The Battle of Silistra occurred in the spring of 968 near the

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n town of Silistra, but most probably on the modern territory of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. It was fought between the armies of

and Kievan Rus' and resulted in a Rus' victory. Upon the news of the defeat, the Bulgarian emperor Peter I abdicated. The invasion of the Rus' prince Sviatoslav was a heavy blow for the Bulgarian Empire, which by 971 lost its eastern provinces to 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 ...

Origins of the conflict

From the 940s the Magyars began repeatedly to launch pillage raids into the Bulgarian Empire. Emperor Peter I was unable to stop them and as the Byzantines were unwilling to send any help he finally allied with the Magyars and gave them safe passage through Bulgaria to attack Byzantine

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

. In 968 the

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 ...

emperor

Nikephoros II Phokas Nikephoros II Phokas (; – 11 December 969), Latinized Nicephorus II Phocas, was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969. His career, not uniformly successful in matters of statecraft or of war, nonetheless included brilliant military exploits whi ...

paid the Kievan knyaz Sviatoslav Igorevich to attack Bulgaria in answer of the alliance between the Bulgarian emperor Peter I and the Magyars.

The battle

Sviatoslav Igorevich gathered 60,000 troops and started his campaign in the early spring of 968. He met 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 ...

, who were only 30,000 strong, near Silistra. The battle continued the whole day and until dark the Bulgarians seemed to have overwhelmed the Kievans, but, elated by Sviatoslav's personal example, the latter were victorious due to their still larger army. The Bulgarians retreated to the Silistra fortress and withstood the following siege.

Aftermath

The Rus' forces continued their victorious campaign and though they failed to take Silistra, they seized 80 other fortresses. Sviatoslav Igorevich was eventually forced to return to Kiev after Bulgarian diplomacy inspired the Pechenegs to besiege his capital.

Sources

*Атанас Пейчев и колектив, 1300 години на стража, Военно издателство, София 1984. *Йордан Андреев, Милчо Лалков, Българските ханове и царе, Велико Търново, 1996. *Божидар Димитров, Българите-първите европейци, София, 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Silistra Battles involving the First Bulgarian Empire Silistra History of Silistra 10th century in Bulgaria 10th century in Kievan Rus' 968 960s conflicts