The battle of Thessalonica ( bg, Битка при Солун, el, Μάχη της Θεσσαλονίκης) took place in the fall of 1040 near the city of
Thessalonica in contemporary
Greece between the
Bulgarians and the
Byzantines. The battle ended with a Byzantine victory.
Origins of the conflict
The news of the successes of the
uprising of Peter Delyan, which broke out in the beginning of 1040 in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, soon reached
Armenia, where many
Bulgarian nobles were resettled after the fall of the
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Europ ...
in 1018. The most influential of these was
Alusian, the second son of the last
Bulgarian Emperor Ivan Vladislav (1015–1018). Dressed as a
mercenary soldier he went to
Constantinople from where he got to Bulgaria despite the strict control.
The battle
His arrival would mean more tensions in the rebel camp because Alusian could also claim the throne and he kept his origin in secret until he found supporters.
Peter II Delyan
Petar II Delyan (reigned 1040–1041) ( bg, Петър II Делян, Greek: Πέτρος Δελεάνος) was the leader of an uprising against Byzantine rule in the Theme of Bulgaria during the summer of 1040. He was proclaimed Tsar of Bulgaria ...
welcomed his cousin although he knew that Alusian might be a potential candidate for his crown. Peter II gave Alusian a 40,0000-strong army to attack Thessalonica, the second largest city in the
Byzantine Empire.
Alusian proved to be an incapable general: when he reached the city he attacked the Byzantine army with his tired troops. The Bulgarians could not fight effectively and were defeated. They suffered heavy casualties - 15,000 perished in the battle. Alusian fled from the battlefield, leaving his army behind.
Aftermath
The catastrophe at Thessalonica worsened the relations between Peter Delyan and Alusian. The latter was ashamed from the defeat and Delyan suspected treason. Alusian decided to act first and after a feast in the beginning of 1041 he blinded the Emperor. After that Alusian tried to continue the rebellion, but defeated once more, he decided to change sides and abandoned his army again, an act that was richly rewarded in Constantinople.
Although blind, Peter Delyan faced the Byzantines with the rest of the Bulgarian army but was defeated in the
battle of Ostrovo later that year and the uprising was crushed.
References
*Йордан Андреев, Милчо Лалков, Българските ханове и царе, Велико Търново, 1996.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thessalonica (1040), 2nd
1040s in the Byzantine Empire
11th century in Bulgaria
Battles involving the First Bulgarian Empire
Battles of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars in Thessalonica
Conflicts in 1040
1040 in Europe
Military history of Thessaloniki
Uprising of Peter Delyan