Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars
Encyclopedia
The Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars were a series of conflicts fought between the Byzantines
and Bulgarians
which began when the Bulgars
first settled in the Balkan peninsula in the 5th century, and intensified with the expansion of the Bulgarian Empire
to the southwest after 680 AD. The Byzantines and Bulgarians continued to clash over the next century with variable success, until the Bulgarians, led by Krum
, inflicted a series of crushing defeats on the Byzantines. After Krum died in 814, his son Omurtag negotiated a thirty year peace treaty. In 893, during the next major war, Simeon I
, the Bulgarian emperor, defeated the Byzantines while attempting to form a large Eastern European Empire, but his efforts failed.
In 971 John I Tzimiskes
, the Byzantine emperor, subjugated much of the Bulgarian Empire by defeating Boris II
and capturing Preslav
, the Bulgarian capital. Constantinople
under Basil II
completely conquered Bulgaria in 1018 as a result of the 1014 Battle of Kleidion
. There were rebellions against Byzantine rule from 1040 to 1041, and in the 1070s and the 1080s, but these failed. In 1185, however, Theodore Peter and Ivan Asen
started a revolt, and the weakening Byzantine Empire, facing internal dynastic troubles of its own, was unable to prevent the revolt from being successful.
After the Fourth Crusade
conquered Constantinople in 1204, Kaloyan
, the Bulgarian emperor, tried to establish friendly relations with the crusaders, but the newly created Latin Empire
spurned any offer of alliance with the Bulgarians. Because of his cold reception, Kaloyan allied with the Nicaeans, one of the Byzantine states created after the fall of Constantinople, instead, which reduced the crusaders' power in the area. Even though his nephew Boril
allied with the Latin Empire, Boril's successors sided with the Nicaeans, despite a few continuing attacks from them. After the Latin Empire collapsed, the Byzantines, taking advantage of a Bulgarian civil war, captured portions of Thrace, but the Bulgarian emperor Theodore Svetoslav
retook these lands. The Byzantine-Bulgarian relations continued to fluctuate until the Ottoman Turks
destroyed the Bulgarian Empire in 1422 and the Byzantine Empire in 1453.
youngest son Asparukh moved westward, occupying today’s southern Bessarabia
. Asparukh defeated the Byzantines under Constantine IV, who led a combined land and sea operation against the invaders and besieged their fortified camp in Ongala. Suffering from bad health, the emperor had to leave the army, which allowed itself to panic and be defeated by the Bulgarians. In 681, Constantine was forced to acknowledge the Bulgar state
in Moesia
and to pay protection money to avoid further inroads into Byzantine Thrace
. Eight years later, Asparukh lead a successful campaign against Byzantine Thrace
.
texts in 704, when the deposed emperor Justinian II
came to him and asked for his aid, supported Justinian in an attempted restoration to the Byzantine throne in exchange for friendship, gifts, and his daughter in marriage. With an army of 15,000 horsemen provided by Tervel, Justinian suddenly advanced on Constantinople and managed to gain entrance into the city in 705. The restored emperor executed his supplanters, the emperors Leontios
and Tiberios III
, alongside many of their supporters. Justinian awarded Tervel with many gifts, the title of kaisar (Caesar
), which made him second only to the emperor and the first foreign ruler in Byzantine history to receive such a title, and possibly a territorial concession in northeastern Thrace, a region called Zagore
. Whether Justinian's daughter Anastasia was married to Tervel as had been arranged is unknown.
A mere 3 years later, Justinian II himself violated this arrangement and apparently commenced military operations to recover the ceded area. Tervel routed him at the Battle of Anchialus
(or Ankhialo) in 708. In 711, faced by a serious revolt in Asia Minor
, Justinian again sought the aid of Tervel, but obtained only lukewarm support manifested in an army of 3,000. Outmaneuvered by the rebel emperor Philippicus, Justinian was captured and executed, while his Bulgar allies were allowed to retire to their country. Tervel took advantage of the disorder in Byzantium to raid Thrace
in 712, plundering as far as the vicinity of Constantinople.
Given the chronological information of the Imennik, Tervel would have died in 715. However, the Byzantine Chronicler Theophanes the Confessor
ascribes Tervel a role in an attempt to restore the deposed Emperor Anastasius II
in 718 or 719. If Tervel had survived this long, he would have been the Bulgarian ruler who concluded a new treaty (confirming the annual tribute paid by the Byzantines to Bulgaria
, the territorial concessions in Thrace, regulating commercial relations and the treating of political refugees) with Emperor Theodosius III in 716, and also the Bulgarian ruler who helped relieve the Second Arab siege of Constantinople in 717–718 by land. According to the Theophanes, the Bulgars slaughtered some 22,000 Arabs in the battle before Constantinople.
, Bulgaria descended into a long period of crisis and unrest, while the Byzantines consolidated their positions. Between 756 and 775, the new Byzantine Emperor Constantine V
lead nine campaigns against his northern neighbour to establish a Byzantine border on the Danube
. Due to the frequent change of rulers (8 Khans held the throne for 20 years) and the constant political crisis, Bulgaria was on the verge of destruction.
In his first campaign in 756, Constantine V was successful and managed to defeat the Bulgarians twice, but in 759, Vinekh
, the Bulgarian Khan, defeated the Byzantine army comprehensively in the battle of the Rishki Pass
. Vinekh then sought to make peace with the Byzantines, but was assassinated by the Bulgarian nobles. The new ruler, Telets
, was defeated at the battle of Anchialus
in 763. During their next campaigns, both sides could not gain any significant success, because the Byzantines could not pass through the Balkan Mountains and their fleet was destroyed twice in heavy storms (2,600 ships sank in just one of the storms in 765,). In 774, they defeated an inferior Bulgarian force at Berzitia
but this was the last success of Constantine V: as a result of their defeat, the Bulgarians took serious precautions to get rid of the Byzantine spies in Pliska
. Khan Telerig sent a secret emissary to Constantine V, indicating his intention to flee Bulgaria and seek refuge with the emperor, and seeking assurances of hospitality. Telerig succeeded in having the emperor betray his own agents in Bulgaria, who were duly rounded up and executed. The expected Byzantine retaliation failed to materialize as Constantine V died in 775.
. The Byzantine army was defeated and turned to flight.
In 792, Constantine VI led another army against the Bulgarians and encamped at Marcellae, near Karnobat
, which he proceeded to fortify. Kardam arrived with his army on July 20 and occupied the neighboring heights. After some time passed with the two forces sizing up each other, Constantine VI ordered the attack, but in the resulting battle of Marcellae the Byzantine forces lost formation and once again were defeated and turned to flight. Kardam captured the imperial tent and the emperor's servants. After his return to Constantinople
, Constantine VI signed a peace treaty and undertook to pay an annual tribute to Bulgaria.
By 796, the imperial government was recalcitrant and Kardam found it necessary to demand the tribute while threatening to devastate Thrace if it were not paid. According to the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor
, Constantine VI mocked the demand by having dung sent instead of gold as "fitting tribute" and promising to lead a new army against the elderly Kardam at Marcellae. Once again the emperor's army headed north, and once again it encountered Kardam in the vicinity of Adrianople. The armies faced each other for 17 days without entering into battle, while the two monarchs probably engaged in negotiations. In the end, conflict was averted and the peace resumed on the same terms as in 792.
Khan Krum engaged in an aggressive policy within the Balkans, raiding along the Struma valley in 807. There he defeated a Byzantine army and captured an enormous amount of gold intended for wages of the whole Byzantine army. In 809, Krum besieged and forced the surrender of Serdica (Sofia
), slaughtering the Byzantine garrison in spite of his promise of safe conduct. This provoked the reaction of the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I
, who proceeded to settle Anatolian populations along the frontier to protect it. He also attempted to retake and refortify Serdica, although this enterprise ultimately failed.
). Here Krum attempted to negotiate on July 11, 811, but Nikephoros was determined to continue with his advance. His army managed to avoid Bulgarian ambushes in the Balkan Mountains
and defeated an army of 12,000 that tried to block their advance into Moesia. Another hastily assembled army of 50,000 was defeated before the walls of the Bulgarian capital, Pliska
, which fell to the emperor on July 20. Here Nikephoros, who had been a financial minister before becoming emperor, helped himself to the treasures of Krum, while setting the city afire and turning his army on the population. A new diplomatic tentative from Krum was rebuffed. Nikephorus showed great cruelty: he ordered his army to kill the population of the capital.
Increasingly concerned about the breakdown of discipline in his army, Nikephoros finally began to retreat towards Thrace. In the meantime, Krum had mobilized as many of his subjects (including the women) as he could and had begun to set traps and ambushes for the retreating imperial army in the mountain passes. At dawn on July 26 the Byzantines found themselves trapped against a moat and wooden wall in the Vărbica
pass. Nikephoros was killed in the ensuing battle
together with many of his troops, while his son Staurakios
was carried to safety by the imperial bodyguard after receiving a paralyzing wound to his neck. According to tradition, Krum had the Emperor's skull lined with silver and used it as a drinking cup. This enhanced his reputation for brutality and won him the appellation of New Sennacherib
".
Staurakios was forced to abdicate after a brief reign (he died from his wound in 812), and 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, ostensibly opposing the clause for exchange of deserters. To apply more pressure on the emperor, Krum besieged and captured Mesembria (Nesebar
) in the fall of 812.
In February 813, the Bulgarians raided into Thrace, but were repelled by the emperor's forces. Encouraged by this success, Michael I summoned troops from the entire 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. Finally, on June 22, 813, the Byzantines attacked but were immediately turned to flight. With Krum's cavalry in pursuit, the rout of Michael I was complete and Krum advanced on Constantinople, which he besieged by land. Discredited, Michael was forced to abdicate and become a monk — the third Byzantine emperor undone by Krum in as many years.
, offered to negotiate, and arranged for a meeting with Krum. As Krum arrived, he was ambushed by Byzantine archers and was wounded as he made his escape. Furious, Krum ravaged the environs of Constantinople and headed home, capturing Adrianople en route and transplanting its inhabitants (including the parents of the future Emperor Basil I
) across the Danube. In spite of the approach of winter, Krum took advantage of the good weather to send a force of 30,000 into Thrace, which captured Arkadioupolis (Lüleburgaz
) and carried off some 50,000 captives. The loot from Thrace was used to enrich Krum and his nobility, and included architectural elements utilized in the reconstruction of Pliska, perhaps largely by captured Byzantine artisans.
Krum spent the winter preparing for a major attack on Constantinople, where rumor reported the assembling of an extensive siege park to be transported on 5,000 carts. However, before he set out, he died on April 13, 814, and was succeeded by his son Omurtag.
Omurtag's reign opened with an invasion of the Byzantine Empire after the rejection of Byzantine offers for peace. The Bulgarians penetrated as far south as modern Babaeski
(Bulgarophygon then), but there they were defeated by Emperor Leo V the Armenian
, and Omurtag escaped the battlefield on his swift horse. However, the battle was not a decisive blow for the Bulgarians although it certainly had some effect.
The possibility of an anti-Bulgarian alliance between the Byzantine and the Frankish
empires, the need needed to consolidate Bulgarian authority in the newly conquered lands and the new stirring of the tribes in the steppes gave reason for Omurtag to conclude a 30-year peace treaty with the Byzantines in 815, which was partly inscribed on a surviving column found near the village of Seltsi, Shumen Province. According to that inscription the treaty specified the border in Thrace, the issue with those Slavs who remained in Byzantium and the exchange of the other prisoners of war. The treaty was honoured by both sides and was renewed after the accession of the new Byzantine Emperor Michael II
to the throne in 820. In 821 Thomas the Slav
rebelled against the Byzantine Emperor and laid siege to Constantinople
to seize the imperial throne for himself. Khan Omurtag sent an army to help Michael II put down the rebellion, which attacked the rebels at the Battle of Kedouktos (winter 822 or spring 823). Although Byzantine accounts report that Thomas's army was routed, modern scholars consider the battle an, albeit costly, victory for the latter.
ravaged the regions inside the Bulgarian frontier. The Bulgarians retaliated, and under the leadership of Isbul
, the minister of Malamir
they reached Adrianople. At this time, if not earlier, the Bulgarians annexed Philippopolis (Plovdiv
) and its environs. Several surviving monumental inscriptions from this reign make reference to the Bulgarian victories and others to the continuation of construction activities in and near Pliska. The war ended, however, when Slavs in the vicinity of Thessalonica rebelled against the Byzantine Empire in 837.
Emperor Theophilos sought Bulgarian support in putting down the rebellion, but simultaneously arranged for his fleet to sail through the Danube
delta and undertake a clandestine evacuation of some of the Byzantine captives settled in trans-Danubian Bulgaria by Krum and Omurtag. In retaliation Isbul campaigned along the Aegean
coasts of Thrace and Macedonia and captured the city of Philippi
, where he set up a surviving memorial inscription set up in a local church. Isbul's campaign may have resulted in the establishment of Bulgarian suzerainty over the Slavic tribe of the Smoljani.
was not a particularly successful leader in war, being at various times defeated by the Franks
, Croats, Serbs and Byzantines.
and the caesar Bardas
, were successful in the conflict and reconquered a number of cities, Philippopolis, Develtus, Anchialus and Mesembria being among them, and also the frontier region between Sider and Develtus, known as Zagora
, in northeastern Thrace. At the time of this campaign the Bulgarians were distracted by a war with the Franks under Louis the German
and the Croatians.
far to the northwest, he had little choice but to yield immediately. He broke off the Frankish alliance, allowed Greek clergy to enter Bulgaria and was eventually baptized, with the Byzantine emperor Michael III
as his sponsor; Boris took the additional name of Michael at his baptism. The Bulgarians were allowed to recover the debatable region of Zagora as a reward for their change of religious orientation.
With Simeon I
's ascending to the throne in 893, the long-lasting peace with the Byzantine Empire established by his father was about to end. A conflict arose when Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise
, acting under pressure from his wife Zoe Karbonopsina
and her father, moved the marketplace for Bulgarian goods from Constantinople to Thessaloniki, where the Bulgarian merchants were heavily taxed. Forced to take action, in the autumn of 894 Simeon invaded the Byzantine Empire from the north, meeting with little opposition due to the concentration of most Byzantine forces in eastern Anatolia
to counter Arab
invasions. Informed of the Bulgarian offensive, the surprised Leo sent an army consisting of guardsmen and other military units from the capital to halt Simeon, but his troops were routed somewhere in the theme of Macedonia.The Magyars managed to defeat Simeon's Army twice but in 896 they were routed in the battle of Southern Buh
. The war ended in 896 with a great Bulgarian victory near Bulgarophygon
in Eastern Thrace. The market was returned to Constantinople and the Byzantine Emperor had to pay annual tribute to Bulgaria. More importantly, with the help from the Pechenegs Simeon successfully fended off a Magyar invasion which was coordinated with the Byzantines.
.svg.png)
After the death of Leo VI on 11 May 912 and the accession of his infant son Constantine VII
under the guidance of Leo's brother Alexander, who expelled Leo's wife Zoe from the palace, Simeon claimed the imperial title and tried to replace Byzantium as the biggest power in the region, probably even building a new Bulgarian-Byzantine empire. Alexander died on 6 June 913, leaving the capital in anarchy and the rule of the empire in the hands of a regency council headed by Patriarch
Nicholas Mystikos
. That gave the Bulgarian ruler a great opportunity to attempt a campaign towards the Byzantine capital so he attacked in full force in late July or August 913 and reached Constantinople without any serious resistance. The protracted negotiations resulted in the payment of the Byzantine tribute's arrears
, the promise that Constantine VII should marry one of Simeon's daughters and, most importantly, Simeon's official recognition as Emperor (tzar) of the Bulgarians by Patriarch Nicholas in the Blachernai Palace. Until the end of his reign Simeon used the style of "Emperor of the Bulgarians and the Romans".
Shortly after Simeon's visit to Constantinople, Constantine's mother Zoe returned to the palace on the insistence of the young emperor and immediately proceeded to eliminate the regents. Through a plot, she managed to assume power in February 914, practically removing Patriarch Nicholas from the government, disowning and obscuring his recognition of Simeon's imperial title and rejecting the planned marriage of her son to one of Simeon's daughters. In retaliation, he invaded Thrace in the summer of 914 and captured Adrianople. In 917, a particularly strong Byzantine army led by Leo Phokas, son of Nikephoros Phokas, invaded Bulgaria accompanied by the Byzantine navy under the command of Romanos Lekapenos
, which sailed to the Bulgarian Black Sea ports. En route to Mesembria (Nesebǎr
), where they were supposed to be reinforced by troops transported by the navy, Phokas' forces stopped to rest near the river of Acheloos, not far from the port of Anchialos (Pomorie
). Once informed of the invasion, Simeon rushed to intercept the Byzantines, and attacked them from the nearby hills while they were resting disorganized. In the Battle of Achelous (or Anchialus) of 20 August 917, one of the largest in medieval history, the Bulgarians completely routed the Byzantines and killed many of their commanders, although Phokas managed to escape to Mesembria. As a result of the victory Simeon drew into his orbit the Pecheneg leaders and started a major offensive against the European dominions of Byzantium. The Bulgarians sent to pursue the remnants of the Byzantine army approached Constantinople and encountered Byzantine forces under Leo Phokas, who had returned to the capital, at the village of Katasyrtai
in the immediate proximity of Constantinople.
Simeon led aggressive policy regarding the Serbia
n principalities that tended to support Byzantium. Bulgarian troops led by Theodore Sigrica and Marmais
continuously invaded the country, deposing local rulers like Petar Gojniković and Pavle Branović. Meanwhile, the admiral Romanos Lekapenos replaced Zoe as regent of the young Constantine VII in 919 and advanced to the rank of co-emperor in December 920, effectively assuming the government of the empire. No longer able to climb to the Byzantine throne by diplomatic means, the infuriated Simeon once again had to wage war to impose his will. Between 920 and 922, Bulgaria increased its pressure on Byzantium, campaigning in the west through Thessaly
reaching the Isthmus of Corinth
and in the east in Thrace, reaching and crossing the Dardanelles
to lay siege on the town of Lampsacus
. Simeon's forces appeared before Constantinople in 921, when they demanded the deposition of Romanos and captured Adrianople, and 922, when they were victorious at Pigae
, burned much of the Golden Horn
and seized Bizye
.
Desperate to conquer Constantinople, Simeon planned a large campaign in 924 and sent envoys to the Shea Fatimid
ruler Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah
, who possessed a powerful navy, which Simeon needed. The Ubayd Allah
agreed and sent his own representatives back with the Bulgarians to arrange the alliance. However, the envoys were captured by the Byzantines at Calabria
. Romanos offered peace to Egypt under the Fatimid
s, supplementing this offer with generous gifts, and ruined the Fatimid
s newly formed alliance with Bulgaria
.
In 924 Simeon sent an army led by Časlav Klonimirović
to depose a former ally of his, Zaharije Pribisavljević. He was successful, as Zaharije fled to Croatia. In the summer of the same year, Simeon arrived at Constantinople and demanded to see the patriarch and the emperor. He conversed with Romanos on the Golden Horn on 9 September 924 and arranged a truce, according to which Byzantium would pay Bulgaria an annual tax, but would be ceded back some cities on the Black Sea coast. In 926, Simeon's troops invaded Croatia, at the time a Byzantine ally, but were stopped by the army of King Tomislav
in the Battle of the Bosnian Highlands
. Fearing a Bulgarian retribution, Tomislav accepted to abandon his union with Byzantium and make peace on the basis of the status quo
, negotiated by the papal legate Madalbert
Simeon died of a heart attack in his palace in Preslav on May 27, 927, after 14 years of war against the Byzantine Empire.
Soon after his accession, Simeon's son Peter I
renewed the war and raided Byzantine Thrace. Following this show of strength, Peter dispatched a diplomatic mission to Constantinople seeking peace. A peace was obtained with the frontiers restored to those defined in treaties of 897 and 904. Simeon's conquests in Thrace were restored to the Byzantine Empire whilst it, in turn, recognised Bulgarian control over inland Macedonia. Peter also gained a Byzantine bride, Maria Lecapena granddaughter of Romanus I, an annual tribute, recognition of his title of tsar, and of the autocephalus status of the Bulgarian church. This peace lasted until 966. After Peter's empress died in the mid 960’s, the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros II
Phokas refused to pay the annual tribute to Bulgaria in 966, complaining of the Bulgarian alliance with the Magyars, and undertook a show of force at the Bulgarian border. Dissuaded from a direct attack against Bulgaria, Nikephoros II dispatched a messenger to the Kiev
an prince Sviatoslav Igorevich
to arrange a Kievan attack against Bulgaria from the north. Sviatoslav readily launched a campaign with a vast force, and routed the Bulgarians on the Danube, seizing some 80 Bulgarian fortresses in 968. Stunned by the success of his ally and suspicious of his actual intentions, Emperor Nikephoros II now hastened to make peace with Bulgaria and arranged the marriage of his wards, the underage emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII
, to two Bulgarian princesses. Two of Peter's sons were sent to Constantinople as both negotiators and honorary hostages. In the meantime, Peter managed to secure the retreat of the Kievan forces by inciting Bulgaria's traditional allies, the Pechenegs, to attack Kiev itself.
In 968 Boris II, future emperor of Bulgaria, went to Constantinople again to negotiate a peace settlement with Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, and apparently to serve as an honorary hostage. This arrangement was intended to put an end to the conflict between Bulgaria and Byzantium, which would now join forces against Prince Sviatoslav I of Kiev, whom the Byzantine emperor had pitted against the Bulgarians. In 969 a new Kievan invasion defeated the Bulgarians again and Peter I abdicated to become a monk. In circumstances that are not entirely clear, Boris II was allowed to return to Bulgaria and sit on his father's throne.
Boris II was unable to stem the Kievan advance, and found himself forced to accept Sviatoslav of Kiev as his ally and puppet-master, turning against the Byzantines. A Kievan campaign into Byzantine Thrace was defeated at Arkadioupolis in 970, and the new Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimiskes advanced northwards. Failing to secure the defense of the Balkan passes, Sviatoslav allowed the Byzantines to penetrate into Moesia and lay siege to the Bulgarian capital Preslav. Although Bulgarians and Russians joined in defending the city, the Byzantines managed to set afire the wooden structures and roofs by missiles, and took the fortress. Boris II now became a captive of John I Tzimiskes, who continued to pursue the Russians, besieging Sviatoslav in Drăstăr (Silistra
), while claiming to act as Boris' ally and protector, and treating the Bulgarian monarch with due respect. After Sviatoslav had come to terms and set out for Kiev, the Byzantine emperor returned to Constantinople in triumph. Far from liberating Bulgaria as he had claimed, John brought along Boris II and his family, together with the contents of the Bulgarian imperial treasury in 971. In a public ceremony in Constantinople, Boris II was ritually divested of his imperial insignia and was given the Byzantine court title of magistros as compensation. The Bulgarian lands in Thrace and lower Moesia now became part of the Byzantine Empire and were placed under Byzantine governors.
Although the ceremony in 971 had been intended as a symbolic termination of the Bulgarian empire, the Byzantines were unable to assert their control over the western provinces of Bulgaria. These remained under the rule of their own governors, and especially of a noble family led by four brothers called the Kometopouloi (i.e., "the sons of the Count"), named David, Moses, Aron, and Samuel
. The movement was regarded as a "revolt" by the Byzantine emperor, but it apparently saw itself as a sort of regency for the captive Boris II. As they began to raid neighboring territories under Byzantine rule, the Byzantine government resorted to a stratagem intended to compromise the leadership of this "revolt". This involved allowing Boris II and his brother Roman to escape from their honorary captivity at the Byzantine court, in the hope that their arrival in Bulgaria would cause a division between the Kometopouloi and other Bulgarian leaders. As Boris II and Roman entered the region under Bulgarian control in 977, Boris II dismounted and went ahead of his brother. Mistaken for a Byzantine notable due to his attire, Boris was shot in the chest by a deaf and mute border patrol. Roman managed to identify himself to the other guards and was duly accepted as emperor. However, since he was a eunuch, as the Byzantines had castrated him so that he could not have any heirs, he was unable to rule the throne. Instead, his brother Samuil resisted the Byzantines. Although eventually the Byzantines managed to capture all of Bulgaria, Samuil resisted him for decades and is the only man to ever defeat Basil II in battle, when in 986 Samuil drove Basil II's army from the field at the Gates of Trajan
, and the emperor (barely surviving the heavy defeat at the Gates of Trajan) soon turned to the east for new conquests. His victory prompted Pope Gregory V
to recognize him as Tsar, and he was crowned in Rome in 997. In 1002, a full-scale war broke out. By this time, Basil's army was stronger. The emperor was determined to conquer Bulgaria once and for all. He moved much of the battle-seasoned imperial war potential from the Eastern campaigns against the Arabs, and Samuil was forced to retreat into his country's heartland. Still, by harassing the powerful Byzantine army, Samuil hoped to force Basil to the peace table. For a dozen years, his tactics maintained Bulgarian independence and even kept Basil away from the main Bulgarian cities, including the capital of Ohrid
.
However, on July 29, 1014 at Kleidion
(or Belasitsa) (present day Blagoevgrad Province
), Basil II was able to corner the main Bulgarian army and force a battle while Samuil was away. He won a crushing victory and, according to later legend, blinded 14,000 prisoners, leaving one man in every hundred with the sight in one eye to lead his comrades home. According to the legend, the sight of this atrocity was too much even for Samuil, who blamed himself for the defeat and died less than three months later, on October 6. This story is a later invention, which gave rise to the nickname by which Basil II was known from the 12th century onwards: the 'Bulgar-slayer'.
restored the fortifications of Bitola
in 1015 and survived an assassination plot undertaken by Byzantine agents. Although the Byzantines sacked Ohrid, they failed to take Pernik
and received troubling intelligence that Ivan Vladislav was attempting to induce the Pechenegs to come to his aid, following up the general practice of his predecessors.
While Byzantine armies had penetrated deep into Bulgaria in 1016, Ivan Vladislav was able to rally his forces and commenced a siege of Durazzo in the winter of 1018. During a battle in front of the city, Ivan Vladislav was killed. After his death much of the Bulgarian nobility and court, including his widow Marija, submitted to the advancing Basil II in exchange of guarantees for the preservation of their lives, status, and property. A faction of the nobles and the army rallied around Ivan Vladislav's eldest sons and continued to resist for several months until it was forced to submit.
The newly proclaimed Bulgarian emperor Peter II later led a large revolt against the Byzantines. Peter II Delyan took Niš
and Skopje
, first co-opting and then eliminating another potential leader in the person of one Tihomir, who had led a rebellion in the region of Durazzo. After this Peter II marched on Thessalonica, where the Byzantine Emperor Michael IV was staying. Michael fled, leaving his treasury to a certain Michael Ivac. The latter, who was probably a son of Ivac, a general under Samuil of Bulgaria
, promptly turned over the bulk of the treasury to Peter outside the city. Thessalonica remained in Byzantine hands, but Macedonia, Durazzo, and parts of northern Greece were taken by Peter II's forces. This inspired further Slavic revolts against Byzantine rule in Epirus and Albania.
Peter II Delyan's successes ended, however, with the interference of his cousin Alusian
. Alusian, whose father Ivan Vladislav had murdered Peter's father Gabriel Radomir in 1015, joined Peter II's ranks as an apparent deserter from the Byzantine court, where he had been disgraced. Alusian was welcomed by Peter II, who gave him an army with which to attack Thessalonica. The siege, however, was raised by the Byzantines, and the army was defeated. Alusian barely escaped and returned to Ostrovo.
One night, during dinner, Alusian took advantage of Peter II's inebriation, and cut off his nose and blinded him with a kitchen knife in 1041. Since Alusian was of the blood of Samuel, he was quickly proclaimed emperor in Peter II's place by his troops, but he conspired to defect to the Byzantines. As the Bulgarian and Byzantine troops were preparing for battle, Alusian deserted to the enemy and headed for Constantinople, where his possessions and lands were restored to him, and he was rewarded with the high courtly rank of magistros.
Meanwhile, though blind, Peter II Delyan resumed command of the Bulgarian forces, but the Byzantine Emperor Michael IV determined to take advantage of the situation and advanced against them. In an obscure battle near Ostrovo, the Byzantines defeated the Bulgarian troops and Peter II Delyan was captured and taken to Constantinople, where he was perhaps executed.
Norse sagas refer to the participation of the future Norwegian King Harald Hardråda, who allegedly cut down Peter II in the field of battle as a member of the Varangian Guard
. This tradition may be supported by a laconic reference in the so-called "Bulgarian Apocryphal Chronicle". In either case, Peter II Delyan may have perished in 1041.
took Niš and Ohrid, but suffered a crippling defeat in front of Kastoria. The Byzantine counter-attack took Skopje with the help of George Voitekh, who betrayed first Peter III, and then attempted to betray the Byzantines, but in vain. In another battle Peter III was taken captive by the Byzantines and sent, together with George Voitekh, as prisoner to Constantinople. George Voitekh died en route, while the former Peter III languished in prison first at Constantinople and then at Antioch
.
appeared before the Byzantine emperor Isaac II Angelos
at Kypsela to request a pronoia
, but their request was dismissively refused and Ivan Asen was slapped in the ensuing argument. The insulted brothers returned home to Moesia and, taking advantage of discontent caused by the heavy taxation imposed by the Byzantine emperor to finance his campaigns against William II of Sicily
and to celebrate his marriage to Margaret of Hungary
, raised a revolt against Byzantine rule.
The rebellion failed to immediately capture Bulgaria's historic capital Preslav, but established a new capital city at Tărnovo
, presumably the center of the revolt. In 1186 the rebels suffered a defeat, but Isaac II Angelos failed to exploit his victory and returned to Constantinople. With the help of the chiefly Cuman population north of the Danube, Peter IV and Ivan Asen recovered their positions and raided into Thrace. When Isaac II Angelos penetrated into Moesia again in 1187 he failed to capture either Tărnovo or Loveč, and he signed a treaty effectively recognizing the Second Bulgarian Empire, but neither side had any intention of keeping the peace. When the Third Crusade
led by Frederick I
, the Holy Roman Emperor
, was advancing towards Constantinople, representatives of Peter IV and Ivan Asen approached him with offers of military assistance against the latently hostile Isaac II Angelos at Niš
and again at Adrianople
.
Success now definitely swung in favor of the Bulgarians, who captured the areas of Sredec (Sofia) and Niš in 1191, of Belgrade
in 1195, of Melnik
and Prosek in 1196, while raiding parties reached as far south as Serres
. When the Bulgarian emperor Ivan Asen I
was murdered, his successor Kaloyan
continued an aggressive policy against the Byzantine Empire by making an alliance with Ivanko
, the murderer of Ivan Asen I, who had entered Byzantine service in 1196 and had become governor of Philippopolis
(Plovdiv). Another ally of Kaloyan was Dobromir Hriz (Chrysos), who governed the area of Strumica. The coalition was quickly dissolved, as the Byzantines overcame both Ivanko and Dobromir Hriz. Nevertheless, Kaloyan conquered Konstanteia (Simeonovgrad) in Thrace and Varna
from the Byzantine Empire in 1201, and most of Slavic Macedonia in 1202.
captured and sacked Constantinople and created the Latin Empire
, electing as emperor Baldwin I
of Flanders. Although Kaloyan had offered the crusaders an alliance against the Byzantine Empire, his offer had been spurned, and the Latin Empire expressed the intention of conquering all the lands of the former Byzantine Empire, including the territories ruled by Kaloyan. The impending conflict
was precipitated by the Byzantine aristocracy in Thrace, which rebelled against Latin rule in 1205 and called on Kaloyan for help, offering him its submission.
's Boulgaroktonos ("slayer of Bulgarians"). But generally the relations between the Bulgarians and the Nicaea
, the main Byzantine successor state, remained strong, as the new pro-Nicaean alignment of Bulgaria culminated with the marriage between Ivan Asen II's daughter Elena and the future Theodore II Laskaris
, the son of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes
of Nicaea. The dynastic union was celebrated in 1235 and coincided with the restoration of the Bulgarian patriarchate
with the consent of the eastern patriarchs. Later on, the Bulgarians decided to aid neither the Latin Empire nor the Nicaeans, because both of the other empires were too involved fighting each other to attack Bulgaria.
Soon after the Byzantine empire restored itself under Michael VIII Palaiologos
, he became involved in the civil war in Bulgaria. Michael VIII Palaiologos supported Michael Asen III, and sent several Byzantine armies to attempt to assert Ivan Asen III on the throne of Bulgaria above that of Ivailo, the current Bulgarian ruler. Although Ivailo defeated several of these attempts, he was blockaded for three months in Drăstăr (Silistra) by the Mongol allies of Michael VIII. In the interval a Byzantine force besieged the Bulgarian capital Tărnovo and, hearing a rumor of Ivailo's death in battle, the local nobility surrendered and accepted Ivan Asen III as emperor in 1279.
Shortly after this, still in 1279 Ivailo suddenly appeared before Tărnovo with an army, but failed to take the well-fortified city. He nevertheless defeated a larger Byzantine relief force near Varna and another in the Balkan passes. Despairing of relief, Ivan Asen III fled Tărnovo in 1280, while his brother-in-law George Terter I seized the throne. The new ruler temporarily united the factuous aristocracy, and Ivailo gradually lost support.
and the Turks
. In 1301, however, the new aggressive Bulgarian emperor Theodore Svetoslav
had several bloody encounters with the Byzantines. First, the former emperor Michael Asen II, who unsuccessfully tried to advance into Bulgaria with a Byzantine army in about 1302. As a consequence of his victories, Theodore Svetoslav felt secure enough to move on to the offensive by 1303 and captured the fortresses of northeastern Thrace, including Mesembria (Nesebăr
), Ankhialos (Pomorie
), Sozopolis (Sozopol
), and Agathopolis (Ahtopol
) in 1304. The Byzantine counterattack failed at the battle on the river Skafida near Sozopolis, where the Co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos
was turned to flight. Nevertheless, the war continued, with Michael IX and Theodore Svetoslav taking turns pillaging each other's lands. In the following 1305 Theodore Svetoslav's uncle Aldimir
appears to have entered into negotiations with the Byzantines, and Theodore Svetoslav annexed his uncle's lands. In 1306 Theodore Svetoslav gained the services of the rebellious Alan
mercenaries to the Byzantines, who he settled in Bulgaria, and made unsuccessful overtures to the mercenaries of the Catalan
Company, who had also rebelled against their Byzantine employers. The war ended with a peace treaty in 1307, cemented with a marriage between the widowed Theodore Svetoslav and Theodora, a daughter of the Co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos.
, where the throne was contested between Andronikos II Palaiologos
and his grandson Andronikos III Palaiologos
. Taking advantage of the situation, George Terter II invaded Byzantine Thrace and, encountering little, if any, resistance, conquered the major city of Philippopolis (Plovdiv) and part of the surrounding area in 1322 or 1323. A Bulgarian garrison was installed under the command of a general named Ivan the Russian, while a court scribe praised George Terter II as a "possessor of the Bulgarian and the Greek sceptre". A new campaign during the same year brought the subjugation of several fortresses around Adrianople, but the Bulgarians were now turned back and defeated by Andronikos III. The Byzantine emperor was preparing for an invasion of Bulgaria, when he heard the news that George Terter II had died, apparently of natural causes.
. The Byzantines overran northeastern Thrace and captured a number of important cities. At the same time, a Byzantine-sponsored pretender, Vojsil, brother of the former Bulgarian emperor Smilec, ensconced himself in Krăn
, controlling the valley between the Balkan mountains and Sredna Gora
. At this point the newly elected Bulgarian emperor Michael Asen III
marched south against Andronikos III, while another Byzantine army was besieging Philippopolis (Plovdiv).
Although Michael Asen III managed to force Andronikos III to retreat, the Byzantines managed to take the Philippopolis while the Bulgarians were changing garrisons. In spite of this loss, Michael Asen III was able to expel Vojsil and recover Bulgarian control over northern and northeastern Thrace in 1324. This situation was confirmed by a peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire, which was cemented by Michael Asen III's marriage to Theodora Palaiologina, the sister of Andronikos III Palaiologos, who had been previously married to Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria
.
Nevertheless, Michael Asen III entered into negotiations with Andronikos II, offering military support in exchange for money and the cession of border lands. Advancing to the frontier with his army, Michael Asen III sent a detachment to ostensibly help Andronikos II, but intended to actually capture the emperor. Forewarned by his grandson, Andronikos II prudently kept the Bulgarian detachment away from the capital and his person.
Giving up on his ploy, Michael Asen III attempted to gain some lands by force, but retreated before the advance of Andronikos III. Another showdown in front of Adrianople in 1328 ended without battle and with the renewal of the peace treaty, after which Michael Asen III returned to his country, but not before securing a large payoff.
In the early 1340s relations with the Byzantine Empire temporarily deteriorated. Ivan Alexander demanded the extradition of his cousin Shishman (Šišman), one of the sons of Michael Asen III, threatening the Byzantine government with war. Ivan Alexander's show of force backfired, as the Byzantines called his bluff and sent against him the fleet of their ally, the Turkish emir of Smyrna
Umur Beg. Landing in the Danube Delta
, the Turks of Umur Beg pillaged the countryside and attacked the Bulgarian cities in the vicinity. Forced to restrain his demands, Ivan Alexander invaded the Byzantine Empire again at the end of 1341, claiming that he was summoned by the people of Adrianople. Here his troops were defeated twice by Turkish allies of the Byzantines.
In 1341-1347, the Byzantine Empire was plunged into a second protracted civil war, between the regency for Emperor John V Palaiologos
and his intended guardian John VI Kantakouzenos
. The neighbors of the Byzantines took advantage of the civil war, and while Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia sided with John VI Kantakouzenos, Ivan Alexander backed John V Palaiologos and his regency. Although the two Balkan rulers picked opposite sides in the Byzantine civil war, they maintained their alliance with each other. As the price for Ivan Alexander's support, the regency for John V Palaiologos ceded him the city of Philippopolis (Plovdiv) and nine important fortresses in the Rhodope Mountains
in 1344.
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...
and Bulgarians
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
which began when the Bulgars
Bulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
first settled in the Balkan peninsula in the 5th century, and intensified with the expansion of the Bulgarian Empire
Bulgarian Empire
Bulgarian Empire is a term used to describe two periods in the medieval history of Bulgaria, during which it acted as a key regional power in Europe in general and in Southeastern Europe in particular, rivalling Byzantium...
to the southwest after 680 AD. The Byzantines and Bulgarians continued to clash over the next century with variable success, until the Bulgarians, led by Krum
Krum of Bulgaria
Krum the Horrible was Khan of Bulgaria, from after 796, but before 803, to 814 AD. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper and from Odrin to the Tatra Mountains. His able and energetic rule brought law and order to Bulgaria and...
, inflicted a series of crushing defeats on the Byzantines. After Krum died in 814, his son Omurtag negotiated a thirty year peace treaty. In 893, during the next major war, Simeon I
Simeon I of Bulgaria
Simeon I the Great ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe...
, the Bulgarian emperor, defeated the Byzantines while attempting to form a large Eastern European Empire, but his efforts failed.
In 971 John I Tzimiskes
John I Tzimiskes
John I Tzimiskes or Tzimisces, was Byzantine Emperor from December 11, 969 to January 10, 976. A brilliant and intuitive general, John's short reign saw the expansion of the empire's borders and the strengthening of Byzantium itself.- Background :...
, the Byzantine emperor, subjugated much of the Bulgarian Empire by defeating Boris II
Boris II of Bulgaria
Boris II was emperor of Bulgaria from 969 to 977 .-Reign:Boris II was the eldest surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria and Maria Lakapena, a granddaughter of Emperor Romanos I Lakapenos of Byzantium...
and capturing Preslav
Preslav
Preslav was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire from 893 to 972 and one of the most important cities of medieval Southeastern Europe. The ruins of the city are situated in modern northeastern Bulgaria, some 20 kilometres southwest of the regional capital of Shumen, and are currently a...
, the Bulgarian capital. Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
under Basil II
Basil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
completely conquered Bulgaria in 1018 as a result of the 1014 Battle of Kleidion
Battle of Kleidion
The Battle of Kleidion took place on July 29, 1014 between the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire...
. There were rebellions against Byzantine rule from 1040 to 1041, and in the 1070s and the 1080s, but these failed. In 1185, however, Theodore Peter and Ivan Asen
Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria
Ivan Asen I ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1189–1196. The year of his birth is unknown.-Life:...
started a revolt, and the weakening Byzantine Empire, facing internal dynastic troubles of its own, was unable to prevent the revolt from being successful.
After the Fourth Crusade
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
conquered Constantinople in 1204, Kaloyan
Kaloyan of Bulgaria
Kaloyan the Romanslayer , Ivan II , ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1197-1207. He is the third and youngest brother of Peter IV and Ivan Asen I who managed to restore the Bulgarian Empire...
, the Bulgarian emperor, tried to establish friendly relations with the crusaders, but the newly created Latin Empire
Latin Empire
The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261...
spurned any offer of alliance with the Bulgarians. Because of his cold reception, Kaloyan allied with the Nicaeans, one of the Byzantine states created after the fall of Constantinople, instead, which reduced the crusaders' power in the area. Even though his nephew Boril
Boril of Bulgaria
Boril reigned as emperor of Bulgaria from 1207 to 1218. He was the son of an unnamed sister of his predecessor Kaloyan.-Biography:It is unclear whether Boril was party to the murder of Kaloyan in front of the walls of Thessalonica in 1207, but Kaloyan's intended heirs, his nephews Ivan Asen and...
allied with the Latin Empire, Boril's successors sided with the Nicaeans, despite a few continuing attacks from them. After the Latin Empire collapsed, the Byzantines, taking advantage of a Bulgarian civil war, captured portions of Thrace, but the Bulgarian emperor Theodore Svetoslav
Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria
Theodore Svetoslav ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from 1300 to 1322. The date of his birth is unknown. He was a wise and capable ruler who brought stability and relative prosperity to the Bulgarian Empire after two decades of constant Mongol intervention in the internal issues of the Empire...
retook these lands. The Byzantine-Bulgarian relations continued to fluctuate until the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Dynasty
The Ottoman Dynasty ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922, beginning with Osman I , though the dynasty was not proclaimed until Orhan Bey declared himself sultan...
destroyed the Bulgarian Empire in 1422 and the Byzantine Empire in 1453.
Asparukh’s war
The Byzantines and the Bulgarians first clashed when Khan Kubrat’sKubrat
Kubrat or Kurt was a Bulgar ruler credited with establishing the confederation of Old Great Bulgaria in 632. He is said to have achieved this by conquering the Avars and uniting all the Bulgar tribes under one rule....
youngest son Asparukh moved westward, occupying today’s southern Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
. Asparukh defeated the Byzantines under Constantine IV, who led a combined land and sea operation against the invaders and besieged their fortified camp in Ongala. Suffering from bad health, the emperor had to leave the army, which allowed itself to panic and be defeated by the Bulgarians. In 681, Constantine was forced to acknowledge the Bulgar state
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 Moesia
Moesia
Moesia was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River. It included territories of modern-day Southern Serbia , Northern Republic of Macedonia, Northern Bulgaria, Romanian Dobrudja, Southern Moldova, and Budjak .-History:In ancient...
and to pay protection money to avoid further inroads into Byzantine 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...
. Eight years later, Asparukh lead a successful campaign against Byzantine 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...
.
Tervel’s wars
Tervel, first mentioned in the ByzantineByzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
texts in 704, when the deposed emperor Justinian II
Justinian II
Justinian II , surnamed the Rhinotmetos or Rhinotmetus , was the last Byzantine Emperor of the Heraclian Dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711...
came to him and asked for his aid, supported Justinian in an attempted restoration to the Byzantine throne in exchange for friendship, gifts, and his daughter in marriage. With an army of 15,000 horsemen provided by Tervel, Justinian suddenly advanced on Constantinople and managed to gain entrance into the city in 705. The restored emperor executed his supplanters, the emperors Leontios
Leontios
Leontios was Byzantine emperor from 695 to 698. He came to power by overthrowing the Emperor Justinian II, but was overthrown in his turn by Tiberios III. His actual and official name was Leo , but he is known by the name used for him in Byzantine chronicles.- Early life :Leontios was born in...
and Tiberios III
Tiberios III
Tiberios III was Byzantine emperor from 698 to 21 August 705. Although his rule was considered generally successful, especially in containing the Arab threat to the east, he was overthrown by the former emperor Justinian II and subsequently executed.-Rise to power:Tiberius was a Germanic naval...
, alongside many of their supporters. Justinian awarded Tervel with many gifts, the title of kaisar (Caesar
Caesar (title)
Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
), which made him second only to the emperor and the first foreign ruler in Byzantine history to receive such a title, and possibly a territorial concession in northeastern Thrace, a region called Zagore
Zagore
Zagore ; also Zagorie, Zagora, Zagoria) was a vaguely defined medieval region in Bulgaria. Its name is of Slavic origin and means "beyond [i.e. south of] the [Balkan] mountains"...
. Whether Justinian's daughter Anastasia was married to Tervel as had been arranged is unknown.
A mere 3 years later, Justinian II himself violated this arrangement and apparently commenced military operations to recover the ceded area. Tervel routed him at the Battle of Anchialus
Battle of Anchialus (708)
The Battle of Anchialus occurred in 708 near the town of Pomorie, Bulgaria .- Origines of the conflict :In 705, the Bulgarian Khan Tervel helped the ex-emperor of Byzantium, Justinian II to regain his throne after 10 years in exile...
(or Ankhialo) in 708. In 711, faced by a serious revolt 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...
, Justinian again sought the aid of Tervel, but obtained only lukewarm support manifested in an army of 3,000. Outmaneuvered by the rebel emperor Philippicus, Justinian was captured and executed, while his Bulgar allies were allowed to retire to their country. Tervel took advantage of the disorder in Byzantium to raid 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...
in 712, plundering as far as the vicinity of Constantinople.
Given the chronological information of the Imennik, Tervel would have died in 715. However, the Byzantine Chronicler Theophanes the Confessor
Theophanes the Confessor
Saint Theophanes Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church .-Biography:Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac,...
ascribes Tervel a role in an attempt to restore the deposed Emperor Anastasius II
Anastasios II (emperor)
Artemius Anastasius , known in English as Anastasios II or Anastasius II, , was Byzantine emperor from 713 to 715....
in 718 or 719. If Tervel had survived this long, he would have been the Bulgarian ruler who concluded a new treaty (confirming the annual tribute paid by the Byzantines to 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...
, the territorial concessions in Thrace, regulating commercial relations and the treating of political refugees) with Emperor Theodosius III in 716, and also the Bulgarian ruler who helped relieve the Second Arab siege of Constantinople in 717–718 by land. According to the Theophanes, the Bulgars slaughtered some 22,000 Arabs in the battle before Constantinople.
Constantine V's wars
After the death of SevarSevar of Bulgaria
Sevar was a ruler of Bulgaria in the 8th century.The Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans, which states that he belonged to the royal Dulo clan and ruled for 15 years. According to the chronology developed by Moskov, Sevar would have reigned 721–737...
, Bulgaria descended into a long period of crisis and unrest, while the Byzantines consolidated their positions. Between 756 and 775, the new Byzantine Emperor Constantine V
Constantine V
Constantine V was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775; ); .-Early life:...
lead nine campaigns against his northern neighbour to establish a Byzantine border on the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
. Due to the frequent change of rulers (8 Khans held the throne for 20 years) and the constant political crisis, Bulgaria was on the verge of destruction.
In his first campaign in 756, Constantine V was successful and managed to defeat the Bulgarians twice, but in 759, Vinekh
Vinekh of Bulgaria
Vinekh was ruler of Bulgaria in the mid-8th century.According to the Namelist of Bulgarian Rulers, Vinekh reigned for 7 years and was a member of the Uokil clan . According to the chronology developed by Moskov, Vinekh would have reigned 754–762...
, the Bulgarian Khan, defeated the Byzantine army comprehensively in the battle of the Rishki Pass
Battle of the Rishki Pass
The Battle of the Rishki Pass took place in the pass of the same name, in Stara Planina, Bulgaria in 759. It was fought between the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire...
. Vinekh then sought to make peace with the Byzantines, but was assassinated by the Bulgarian nobles. The new ruler, Telets
Telets of Bulgaria
Telets was the ruler of Bulgaria from 762 to 765.According to the Namelist of Bulgarian Rulers, Telets reigned for 3 years "instead of another", and he was a member of the Ugain clan. This is corroborated by the Byzantine sources, which indicate that Telets replaced the legitimate rulers of...
, was defeated at the battle of Anchialus
Battle of Anchialus (763)
The battle of Anchialus occurred in 763, near the town of Pomorie on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast . The result was a Byzantine victory.- Origins of the conflict :...
in 763. During their next campaigns, both sides could not gain any significant success, because the Byzantines could not pass through the Balkan Mountains and their fleet was destroyed twice in heavy storms (2,600 ships sank in just one of the storms in 765,). In 774, they defeated an inferior Bulgarian force at Berzitia
Battle of Berzitia
The battle of Berzitia occurred in the fall of 774 near the town of Berzitia, Macedonia. The result was a Byzantine victory.- Origins of the conflict :...
but this was the last success of Constantine V: as a result of their defeat, the Bulgarians took serious precautions to get rid of the Byzantine spies in Pliska
Pliska
Pliska is the name of both the first capital of Danubian Bulgaria and a small town which was renamed after the historical Pliska after its site was determined and excavations began....
. Khan Telerig sent a secret emissary to Constantine V, indicating his intention to flee Bulgaria and seek refuge with the emperor, and seeking assurances of hospitality. Telerig succeeded in having the emperor betray his own agents in Bulgaria, who were duly rounded up and executed. The expected Byzantine retaliation failed to materialize as Constantine V died in 775.
Constantine VI's failed retaliations
In 791, the Byzantine emperor Constantine VI embarked on an expedition against Bulgaria, in retaliation for Bulgarian incursions in the Struma valley since 789. Kardam pre-empted the Byzantine invasion and met the enemy near Adrianople in ThraceThrace
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...
. The Byzantine army was defeated and turned to flight.
In 792, Constantine VI led another army against the Bulgarians and encamped at Marcellae, near Karnobat
Karnobat
Karnobat is a town in the Burgas Province, Southeastern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Karnobat Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 18,480 inhabitants.-Geography:...
, which he proceeded to fortify. Kardam arrived with his army on July 20 and occupied the neighboring heights. After some time passed with the two forces sizing up each other, Constantine VI ordered the attack, but in the resulting battle of Marcellae the Byzantine forces lost formation and once again were defeated and turned to flight. Kardam captured the imperial tent and the emperor's servants. After his return to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, Constantine VI signed a peace treaty and undertook to pay an annual tribute to Bulgaria.
By 796, the imperial government was recalcitrant and Kardam found it necessary to demand the tribute while threatening to devastate Thrace if it were not paid. According to the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor
Theophanes the Confessor
Saint Theophanes Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church .-Biography:Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac,...
, Constantine VI mocked the demand by having dung sent instead of gold as "fitting tribute" and promising to lead a new army against the elderly Kardam at Marcellae. Once again the emperor's army headed north, and once again it encountered Kardam in the vicinity of Adrianople. The armies faced each other for 17 days without entering into battle, while the two monarchs probably engaged in negotiations. In the end, conflict was averted and the peace resumed on the same terms as in 792.
Khan Krum’s wars
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
), slaughtering the Byzantine garrison in spite of his promise of safe conduct. This provoked the reaction of the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I
Nikephoros I
Nikephoros I or Nicephorus I, Logothetes or Genikos was Byzantine emperor from 802 to 811, when he was killed in the Battle of Pliska....
, who proceeded to settle Anatolian populations along the frontier to protect it. He also attempted to retake and refortify Serdica, although this enterprise ultimately failed.
Conflict with Nikephoros I
In early 811, Nikephoros I undertook a massive expedition against Bulgaria, and advanced to Marcellae (near KarnobatKarnobat
Karnobat is a town in the Burgas Province, Southeastern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Karnobat Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 18,480 inhabitants.-Geography:...
). Here Krum attempted to negotiate on July 11, 811, but Nikephoros was determined to continue with his advance. His army managed to avoid Bulgarian ambushes in the Balkan Mountains
Balkan Mountains
The Balkan mountain range is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the Vrashka Chuka Peak on the border between Bulgaria and eastern Serbia eastward through central Bulgaria to Cape Emine on the Black Sea...
and defeated an army of 12,000 that tried to block their advance into Moesia. Another hastily assembled army of 50,000 was defeated before the walls of the Bulgarian capital, Pliska
Pliska
Pliska is the name of both the first capital of Danubian Bulgaria and a small town which was renamed after the historical Pliska after its site was determined and excavations began....
, which fell to the emperor on July 20. Here Nikephoros, who had been a financial minister before becoming emperor, helped himself to the treasures of Krum, while setting the city afire and turning his army on the population. A new diplomatic tentative from Krum was rebuffed. Nikephorus showed great cruelty: he ordered his army to kill the population of the capital.
Increasingly concerned about the breakdown of discipline in his army, Nikephoros finally began to retreat towards Thrace. In the meantime, Krum had mobilized as many of his subjects (including the women) as he could and had begun to set traps and ambushes for the retreating imperial army in the mountain passes. At dawn on July 26 the Byzantines found themselves trapped against a moat and wooden wall in the Vărbica
Varbitsa Pass
Varbitsa Pass is a mountain pass in the Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria. It connects Shumen and Petolachka crossroads.The famous Battle of Pliska was fought in the pass on August 26, 811 between the armies of Bulgarian Empire led by Khan Krum and the Byzantine Empire under Nicephorus I which ended...
pass. Nikephoros was killed in the ensuing battle
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
together with many of his troops, while his son Staurakios
Staurakios
Staurakios or Stauracius was Byzantine emperor from July 26 to October 2, 811 in succession to his father, Nikephoros I, who had fallen at the Battle of Pliska...
was carried to safety by the imperial bodyguard after receiving a paralyzing wound to his neck. According to tradition, Krum had the Emperor's skull lined with silver and used it as a drinking cup. This enhanced his reputation for brutality and won him the appellation of New Sennacherib
Sennacherib
Sennacherib |Sîn]] has replaced brothers for me"; Aramaic: ) was the son of Sargon II, whom he succeeded on the throne of Assyria .-Rise to power:...
".
Conflict with Michael I Rangabe
Michael I Rangabe
Michael I Rangabes was Byzantine Emperor from 811 to 813.Michael was the son of the patrician Theophylaktos Rangabes, the admiral of the Aegean fleet...
. In 812 Krum invaded Byzantine 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...
, 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, ostensibly opposing the clause for exchange of deserters. To apply more pressure on the emperor, Krum besieged and captured Mesembria (Nesebar
Nesebar
Nesebar is an ancient town and one of the major seaside resorts on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, located in Burgas Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Nesebar Municipality...
) in the fall of 812.
In February 813, the Bulgarians raided into Thrace, but were repelled by the emperor's forces. Encouraged by this success, Michael I summoned troops from the entire empire and headed north, hoping for a decisive victory. Krum led his army south towards Adrianople and pitched camp near Versinikia
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....
. Michael I lined up his army against the Bulgarians, but neither side initiated an attack for two weeks. Finally, on June 22, 813, the Byzantines attacked but were immediately turned to flight. With Krum's cavalry in pursuit, the rout of Michael I was complete and Krum advanced on Constantinople, which he besieged by land. Discredited, Michael was forced to abdicate and become a monk — the third Byzantine emperor undone by Krum in as many years.
Conflict with Leo V the Armenian
The new emperor, Leo V the ArmenianLeo V the Armenian
Leo V the Armenian was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 813 to 820. A senior general, he forced his predecessor, Michael I Rangabe, to abdicate and assumed the throne. He ended the decade-long war with the Bulgars, and initiated the second period of Byzantine Iconoclasm...
, offered to negotiate, and arranged for a meeting with Krum. As Krum arrived, he was ambushed by Byzantine archers and was wounded as he made his escape. Furious, Krum ravaged the environs of Constantinople and headed home, capturing Adrianople en route and transplanting its inhabitants (including the parents of the future Emperor Basil I
Basil I
Basil I, called the Macedonian was a Byzantine emperor of probable Armenian descent who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a simple peasant in the Byzantine theme of Macedonia, he rose in the imperial court, and usurped the imperial throne from Emperor Michael III...
) across the Danube. In spite of the approach of winter, Krum took advantage of the good weather to send a force of 30,000 into Thrace, which captured Arkadioupolis (Lüleburgaz
Lüleburgaz
Lüleburgaz, is a town and district of Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey.-Facts:The city has a population of 100,412 and is the largest town in Kırklareli Province....
) and carried off some 50,000 captives. The loot from Thrace was used to enrich Krum and his nobility, and included architectural elements utilized in the reconstruction of Pliska, perhaps largely by captured Byzantine artisans.
Krum spent the winter preparing for a major attack on Constantinople, where rumor reported the assembling of an extensive siege park to be transported on 5,000 carts. However, before he set out, he died on April 13, 814, and was succeeded by his son Omurtag.
Omurtag’s peace treaty
Babaeski
Babaeski is a town and district of Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. The countyship has a population of 27,712 and the total area of the district is 652 km².-Name:...
(Bulgarophygon then), but there they were defeated by Emperor Leo V the Armenian
Leo V the Armenian
Leo V the Armenian was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 813 to 820. A senior general, he forced his predecessor, Michael I Rangabe, to abdicate and assumed the throne. He ended the decade-long war with the Bulgars, and initiated the second period of Byzantine Iconoclasm...
, and Omurtag escaped the battlefield on his swift horse. However, the battle was not a decisive blow for the Bulgarians although it certainly had some effect.
The possibility of an anti-Bulgarian alliance between the Byzantine and the Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
empires, the need needed to consolidate Bulgarian authority in the newly conquered lands and the new stirring of the tribes in the steppes gave reason for Omurtag to conclude a 30-year peace treaty with the Byzantines in 815, which was partly inscribed on a surviving column found near the village of Seltsi, Shumen Province. According to that inscription the treaty specified the border in Thrace, the issue with those Slavs who remained in Byzantium and the exchange of the other prisoners of war. The treaty was honoured by both sides and was renewed after the accession of the new Byzantine Emperor Michael II
Michael II
Michael II , surnamed the Amorian or the Stammerer , reigned as Byzantine emperor from December 820 to his death on 2 October 829, and the first ruler of the Phrygian or Amorian dynasty....
to the throne in 820. In 821 Thomas the Slav
Thomas the Slav
Thomas the Slav was a 9th-century Byzantine military commander, most notable for leading a wide-scale revolt against Emperor Michael II the Amorian in 820–823....
rebelled against the Byzantine Emperor and laid siege to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
to seize the imperial throne for himself. Khan Omurtag sent an army to help Michael II put down the rebellion, which attacked the rebels at the Battle of Kedouktos (winter 822 or spring 823). Although Byzantine accounts report that Thomas's army was routed, modern scholars consider the battle an, albeit costly, victory for the latter.
Brief war with Theophilos
After the expiration of the original 20-year peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire in 836, Emperor TheophilosTheophilos (emperor)
Theophilos was the Byzantine emperor from 829 until his death in 842. He was the second emperor of the Phrygian dynasty, and the last emperor supporting iconoclasm...
ravaged the regions inside the Bulgarian frontier. The Bulgarians retaliated, and under the leadership of Isbul
Isbul
Isbul was the kavhan, or first minister, of the First Bulgarian Empire during the reigns of Omurtag, Malamir and Presian I...
, the minister of Malamir
Malamir of Bulgaria
Malamir was the ruler of Bulgaria 831–836.Malamir was a son of Omurtag and a grandson of Krum. His name may be of Slavic origin, and is claimed to be the first Bulgar khan to possess a Slavic name; however another theory is that it was an Iranian name, as there is an Iranian city named Malamir...
they reached Adrianople. At this time, if not earlier, the Bulgarians annexed Philippopolis (Plovdiv
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
) and its environs. Several surviving monumental inscriptions from this reign make reference to the Bulgarian victories and others to the continuation of construction activities in and near Pliska. The war ended, however, when Slavs in the vicinity of Thessalonica rebelled against the Byzantine Empire in 837.
Emperor Theophilos sought Bulgarian support in putting down the rebellion, but simultaneously arranged for his fleet to sail through the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
delta and undertake a clandestine evacuation of some of the Byzantine captives settled in trans-Danubian Bulgaria by Krum and Omurtag. In retaliation Isbul campaigned along the Aegean
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
coasts of Thrace and Macedonia and captured the city of Philippi
Philippi
Philippi was a city in eastern Macedonia, established by Philip II in 356 BC and abandoned in the 14th century after the Ottoman conquest...
, where he set up a surviving memorial inscription set up in a local church. Isbul's campaign may have resulted in the establishment of Bulgarian suzerainty over the Slavic tribe of the Smoljani.
Wars of Boris I
Despite his able diplomacy, statesmanship and his importance in the process of converting Bulgaria to Christianity Boris IBoris I of Bulgaria
Boris I, also known as Boris-Mihail and Bogoris was the Knyaz of First Bulgarian Empire in 852–889. At the time of his baptism in 864, Boris was named Michael after his godfather, Emperor Michael III...
was not a particularly successful leader in war, being at various times defeated by the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
, Croats, Serbs and Byzantines.
War of 852
Soon after coming to power Boris launched a brief campaign against the Byzantines in 852. No details of the outcome of this war are extant, though it is possible he may have gained some territory in inland Macedonia.War of 855-856
Another conflict between the Byzantines and Bulgarians started in 855-856. The Empire wanted to regain its control over some areas of inland Thrace and the ports around the Gulf of Burgas on the Black Sea. The Byzantine forces, led by the emperorMichael III
Michael III , , Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian-Phrygian Dynasty...
and the caesar Bardas
Bardas
Bardas was a Byzantine noble and high-ranking minister. As the brother of Empress Theodora, he rose to high office under Theophilos . Although sidelined after Theophilos' death by Theodora and Theoktistos, in 856 he engineered Theoktistos' fall and became the regent for his nephew, Michael III...
, were successful in the conflict and reconquered a number of cities, Philippopolis, Develtus, Anchialus and Mesembria being among them, and also the frontier region between Sider and Develtus, known as Zagora
Zagore
Zagore ; also Zagorie, Zagora, Zagoria) was a vaguely defined medieval region in Bulgaria. Its name is of Slavic origin and means "beyond [i.e. south of] the [Balkan] mountains"...
, in northeastern Thrace. At the time of this campaign the Bulgarians were distracted by a war with the Franks under Louis the German
Louis the German
Louis the German , also known as Louis II or Louis the Bavarian, was a grandson of Charlemagne and the third son of the succeeding Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye.He received the appellation 'Germanicus' shortly after his death in recognition of the fact...
and the Croatians.
Military conflict connected to the Christian conversion of Boris
In 863 Boris made a decision to embrace Christianity, and he sought a mission from the Franks. The Byzantines, for their part, could not countenance so a close neighbor as Bulgaria falling under Frankish religious control. Byzantium had recently gained a major victory over the Arabs and was free to field a considerable military force against Bulgaria. A fleet was sent into the Black Sea and an army dispatched to invade Bulgaria. As the bulk of Boris' army was campaigning against MoraviaGreat Moravia
Great Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe and lasted for nearly seventy years in the 9th century whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. It was a vassal state of the Germanic Frankish kingdom and paid an annual tribute to it. There is some controversy as...
far to the northwest, he had little choice but to yield immediately. He broke off the Frankish alliance, allowed Greek clergy to enter Bulgaria and was eventually baptized, with the Byzantine emperor Michael III
Michael III
Michael III , , Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian-Phrygian Dynasty...
as his sponsor; Boris took the additional name of Michael at his baptism. The Bulgarians were allowed to recover the debatable region of Zagora as a reward for their change of religious orientation.
Simeon I’s Imperial ambitions
Simeon I of Bulgaria
Simeon I the Great ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe...
's ascending to the throne in 893, the long-lasting peace with the Byzantine Empire established by his father was about to end. A conflict arose when Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI, surnamed the Wise or the Philosopher , was Byzantine emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty , he was very well-read, leading to his surname...
, acting under pressure from his wife Zoe Karbonopsina
Zoe Karbonopsina
Zoe Karbonopsina, also Karvounopsina or Carbonopsina, i.e., "with the Coal-Black Eyes" , was fourth wife of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise and the mother of Constantine VII....
and her father, moved the marketplace for Bulgarian goods from Constantinople to Thessaloniki, where the Bulgarian merchants were heavily taxed. Forced to take action, in the autumn of 894 Simeon invaded the Byzantine Empire from the north, meeting with little opposition due to the concentration of most Byzantine forces in eastern Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
to counter Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
invasions. Informed of the Bulgarian offensive, the surprised Leo sent an army consisting of guardsmen and other military units from the capital to halt Simeon, but his troops were routed somewhere in the theme of Macedonia.The Magyars managed to defeat Simeon's Army twice but in 896 they were routed in the battle of Southern Buh
Battle of Southern Buh
The Battle of Southern Buh occurred near the banks of the so called river, in modern Ukraine. The result was a great Bulgarian victory which forced the Magyars to leave forever the steppes of southern Ukraine and to establish the Kingdom of Hungary a hundred years later.- Origins of the conflict...
. The war ended in 896 with a great Bulgarian victory near Bulgarophygon
Battle of Bulgarophygon
The Battle of Boulgarophygon or Battle of Bulgarophygon was fought in the summer of 896 near the town of Bulgarophygon, modern Babaeski in Turkey, between the Byzantine Empire and the First Bulgarian Empire...
in Eastern Thrace. The market was returned to Constantinople and the Byzantine Emperor had to pay annual tribute to Bulgaria. More importantly, with the help from the Pechenegs Simeon successfully fended off a Magyar invasion which was coordinated with the Byzantines.
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus, "the Purple-born" was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 913 to 959...
under the guidance of Leo's brother Alexander, who expelled Leo's wife Zoe from the palace, Simeon claimed the imperial title and tried to replace Byzantium as the biggest power in the region, probably even building a new Bulgarian-Byzantine empire. Alexander died on 6 June 913, leaving the capital in anarchy and the rule of the empire in the hands of a regency council headed by Patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
Nicholas Mystikos
Nicholas Mystikos
Nicholas I Mystikos or Nicholas I Mysticus was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from March 901 to February 906 and from May 912 to his death in 925. His feast day in the Orthodox Church is May 16.Nicholas was born in the Italian Peninsula and had become a friend of the Patriarch Photios...
. That gave the Bulgarian ruler a great opportunity to attempt a campaign towards the Byzantine capital so he attacked in full force in late July or August 913 and reached Constantinople without any serious resistance. The protracted negotiations resulted in the payment of the Byzantine tribute's arrears
Arrears
Arrears is a legal term for the part of a debt that is overdue after missing one or more required payments. The amount of the arrears is the amount accrued from the date on which the first missed payment was due...
, the promise that Constantine VII should marry one of Simeon's daughters and, most importantly, Simeon's official recognition as Emperor (tzar) of the Bulgarians by Patriarch Nicholas in the Blachernai Palace. Until the end of his reign Simeon used the style of "Emperor of the Bulgarians and the Romans".
Shortly after Simeon's visit to Constantinople, Constantine's mother Zoe returned to the palace on the insistence of the young emperor and immediately proceeded to eliminate the regents. Through a plot, she managed to assume power in February 914, practically removing Patriarch Nicholas from the government, disowning and obscuring his recognition of Simeon's imperial title and rejecting the planned marriage of her son to one of Simeon's daughters. In retaliation, he invaded Thrace in the summer of 914 and captured Adrianople. In 917, a particularly strong Byzantine army led by Leo Phokas, son of Nikephoros Phokas, invaded Bulgaria accompanied by the Byzantine navy under the command of Romanos Lekapenos
Romanos I
Romanos I Lekapenos was Byzantine Emperor from 920 until his deposition on December 16, 944.-Origin:...
, which sailed to the Bulgarian Black Sea ports. En route to Mesembria (Nesebǎr
Nesebar
Nesebar is an ancient town and one of the major seaside resorts on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, located in Burgas Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Nesebar Municipality...
), where they were supposed to be reinforced by troops transported by the navy, Phokas' forces stopped to rest near the river of Acheloos, not far from the port of Anchialos (Pomorie
Pomorie
Pomorie is a town and seaside resort in southeastern Bulgaria, located on a narrow rocky peninsula in Burgas Bay on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is situated in Burgas Province, 20 km away from the city of Burgas and 18 km from the Sunny Beach resort. The ultrasaline lagoon...
). Once informed of the invasion, Simeon rushed to intercept the Byzantines, and attacked them from the nearby hills while they were resting disorganized. In the Battle of Achelous (or Anchialus) of 20 August 917, one of the largest in medieval history, the Bulgarians completely routed the Byzantines and killed many of their commanders, although Phokas managed to escape to Mesembria. As a result of the victory Simeon drew into his orbit the Pecheneg leaders and started a major offensive against the European dominions of Byzantium. The Bulgarians sent to pursue the remnants of the Byzantine army approached Constantinople and encountered Byzantine forces under Leo Phokas, who had returned to the capital, at the village of Katasyrtai
Battle of Katasyrtai
The battle of Katasyrtai occurred in the fall of 917, shortly after the striking Bulgarian triumph at Acheloos near the village of the same names close to the Byzantine capital Constantinople, . The result was a Bulgarian victory....
in the immediate proximity of Constantinople.
Simeon led aggressive policy regarding the 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...
n principalities that tended to support Byzantium. Bulgarian troops led by Theodore Sigrica and Marmais
Marmais
Marmais was a Bulgarian military commander, noble and komita of a western Bulgarian region during the reign of Emperor Simeon I . He was a descendant of an ancient Bulgarian family...
continuously invaded the country, deposing local rulers like Petar Gojniković and Pavle Branović. Meanwhile, the admiral Romanos Lekapenos replaced Zoe as regent of the young Constantine VII in 919 and advanced to the rank of co-emperor in December 920, effectively assuming the government of the empire. No longer able to climb to the Byzantine throne by diplomatic means, the infuriated Simeon once again had to wage war to impose his will. Between 920 and 922, Bulgaria increased its pressure on Byzantium, campaigning in the west through Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
reaching the Isthmus of Corinth
Isthmus of Corinth
The Isthmus of Corinth is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the rest of the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth. The word "isthmus" comes from the Ancient Greek word for "neck" and refers to the narrowness of the land. The Isthmus was known in the ancient...
and in the east in Thrace, reaching and crossing the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
to lay siege on the town of Lampsacus
Lampsacus
Lampsacus was an ancient Greek city strategically located on the eastern side of the Hellespont in the northern Troad. An inhabitant of Lampsacus was called a Lampsacene. The name has been transmitted in the nearby modern town of Lapseki.-Ancient history:...
. Simeon's forces appeared before Constantinople in 921, when they demanded the deposition of Romanos and captured Adrianople, and 922, when they were victorious at Pigae
Battle of Pigae
The Battle of Pegae occurred between March 11 and March 18, 922 in the outskirts of Constantinople. The result was a Bulgarian victory.-Origins of the conflict:...
, burned much of the Golden Horn
Golden Horn
The Golden Horn is a historic inlet of the Bosphorus dividing the city of Istanbul and forming the natural harbor that has sheltered Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and other ships for thousands of...
and seized Bizye
Vize
Vize is a town and district of Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. The mayor is Selçuk Yılmaz . The population is 12,196 as of 2010.- History :...
.
Fatimid
The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
ruler Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah
Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah
Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah , often referred to as Ubayd Allah, is the founder of the Fatimid dynasty, the only major Shi'a caliphate in Islam, and established Fatimid rule throughout much of North Africa.- History :...
, who possessed a powerful navy, which Simeon needed. The Ubayd Allah
Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah
Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah , often referred to as Ubayd Allah, is the founder of the Fatimid dynasty, the only major Shi'a caliphate in Islam, and established Fatimid rule throughout much of North Africa.- History :...
agreed and sent his own representatives back with the Bulgarians to arrange the alliance. However, the envoys were captured by the Byzantines at Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
. Romanos offered peace to Egypt under the Fatimid
Fatimid
The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
s, supplementing this offer with generous gifts, and ruined the Fatimid
Fatimid
The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
s newly formed alliance with 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 924 Simeon sent an army led by Časlav Klonimirović
Caslav Klonimirovic
Časlav Klonimirović or Časlav of Serbia was Prince of the Serbs from ca. 927 until his death in 960. He significantly expanded the Serbian Principality when he managed to unite several Slavic tribes, stretching his realm over the shores of the Adriatic Sea, the Sava river and the Morava valley...
to depose a former ally of his, Zaharije Pribisavljević. He was successful, as Zaharije fled to Croatia. In the summer of the same year, Simeon arrived at Constantinople and demanded to see the patriarch and the emperor. He conversed with Romanos on the Golden Horn on 9 September 924 and arranged a truce, according to which Byzantium would pay Bulgaria an annual tax, but would be ceded back some cities on the Black Sea coast. In 926, Simeon's troops invaded Croatia, at the time a Byzantine ally, but were stopped by the army of King Tomislav
Tomislav
King Tomislav was a ruler of Croatia in the Middle Ages. He reigned from 910 until 928, first as Duke of Dalmatian Croatia in 910–925, and then became first King of the Croatian Kingdom in 925–928....
in the Battle of the Bosnian Highlands
Battle of the Bosnian Highlands
In 927 a battle was fought in the Bosnian highlands between the armies of the two Balkan rulers of the time: Bulgarian Tsar Simeon I, the great victor of the Battle of Anchialus over the Byzantine Empire ten years earlier, and King Tomislav of Croatia, the first king of the Croatian state.According...
. Fearing a Bulgarian retribution, Tomislav accepted to abandon his union with Byzantium and make peace on the basis of the status quo
Status quo
Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
, negotiated by the papal legate Madalbert
Simeon died of a heart attack in his palace in Preslav on May 27, 927, after 14 years of war against the Byzantine Empire.
Peter’s relations with the Byzantines
Peter I of Bulgaria
Peter I was emperor of Bulgaria from 27 May 927 to 969.-Early reign:Peter I was the son of Simeon I of Bulgaria by his second marriage to Maria Sursuvul, the sister of George Sursuvul. Peter had been born early in the 10th century, but it appears that his maternal uncle was very influential at...
renewed the war and raided Byzantine Thrace. Following this show of strength, Peter dispatched a diplomatic mission to Constantinople seeking peace. A peace was obtained with the frontiers restored to those defined in treaties of 897 and 904. Simeon's conquests in Thrace were restored to the Byzantine Empire whilst it, in turn, recognised Bulgarian control over inland Macedonia. Peter also gained a Byzantine bride, Maria Lecapena granddaughter of Romanus I, an annual tribute, recognition of his title of tsar, and of the autocephalus status of the Bulgarian church. This peace lasted until 966. After Peter's empress died in the mid 960’s, the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros II
Nikephoros II
Nikephoros II Phokas was a Byzantine Emperor whose brilliant military exploits contributed to the resurgence of Byzantine Empire in the tenth century.-Early exploits:...
Phokas refused to pay the annual tribute to Bulgaria in 966, complaining of the Bulgarian alliance with the Magyars, and undertook a show of force at the Bulgarian border. Dissuaded from a direct attack against Bulgaria, Nikephoros II dispatched a messenger to the Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
an prince Sviatoslav Igorevich
Sviatoslav I of Kiev
Sviatoslav I Igorevich ; , also spelled Svyatoslav, was a prince of Rus...
to arrange a Kievan attack against Bulgaria from the north. Sviatoslav readily launched a campaign with a vast force, and routed the Bulgarians on the Danube, seizing some 80 Bulgarian fortresses in 968. Stunned by the success of his ally and suspicious of his actual intentions, Emperor Nikephoros II now hastened to make peace with Bulgaria and arranged the marriage of his wards, the underage emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII
Constantine VIII
Constantine VIII was reigning Byzantine emperor from December 15, 1025 until his death. He was the son of the Emperor Romanos II and Theophano, and the younger brother of the eminent Basil II, who died childless and thus left the rule of the Byzantine Empire in his hands.-Family:As...
, to two Bulgarian princesses. Two of Peter's sons were sent to Constantinople as both negotiators and honorary hostages. In the meantime, Peter managed to secure the retreat of the Kievan forces by inciting Bulgaria's traditional allies, the Pechenegs, to attack Kiev itself.
Sviatoslav's invasion and the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria
Boris II was unable to stem the Kievan advance, and found himself forced to accept Sviatoslav of Kiev as his ally and puppet-master, turning against the Byzantines. A Kievan campaign into Byzantine Thrace was defeated at Arkadioupolis in 970, and the new Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimiskes advanced northwards. Failing to secure the defense of the Balkan passes, Sviatoslav allowed the Byzantines to penetrate into Moesia and lay siege to the Bulgarian capital Preslav. Although Bulgarians and Russians joined in defending the city, the Byzantines managed to set afire the wooden structures and roofs by missiles, and took the fortress. Boris II now became a captive of John I Tzimiskes, who continued to pursue the Russians, besieging Sviatoslav in Drăstăr (Silistra
Silistra
Silistra is a port city of northeastern Bulgaria, lying on the southern bank of the lower Danube at the country's border with Romania. Silistra is the administrative centre of Silistra Province and one of the important cities of the historical region of Southern Dobrudzha...
), while claiming to act as Boris' ally and protector, and treating the Bulgarian monarch with due respect. After Sviatoslav had come to terms and set out for Kiev, the Byzantine emperor returned to Constantinople in triumph. Far from liberating Bulgaria as he had claimed, John brought along Boris II and his family, together with the contents of the Bulgarian imperial treasury in 971. In a public ceremony in Constantinople, Boris II was ritually divested of his imperial insignia and was given the Byzantine court title of magistros as compensation. The Bulgarian lands in Thrace and lower Moesia now became part of the Byzantine Empire and were placed under Byzantine governors.
Samuil of Bulgaria
Samuel was the Emperor of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 980 to 997, he was a general under Roman I of Bulgaria, the second surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria, and co-ruled with him, as Roman bestowed upon him the command of the army and the effective royal...
. The movement was regarded as a "revolt" by the Byzantine emperor, but it apparently saw itself as a sort of regency for the captive Boris II. As they began to raid neighboring territories under Byzantine rule, the Byzantine government resorted to a stratagem intended to compromise the leadership of this "revolt". This involved allowing Boris II and his brother Roman to escape from their honorary captivity at the Byzantine court, in the hope that their arrival in Bulgaria would cause a division between the Kometopouloi and other Bulgarian leaders. As Boris II and Roman entered the region under Bulgarian control in 977, Boris II dismounted and went ahead of his brother. Mistaken for a Byzantine notable due to his attire, Boris was shot in the chest by a deaf and mute border patrol. Roman managed to identify himself to the other guards and was duly accepted as emperor. However, since he was a eunuch, as the Byzantines had castrated him so that he could not have any heirs, he was unable to rule the throne. Instead, his brother Samuil resisted the Byzantines. Although eventually the Byzantines managed to capture all of Bulgaria, Samuil resisted him for decades and is the only man to ever defeat Basil II in battle, when in 986 Samuil drove Basil II's army from the field at the Gates of Trajan
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 same name, modern Trayanovi Vrata, in Sofia Province, Bulgaria. It was the largest defeat of the Byzantines under Emperor Basil II...
, and the emperor (barely surviving the heavy defeat at the Gates of Trajan) soon turned to the east for new conquests. His victory prompted Pope Gregory V
Pope Gregory V
Pope Gregory V, né Bruno of Carinthia , Pope from May 3, 996 to February 18, 999, son of the Salian Otto I, Duke of Carinthia, who was a grandson of the Emperor Otto I the Great . Gregory V succeeded Pope John XV , when only twenty-four years of age...
to recognize him as Tsar, and he was crowned in Rome in 997. In 1002, a full-scale war broke out. By this time, Basil's army was stronger. The emperor was determined to conquer Bulgaria once and for all. He moved much of the battle-seasoned imperial war potential from the Eastern campaigns against the Arabs, and Samuil was forced to retreat into his country's heartland. Still, by harassing the powerful Byzantine army, Samuil hoped to force Basil to the peace table. For a dozen years, his tactics maintained Bulgarian independence and even kept Basil away from the main Bulgarian cities, including the capital of Ohrid
Ohrid
Ohrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year and has...
.
Battle of Kleidion
The Battle of Kleidion took place on July 29, 1014 between the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire...
(or Belasitsa) (present day Blagoevgrad Province
Blagoevgrad Province
Blagoevgrad Province , also known as Pirin Macedonia , is a province of southwestern Bulgaria. It borders four other Bulgarian provinces to the north and east, Greece to the south, and the Republic of Macedonia to the west. The province has 14 municipalities with 12 towns...
), Basil II was able to corner the main Bulgarian army and force a battle while Samuil was away. He won a crushing victory and, according to later legend, blinded 14,000 prisoners, leaving one man in every hundred with the sight in one eye to lead his comrades home. According to the legend, the sight of this atrocity was too much even for Samuil, who blamed himself for the defeat and died less than three months later, on October 6. This story is a later invention, which gave rise to the nickname by which Basil II was known from the 12th century onwards: the 'Bulgar-slayer'.
Ivan Vladislav
The Bulgarian Emperor Ivan VladislavIvan Vladislav of Bulgaria
Ivan Vladislav ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from August or September 1015 to February 1018. The year of his birth is unknown, but he was born at least a decade before 987, but probably not much earlier than that....
restored the fortifications of Bitola
Bitola
Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the...
in 1015 and survived an assassination plot undertaken by Byzantine agents. Although the Byzantines sacked Ohrid, they failed to take Pernik
Pernik
Pernik is a city in western Bulgaria with a population of 81,052 . It is the main city of Pernik Province and lies on both banks of the Struma River in the Pernik Valley between the Viskyar, Vitosha and Golo Bardo mountains.Originally the site of a Thracian fortress founded in the 4th century BC,...
and received troubling intelligence that Ivan Vladislav was attempting to induce the Pechenegs to come to his aid, following up the general practice of his predecessors.
While Byzantine armies had penetrated deep into Bulgaria in 1016, Ivan Vladislav was able to rally his forces and commenced a siege of Durazzo in the winter of 1018. During a battle in front of the city, Ivan Vladislav was killed. After his death much of the Bulgarian nobility and court, including his widow Marija, submitted to the advancing Basil II in exchange of guarantees for the preservation of their lives, status, and property. A faction of the nobles and the army rallied around Ivan Vladislav's eldest sons and continued to resist for several months until it was forced to submit.
Peter II
Niš
Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...
and Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
, first co-opting and then eliminating another potential leader in the person of one Tihomir, who had led a rebellion in the region of Durazzo. After this Peter II marched on Thessalonica, where the Byzantine Emperor Michael IV was staying. Michael fled, leaving his treasury to a certain Michael Ivac. The latter, who was probably a son of Ivac, a general under Samuil of Bulgaria
Samuil of Bulgaria
Samuel was the Emperor of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 980 to 997, he was a general under Roman I of Bulgaria, the second surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria, and co-ruled with him, as Roman bestowed upon him the command of the army and the effective royal...
, promptly turned over the bulk of the treasury to Peter outside the city. Thessalonica remained in Byzantine hands, but Macedonia, Durazzo, and parts of northern Greece were taken by Peter II's forces. This inspired further Slavic revolts against Byzantine rule in Epirus and Albania.
Peter II Delyan's successes ended, however, with the interference of his cousin Alusian
Alusian of Bulgaria
Alusian was a Bulgarian and Byzantine noble who ruled as emperor of Bulgaria for a short time in 1041.-Life:Alusian was the second son of Emperor Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria by his wife Maria...
. Alusian, whose father Ivan Vladislav had murdered Peter's father Gabriel Radomir in 1015, joined Peter II's ranks as an apparent deserter from the Byzantine court, where he had been disgraced. Alusian was welcomed by Peter II, who gave him an army with which to attack Thessalonica. The siege, however, was raised by the Byzantines, and the army was defeated. Alusian barely escaped and returned to Ostrovo.
One night, during dinner, Alusian took advantage of Peter II's inebriation, and cut off his nose and blinded him with a kitchen knife in 1041. Since Alusian was of the blood of Samuel, he was quickly proclaimed emperor in Peter II's place by his troops, but he conspired to defect to the Byzantines. As the Bulgarian and Byzantine troops were preparing for battle, Alusian deserted to the enemy and headed for Constantinople, where his possessions and lands were restored to him, and he was rewarded with the high courtly rank of magistros.
Meanwhile, though blind, Peter II Delyan resumed command of the Bulgarian forces, but the Byzantine Emperor Michael IV determined to take advantage of the situation and advanced against them. In an obscure battle near Ostrovo, the Byzantines defeated the Bulgarian troops and Peter II Delyan was captured and taken to Constantinople, where he was perhaps executed.
Norse sagas refer to the participation of the future Norwegian King Harald Hardråda, who allegedly cut down Peter II in the field of battle as a member of the Varangian Guard
Varangian Guard
The Varangian Guard was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army in 10th to the 14th centuries, whose members served as personal bodyguards of the Byzantine Emperors....
. This tradition may be supported by a laconic reference in the so-called "Bulgarian Apocryphal Chronicle". In either case, Peter II Delyan may have perished in 1041.
Peter III
The troops of the newly-crowned Peter IIIConstantin Bodin (Peter III)
Constantine Bodin was the Serbian King and titular King of Duklja. He was titled Prince , but was self-proclaimed King . He was emperor of Bulgaria by name Peter III in 1072...
took Niš and Ohrid, but suffered a crippling defeat in front of Kastoria. The Byzantine counter-attack took Skopje with the help of George Voitekh, who betrayed first Peter III, and then attempted to betray the Byzantines, but in vain. In another battle Peter III was taken captive by the Byzantines and sent, together with George Voitekh, as prisoner to Constantinople. George Voitekh died en route, while the former Peter III languished in prison first at Constantinople and then at Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
.
Theodore and the Second Bulgarian Empire
In 1185 Theodore and his younger brother Ivan AsenIvan Asen I of Bulgaria
Ivan Asen I ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1189–1196. The year of his birth is unknown.-Life:...
appeared before the Byzantine emperor Isaac II Angelos
Isaac II Angelos
Isaac II Angelos was Byzantine emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204....
at Kypsela to request a pronoia
Pronoia
Pronoia refers to a system of land grants in the Byzantine Empire.-The Early Pronoia System:...
, but their request was dismissively refused and Ivan Asen was slapped in the ensuing argument. The insulted brothers returned home to Moesia and, taking advantage of discontent caused by the heavy taxation imposed by the Byzantine emperor to finance his campaigns against William II of Sicily
William II of Sicily
William II , called the Good, was king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. William's character is very indistinct. Lacking in military enterprise, secluded and pleasure-loving, he seldom emerged from his palace life at Palermo. Yet his reign is marked by an ambitious foreign policy and a vigorous diplomacy...
and to celebrate his marriage to Margaret of Hungary
Margaret of Hungary
Margaret of Hungary was the Empress consort of Isaac II Angelos, Byzantine Emperor.- Family :Margaret was the eldest daughter of Béla III of Hungary and his first wife Agnes of Antioch. She was a younger sister of Emeric, King of Hungary. Her younger siblings were Andrew II of Hungary and...
, raised a revolt against Byzantine rule.
The rebellion failed to immediately capture Bulgaria's historic capital Preslav, but established a new capital city at Tărnovo
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred to as the "City of the Tsars", Veliko Tarnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famous as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists...
, presumably the center of the revolt. In 1186 the rebels suffered a defeat, but Isaac II Angelos failed to exploit his victory and returned to Constantinople. With the help of the chiefly Cuman population north of the Danube, Peter IV and Ivan Asen recovered their positions and raided into Thrace. When Isaac II Angelos penetrated into Moesia again in 1187 he failed to capture either Tărnovo or Loveč, and he signed a treaty effectively recognizing the Second Bulgarian Empire, but neither side had any intention of keeping the peace. When the Third Crusade
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
led by Frederick I
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
, the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
, was advancing towards Constantinople, representatives of Peter IV and Ivan Asen approached him with offers of military assistance against the latently hostile Isaac II Angelos at Niš
Niš
Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...
and again at Adrianople
Edirne
Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...
.
Isaac II Angelos’s failed retaliations
After the passing of the Third Crusade, Isaac II Angelos decided to deal with the Bulgarians decisively. The expedition was planned on a grand scale and reached Tărnovo before besieging it for a protracted period. By this time Peter IV had crowned Ivan Asen I as co-emperor in 1189 and, without abdicating, retired to Preslav. In charge of the defense of the Tărnovo, Ivan Asen I incited the Byzantine emperor to hastily retreat by spreading rumors of the arrival of a great Cuman army to the relief of the besieged city. The retreating Byzantine army was ambushed by Ivan Asen I in the Balkan passes and Isaac II barely escaped with his life in 1190.Success now definitely swung in favor of the Bulgarians, who captured the areas of Sredec (Sofia) and Niš in 1191, of Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
in 1195, of Melnik
Melnik, Bulgaria
Melnik is a town in Blagoevgrad Province, southwestern Bulgaria, in the southwestern Pirin Mountains, about 440 m above sea level. The town is an architectural reserve and 96 of its buildings are cultural monuments...
and Prosek in 1196, while raiding parties reached as far south as Serres
Serres
Serres is a city in Greece, seat of the Serres prefecture.Serres may also refer to:Places:* Serres, Germany, a part of Wiernsheim in Baden-WürttembergIn France:* Serres, Aude in the Aude département...
. When the Bulgarian emperor Ivan Asen I
Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria
Ivan Asen I ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1189–1196. The year of his birth is unknown.-Life:...
was murdered, his successor Kaloyan
Kaloyan of Bulgaria
Kaloyan the Romanslayer , Ivan II , ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1197-1207. He is the third and youngest brother of Peter IV and Ivan Asen I who managed to restore the Bulgarian Empire...
continued an aggressive policy against the Byzantine Empire by making an alliance with Ivanko
Ivanko of Bulgaria
Ivanko killed Ivan Asen I, ruler of the renascent Second Bulgarian Empire, in 1196. The murder occurred when Asen angrily summoned Ivanko to discipline him for having an affair with his wife's sister....
, the murderer of Ivan Asen I, who had entered Byzantine service in 1196 and had become governor of Philippopolis
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
(Plovdiv). Another ally of Kaloyan was Dobromir Hriz (Chrysos), who governed the area of Strumica. The coalition was quickly dissolved, as the Byzantines overcame both Ivanko and Dobromir Hriz. Nevertheless, Kaloyan conquered Konstanteia (Simeonovgrad) in Thrace and Varna
Varna
Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
from the Byzantine Empire in 1201, and most of Slavic Macedonia in 1202.
Rise of the Latin Empire
The war between the Bulgarians and the Byzantines was stalled in 1204, when Catholic forces of the Fourth CrusadeFourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
captured and sacked Constantinople and created the Latin Empire
Latin Empire
The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261...
, electing as emperor Baldwin I
Baldwin I of Constantinople
Baldwin I , the first emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople, as Baldwin IX Count of Flanders and as Baldwin VI Count of Hainaut, was one of the most prominent leaders of the Fourth Crusade, which resulted in the capture of Constantinople, the conquest of the greater part of the Byzantine...
of Flanders. Although Kaloyan had offered the crusaders an alliance against the Byzantine Empire, his offer had been spurned, and the Latin Empire expressed the intention of conquering all the lands of the former Byzantine Empire, including the territories ruled by Kaloyan. The impending conflict
Bulgarian-Latin Wars
The Bulgarian–Latin Wars were a series of conflicts between the Bulgarian Empire and the Latin Empire, which was created during the Fourth Crusade in 1204...
was precipitated by the Byzantine aristocracy in Thrace, which rebelled against Latin rule in 1205 and called on Kaloyan for help, offering him its submission.
Latin Wars
Although during the period of time from 1204 to 1261 the Bulgarians and the Byzantines mainly fought the Latins, both still held resentment towards each other. In spite of the initially welcome successes of the Bulgarians against the Latins, the Byzantine aristocracy now began to rebel or conspire against its rule. Kaloyan also changed course, and turned mercilessly on his former allies, adopting the sobriquet Rōmaioktonos ("slayer of Romans"), as a counter-derivative from Basil IIBasil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
's Boulgaroktonos ("slayer of Bulgarians"). But generally the relations between the Bulgarians and the Nicaea
Empire of Nicaea
The Empire of Nicaea was the largest of the three Byzantine Greek successor states founded by the aristocracy of the Byzantine Empire that fled after Constantinople was occupied by Western European and Venetian forces during the Fourth Crusade...
, the main Byzantine successor state, remained strong, as the new pro-Nicaean alignment of Bulgaria culminated with the marriage between Ivan Asen II's daughter Elena and the future Theodore II Laskaris
Theodore II Laskaris
Theodore II Doukas Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris was emperor of Nicaea, 1254–1258.-Life:Theodore II Doukas Laskaris was the only son of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes and Eirene Laskarina, the daughter of Emperor Theodore I Laskaris and Anna Angelina, a daughter of Emperor Alexios III Angelos and...
, the son of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes
John III Doukas Vatatzes
John III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes |Nymphaion]]) was emperor of Nicaea 1221–1254.-Life:John Doukas Vatatzes was probably the son of the general Basileios Vatatzes, Duke of Thrace, who died in 1193, and his wife, an unnamed daughter of Isaakios Angelos and cousin of the Emperors...
of Nicaea. The dynastic union was celebrated in 1235 and coincided with the restoration of the Bulgarian patriarchate
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia...
with the consent of the eastern patriarchs. Later on, the Bulgarians decided to aid neither the Latin Empire nor the Nicaeans, because both of the other empires were too involved fighting each other to attack Bulgaria.
Bulgarian civil wars
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine Emperor 1259–1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453...
, he became involved in the civil war in Bulgaria. Michael VIII Palaiologos supported Michael Asen III, and sent several Byzantine armies to attempt to assert Ivan Asen III on the throne of Bulgaria above that of Ivailo, the current Bulgarian ruler. Although Ivailo defeated several of these attempts, he was blockaded for three months in Drăstăr (Silistra) by the Mongol allies of Michael VIII. In the interval a Byzantine force besieged the Bulgarian capital Tărnovo and, hearing a rumor of Ivailo's death in battle, the local nobility surrendered and accepted Ivan Asen III as emperor in 1279.
Shortly after this, still in 1279 Ivailo suddenly appeared before Tărnovo with an army, but failed to take the well-fortified city. He nevertheless defeated a larger Byzantine relief force near Varna and another in the Balkan passes. Despairing of relief, Ivan Asen III fled Tărnovo in 1280, while his brother-in-law George Terter I seized the throne. The new ruler temporarily united the factuous aristocracy, and Ivailo gradually lost support.
Theodore Svetoslav’s Byzantine war
During the 13th century both the Byzantine and Bulgarian empires were beginning to fade, and often allied with each other to ward off such powerful foes as the Golden HordeGolden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
and the Turks
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
. In 1301, however, the new aggressive Bulgarian emperor Theodore Svetoslav
Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria
Theodore Svetoslav ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from 1300 to 1322. The date of his birth is unknown. He was a wise and capable ruler who brought stability and relative prosperity to the Bulgarian Empire after two decades of constant Mongol intervention in the internal issues of the Empire...
had several bloody encounters with the Byzantines. First, the former emperor Michael Asen II, who unsuccessfully tried to advance into Bulgaria with a Byzantine army in about 1302. As a consequence of his victories, Theodore Svetoslav felt secure enough to move on to the offensive by 1303 and captured the fortresses of northeastern Thrace, including Mesembria (Nesebăr
Nesebar
Nesebar is an ancient town and one of the major seaside resorts on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, located in Burgas Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Nesebar Municipality...
), Ankhialos (Pomorie
Pomorie
Pomorie is a town and seaside resort in southeastern Bulgaria, located on a narrow rocky peninsula in Burgas Bay on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is situated in Burgas Province, 20 km away from the city of Burgas and 18 km from the Sunny Beach resort. The ultrasaline lagoon...
), Sozopolis (Sozopol
Sozopol
Sozopol is an ancient seaside town located 35 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Today it is one of the major seaside resorts in the country, known for the Apollonia art and film festival that is named after one of the town's ancient names.The busiest times of the year...
), and Agathopolis (Ahtopol
Ahtopol
Ahtopol is a town and seaside resort on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is located on a headland in the southeastern part of Burgas Province and is close to the border with European Turkey...
) in 1304. The Byzantine counterattack failed at the battle on the river Skafida near Sozopolis, where the Co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos
Michael IX Palaiologos
Michael IX Palaiologos or Palaeologus , , reigned as Byzantine co-emperor with full imperial style 1294/1295–1320...
was turned to flight. Nevertheless, the war continued, with Michael IX and Theodore Svetoslav taking turns pillaging each other's lands. In the following 1305 Theodore Svetoslav's uncle Aldimir
Aldimir
Aldimir or EltimirWhile Aldimir is mentioned in Medieval Greek sources solely as Ἐλτιμηρῆς, Eltimiris, his original name Aldimir has been established thanks to the discovery of his son Ivan Dragushin's epitaph. was a Bulgarian noble of the 13th–14th century...
appears to have entered into negotiations with the Byzantines, and Theodore Svetoslav annexed his uncle's lands. In 1306 Theodore Svetoslav gained the services of the rebellious Alan
Alan
-People :*Alan , the given name*alan , female Tibetan singer active in Japan*Alan , Mexican boy band singer*Alan , aka Gato Eveready, who wrestles in Asistencia Asesoría y Administración...
mercenaries to the Byzantines, who he settled in Bulgaria, and made unsuccessful overtures to the mercenaries of the Catalan
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
Company, who had also rebelled against their Byzantine employers. The war ended with a peace treaty in 1307, cemented with a marriage between the widowed Theodore Svetoslav and Theodora, a daughter of the Co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos.
George Terter II’s Byzantine war
After his father's death in 1322, the new ruler, George Terter II became actively involved in the civil war in the Byzantine EmpireByzantine 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...
, where the throne was contested between Andronikos II Palaiologos
Andronikos II Palaiologos
Andronikos II Palaiologos , Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, was Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. He was the eldest surviving son of Michael VIII Palaiologos and Theodora Doukaina Vatatzina, grandniece of John III Doukas Vatatzes...
and his grandson 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...
. Taking advantage of the situation, George Terter II invaded Byzantine Thrace and, encountering little, if any, resistance, conquered the major city of Philippopolis (Plovdiv) and part of the surrounding area in 1322 or 1323. A Bulgarian garrison was installed under the command of a general named Ivan the Russian, while a court scribe praised George Terter II as a "possessor of the Bulgarian and the Greek sceptre". A new campaign during the same year brought the subjugation of several fortresses around Adrianople, but the Bulgarians were now turned back and defeated by Andronikos III. The Byzantine emperor was preparing for an invasion of Bulgaria, when he heard the news that George Terter II had died, apparently of natural causes.
Michael Asen III’s wars
The death of George Terter II had been followed by a brief period of confusion and uncertainty, which was exploited by the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III PalaiologosAndronikos 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...
. The Byzantines overran northeastern Thrace and captured a number of important cities. At the same time, a Byzantine-sponsored pretender, Vojsil, brother of the former Bulgarian emperor Smilec, ensconced himself in Krăn
KRAN
KHNA is a radio station licensed to serve Wamsutter, Wyoming, USA. The station, established in 2009, is currently owned by White Park Broadcasting, Inc.-History:...
, controlling the valley between the Balkan mountains and Sredna Gora
Sredna Gora
Sredna Gora is a mountain range in central Bulgaria, situated south of and parallel to Balkan mountain range and extending from the river Iskar to the west and the elbow of Tundzha north of Yambol to the east. Sredna Gora is 285 km long, reaching 50 km at its greatest width...
. At this point the newly elected Bulgarian emperor Michael Asen III
Michael Shishman of Bulgaria
Michael Asen III ), ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from 1323 to 1330. The exact year of his birth is unknown but it was between 1280 and 1292. He was the founder of the last ruling dynasty of the Second Bulgarian Empire, the Shishman dynasty...
marched south against Andronikos III, while another Byzantine army was besieging Philippopolis (Plovdiv).
Although Michael Asen III managed to force Andronikos III to retreat, the Byzantines managed to take the Philippopolis while the Bulgarians were changing garrisons. In spite of this loss, Michael Asen III was able to expel Vojsil and recover Bulgarian control over northern and northeastern Thrace in 1324. This situation was confirmed by a peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire, which was cemented by Michael Asen III's marriage to Theodora Palaiologina, the sister of Andronikos III Palaiologos, who had been previously married to Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria
Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria
Theodore Svetoslav ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from 1300 to 1322. The date of his birth is unknown. He was a wise and capable ruler who brought stability and relative prosperity to the Bulgarian Empire after two decades of constant Mongol intervention in the internal issues of the Empire...
.
Byzantine civil war
In 1327 Michael Asen III involved himself in the renewed civil war in the Byzantine Empire, taking the side of his brother-in-law Andronikos III, while his grandfather and rival Andronikos II obtained the support of the Serbian king. Andronikos III and Michael Asen III met and concluded an aggressive alliance against Serbia.Nevertheless, Michael Asen III entered into negotiations with Andronikos II, offering military support in exchange for money and the cession of border lands. Advancing to the frontier with his army, Michael Asen III sent a detachment to ostensibly help Andronikos II, but intended to actually capture the emperor. Forewarned by his grandson, Andronikos II prudently kept the Bulgarian detachment away from the capital and his person.
Giving up on his ploy, Michael Asen III attempted to gain some lands by force, but retreated before the advance of Andronikos III. Another showdown in front of Adrianople in 1328 ended without battle and with the renewal of the peace treaty, after which Michael Asen III returned to his country, but not before securing a large payoff.
Ivan Alexander’s defence of Bulgaria
Smyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
Umur Beg. Landing in the Danube Delta
Danube Delta
The Danube Delta is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania , while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine . The approximate surface is...
, the Turks of Umur Beg pillaged the countryside and attacked the Bulgarian cities in the vicinity. Forced to restrain his demands, Ivan Alexander invaded the Byzantine Empire again at the end of 1341, claiming that he was summoned by the people of Adrianople. Here his troops were defeated twice by Turkish allies of the Byzantines.
In 1341-1347, the Byzantine Empire was plunged into a second protracted civil war, between the regency for Emperor John V Palaiologos
John V Palaiologos
John V Palaiologos was a Byzantine emperor, who succeeded his father in 1341, at age nine.-Biography:...
and his intended guardian John VI Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus was the Byzantine emperor from 1347 to 1354.-Early life:Born in Constantinople, John Kantakouzenos was the son of a Michael Kantakouzenos, governor of the Morea. Through his mother Theodora Palaiologina Angelina, he was a descendant of the reigning house of...
. The neighbors of the Byzantines took advantage of the civil war, and while Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia sided with John VI Kantakouzenos, Ivan Alexander backed John V Palaiologos and his regency. Although the two Balkan rulers picked opposite sides in the Byzantine civil war, they maintained their alliance with each other. As the price for Ivan Alexander's support, the regency for John V Palaiologos ceded him the city of Philippopolis (Plovdiv) and nine important fortresses in the Rhodope Mountains
Rhodope Mountains
The Rhodopes are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, with over 83% of its area in southern Bulgaria and the remainder in Greece. Its highest peak, Golyam Perelik , is the seventh highest Bulgarian mountain...
in 1344.