The battle of Thessalonica ( bg, Битка при Солун, el, Μάχη της Θεσσαλονίκης) took place in the fall of 1040 near the city of

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 ...

in contemporary

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

between the

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely unders ...

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, soon reached

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

, where many

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

nobles were resettled after the fall of the First Bulgarian Empire in 1018. The most influential of these was Alusian, the second son of the last

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 ...

Ivan Vladislav Ivan Vladislav ( cu, Їѡаннъ Владиславъ; bg, Иван/Йоан Владислав; died February 1018) ruled as emperor (tsar) of the First Bulgarian Empire from August or September 1015 to February 1018. The year of his birth is ...

(1015–1018). Dressed as a

mercenary soldier A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...

he went to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

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 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 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 ...

. 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 The Battle of Ostrovo occurred in 1041 near Ostrovo, an area close to the lake of the same name in modern Northern Greece. History In 1040 Peter Delyan, an illegitimate relative of Samuel, the Bulgarian Tsar, led an uprising against the Byza ...

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