The battle of Anchialus ( bg, Битката при Анхиало) occurred in 763, near the town of

Pomorie Pomorie ( bg, Поморие ), historically known as Anchialos (Greek: Αγχίαλος), 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 ...

on the

Bulgarian Black Sea Coast The Bulgarian Black Sea Coast (), also known as the Bulgarian Riviera, covers the entire eastern bound of Bulgaria stretching from the Romanian Black Sea resorts in the north to European Turkey in the south, along 378 km of coast ...

. The result was a Byzantine victory.

Origins of the conflict

After the success in the

battle of the Rishki Pass The Battle of the Rishki Pass () or Battle of Veregava 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. The result was a Bulgarian victory. Origins ...

(759) the Bulgarian Khan

Vinekh Vineh (also spelled Vinekh; bg, Винех) was ruler of Bulgaria in the mid-8th century. According to the Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans, Vineh reigned for seven years and was a member of the Vokil clan. Vineh ascended the throne after the de ...

showed surprising inaction preferring instead to seek peace, an action which would cost him the throne and his life. The new ruler, Telets, was a firm supporter for further military actions against the Byzantines. With his heavy cavalry he looted the border regions of 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 ...

and on 16 June 763, Constantine V came out of

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 ( ...

with a large army and a fleet of 800 ships, with 12 cavalrymen on each.

The battle

The energetic Bulgarian Khan barred the mountain passes and took advantageous positions on the heights near Anchialus, but his self-confidence and impatience incited him to go down to the lowlands and charge the enemy. The battle started at 10 in the morning and lasted until sunset. It was long and bloody, but in the end the Byzantines were victorious, although they lost many soldiers, nobles, and commanders. The Bulgarians also had heavy casualties and many were captured, while Telets managed to escape.

Aftermath

Constantine V entered his capital in triumph and then killed the prisoners. The fate of Telets was similar: two years later he was murdered because of the defeat. The Byzantines failed to use the strategic advantage which they had and the prolonged wars in the 8th century ended in 792 at the Marcelae with a Bulgarian victory and reestablishment of the treaty of 718.

Sources

*Nicephorus. Opuscula historia, p. 69-70 {{DEFAULTSORT:Anchialus (763) 760s conflicts 763 8th century in Bulgaria 760s in the Byzantine Empire Battles involving the First Bulgarian Empire Battles of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars in Thrace History of Burgas Province Military history of Bulgaria Pomorie