The Battle of Thessalonica in 1004 was one of the many attacks of the

Bulgarian emperor In the medieval history of Europe, Bulgaria's status as the Bulgarian Empire ( bg, Българско царство, ''Balgarsko tsarstvo'' ) occurred in two distinct periods: between the seventh and the eleventh centuries and again between the ...

Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...

against the second most important

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

city in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

. Eight years earlier Samuel had defeated the governor of

Gregory Taronites Gregory Taronites ( gr, Γρηγόριος Ταρωνίτης, Grēgorios Tarōnitēs) was an Armenians, Armenian prince of Taron (historic Armenia), Taron, who went over to Byzantine service and held senior commands and governorships under Empero ...

. The attack in 1004 was undertaken immediately after the end of one of the regular campaigns of the Byzantine emperor

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...

into Bulgaria. Despite the Bulgarian defeat in the

battle of Skopje The Battle of Skopje occurred in the vicinity of the city of Skopje in 1004. Background In 1003, Basil II launched a campaign against the First Bulgarian Empire and after eight months of siege conquered the important town of Vidin to the north ...

, after the withdrawal of Basil II Samuel answered by invading the Byzantine dominions in turn. He ambushed the governor of Salonica John Chaldos near his city and captured him. This chronology of events was presented by the historian

Vasil Zlatarski Vasil Nikolov Zlatarski ( bg, Васил Николов Златарски; – 15 December 1935) was a Bulgarian historian-medievalist, archaeologist, and epigraphist. Life Vasil Zlatarski was born in Veliko Tarnovo in 1866, the youngest c ...

. Other researches such as Srdjan Pirivatrich and Plamen PavlovПавлов, Пл.
Цар Самуил и "българската епопея"
(retrieved on 13 April 2011) assume that Samuel's victory over Gregory Taronites was in 995, while the defeat of John Chaldos took place in 996.

References

Conflicts in 1004 11th century in Bulgaria 1000s in the Byzantine Empire Battles involving the First Bulgarian Empire Battles of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars in Thessalonica 1004 in Europe Military history of Thessaloniki {{Byzantine-stub