold there.
Prelude
The Byzantines were not ready for war. Their Empire was rent with civil unrest and the army was fighting against the TurksTurkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
. In the Bulgarian Empire, there were internecine struggles as well but the new Emperor Ivan Alexander
Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
Ivan Alexander , also known as John Alexander, ruled as Emperor of Bulgaria from 1331 to 1371, during the Second Bulgarian Empire. The date of his birth is unknown. He died on February 17, 1371. The long reign of Ivan Alexander is considered a transitional period in Bulgarian medieval history...
knew that the decisive confrontation with Byzantium was yet to come and decided to improve his relations with the Serbs. In 1332, he concluded a peace treaty with them which lasted till his death. The treaty was secured with a marriage between the Serb king Stefan Dushan
Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia
Stephen Uroš IV Dušan the Mighty , was the King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks until his death on 20 December 1355. Dušan managed to conquer a large part of Southeast Europe, becoming one of the most powerful monarchs in his time...
and the sister of the Emperor, Elena
Helena of Bulgaria
Jelena or Helena of Bulgaria was the daughter of Sratsimir of Kran and Keratsa Petritsa and the sister of Tsar Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria....
. In the summer of the same year, the Byzantines gathered an army and without a declaration of war headed towards Bulgaria, looting and plundering the villages on their way. The Byzantines seized several castles because Ivan Alexander's attention was focused towards fighting the rebellion of his uncle Belaur
Belaur
Belaur was a Bulgarian noble and despot of Vidin and brother of the Bulgarian Emperor Michael Shishman . The son of Shishman of Vidin, he was among the most elaborate Balkan diplomats of his time...
in Vidin
Vidin
Vidin is a port town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Serbia and Romania, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin...
. He tried to negotiate with the enemy but ultimately failed. The Emperor decided to act swiftly during the course of five days whereby his cavalry covered 230 km to reach Aitos and face the invaders.
The battle
Ivan AlexanderIvan Alexander of Bulgaria
Ivan Alexander , also known as John Alexander, ruled as Emperor of Bulgaria from 1331 to 1371, during the Second Bulgarian Empire. The date of his birth is unknown. He died on February 17, 1371. The long reign of Ivan Alexander is considered a transitional period in Bulgarian medieval history...
had troops of 8,000 while the Byzantines
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
were only 3,000. There were negotiations between the two rulers but the Bulgarian emperor deliberately prolonged them because he was awaiting reinforcements. In the night of July 17 they finally arrived in his camp (3,000 cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
men) and he decided to attack the Byzantines the next day. Andronikos III Palaiologos
Andronikos III Palaiologos
Andronikos III Palaiologos, Latinized as Andronicus III Palaeologus was Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341, after being rival emperor since 1321. Andronikos III was the son of Michael IX Palaiologos and Rita of Armenia...
had no choice but to accept the fight. The Byzantine army consisted of 16 squads and six of them made up the first column. The right wing was commanded by the protostrator
Protostrator
Prōtostratōr was a Byzantine court office, originating as the imperial stable master, which in the last centuries of the Empire evolved into one of the senior military offices...
, the left wing was under the megas papias Alexios Tzamplakon
Alexios Tzamplakon
- Life :The Tzamplakones were an important and wealthy aristocratic family attested since the mid-13th century, when one of its members achieved the high military rank of Domestic of the Schools. Alexios was his son....
, and the center was commanded personally by the emperor. The army formed a wide front in two lines with the flanks positioned behind the center forming a crescent.
The battle began at six in the morning and continued for three hours. The Byzantines tried to prevent the Bulgarian cavalry from surrounding them, but their manoeuvre failed. The cavalry moved round the first Byzantine line leaving it for the infantry and charged the rear of their flanks. After a fierce fight the Byzantines were defeated, ran away from the battlefield and hid in Rusokastro. The Bulgarian army surrounded the fortress and at noon on the same day Ivan Alexander sent envoys to continue the negotiations.
Aftermath
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
and strengthened the positions of their empire. The eight-year old son and successor of the Bulgarian emperor Michael Asen was married to the daughter of Andronikos, Maria, confirming the peace between the two countries.
This battle was considered by the medieval Bulgarian historians as a great triumph of emperor Ivan Alexander
Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
Ivan Alexander , also known as John Alexander, ruled as Emperor of Bulgaria from 1331 to 1371, during the Second Bulgarian Empire. The date of his birth is unknown. He died on February 17, 1371. The long reign of Ivan Alexander is considered a transitional period in Bulgarian medieval history...
. That was the last major battle between Bulgaria and Byzantium as their seven-century rivalry for domination on the Balkan was soon to come to an end after the fall of the two Empires under Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
domination.
Rusokastro Rock at the north entrance to McFarlane Strait
McFarlane Strait
McFarlane Strait is the 24.5 km long and 3.35 km wide strait lying between Greenwich and Livingston Island, in the South Shetland Islands...
in the South Shetland Islands
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...
, Antarctica is named after “the settlement and medieval fortress of Rusokastro in Southeastern Bulgaria.”