In 926 a battle was fought in the
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
n highlands between the armies of the
Bulgarian Empire
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 th ...
, under the rule of Bulgarian
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
Simeon I, who at the time also fought a war with 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 the
Kingdom of Croatia under
Tomislav, the first king of the Croatian state. The battle is also known as the Battle of the Bosnian Highlands ( bg, Битка при Босненските планини, hr, Bitka na Bosanskim visoravnima). It was fought in the
Dinaric Alps
The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and H ...
of Eastern Bosnia near the rivers
Bosna and
Drina
The Drina ( sr-Cyrl, Дрина, ) is a long Balkans river, which forms a large portion of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps ...
, the border area between the
Kingdom of Croatia and the
Bulgarian Empire
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 th ...
.
Principal information on the battle is provided by the emperor
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe K ...
of the Byzantine Empire in his work
De Administrando Imperio
''De Administrando Imperio'' ("On the Governance of the Empire") is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is ("To yown son Romanos"). It is a domes ...
("On the Governance of the Empire") and in the collection of preserved historical writings called
Theophanes Continuatus
''Theophanes Continuatus'' ( el, συνεχισταί Θεοφάνους) or ''Scriptores post Theophanem'' (, "those after Theophanes") is the Latin name commonly applied to a collection of historical writings preserved in the 11th-century Vat. g ...
.
[ Clifford J. Rogers]
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology
p. 162 Simeon's aim was to defeat the Byzantine Empire and conquer
Constantinople. To achieve his aim, Simeon overran the eastern and central
Balkans several times, occupied
Serbia and finally attacked Croatia. The result of the battle was an overwhelming Croatian victory.
[
]
Background
Events preceding the war
After the war between Trpimir I
Trpimir I (, la, Trepimerus/Trepimero) was a duke ( hr, knez) in Croatia from around 845 until his death in 864. He is considered the founder of the Trpimirović dynasty that ruled in Croatia, with interruptions, from around 845 until 1091. A ...
and Bulgarian Knyaz Boris I in 853, which resulted in a peace treaty, the relations between Bulgaria and Croatia improved greatly. Ambassadors from Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
...
regularly went through Croatian territory to Bulgaria and received escorts to the border,[Neven Budak - Prva stoljeća Hrvatske]
Zagreb, 1994., p. 21-22 while the Pope had regular conversations with both countries. Croatia bordered Bulgaria probably somewhere in present-day Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
,[Maddalena Betti: The Making of Christian Moravia (858-882), 2013, p. 130]
/ref> between the rivers Bosna and Drina
The Drina ( sr-Cyrl, Дрина, ) is a long Balkans river, which forms a large portion of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps ...
.[Петър Коледаров: Политическа география на средновековната българска държава. Част I. От 681 до 1018 г., p. 47] The situation started changing in the early 10th century when the new Bulgarian ruler Simeon I started a campaign against 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 ...
. The conflict went in favor of Bulgaria and the Byzantines found themselves in great danger.[
Simeon captured a large part of the Byzantine territory in Europe and was crowned as "Emperor of the Bulgarians" by Patriarch ]Nicholas Mystikos
Nicholas I Mystikos or Nicholas I Mysticus ( el, Νικόλαος Α΄ Μυστικός, ''Nikolaos I Mystikos''; 852 – 11 May 925) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from March 901 to February 907 and from May 912 to his death ...
in 913.[John Van Antwerp Fine: The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century, 1991, p. 155-156] He was later crowned at the church of Ohrid as "Tsar of all Bulgarians and Greeks" by the newly appointed Bulgarian patriarch in 925. However, the Byzantines always addressed Simeon as "prince" (archon) and the prelate continued to be referred to as an archbishop.[ According to the juridical reasoning of the time, only the Pope and the Byzantine Emperor could bestow royal or imperial titles, and an emperor might be crowned only by a patriarch. Byzantine Emperor ]Romanos I Lekapenos
Romanos I Lekapenos ( el, Ρωμανός Λεκαπηνός; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for the infant Constantine VII.
Origin
Romanos ...
protested bitterly against Simeon's usurpation of the imperial title. The Patriarch of Constantinople, Nicholas Mysticus, did the same. In such a predicament, Simeon demanded Pope John X
Pope John X ( la, Ioannes X; died 28 May 928) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 914 to his death. A candidate of the counts of Tusculum, he attempted to unify Italy under the leadership of Berengar of Friul ...
(914-928) to send him an imperial crown and to recognize the head of the Bulgarian church as Patriarch. Naturally, Simeon had to promise to recognize the papal primacy in the Church. John X accepted Simeon's request and sent a solemn mission to Bulgaria, headed by Cardinal Madalbertus and John, illustrious Duke of Cumae. The papal mission reached Bulgaria at the end of summer or during the fall of 926, carrying a crown and scepter with which they would crown Simeon as Bulgarian Emperor.
When the papal mission arrived in Preslav
The modern Veliki Preslav or Great Preslav ( bg, Велики Преслав, ), former Preslav ( bg, link=no, Преслав; until 1993), is a city and the seat of government of the Veliki Preslav Municipality (Great Preslav Municipality, new B ...
, Madalbertus started long negotiations with Simeon and the representatives of the Bulgarian church. Probably, Madalbertus convoked a church synod in Bulgaria as he later did in Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, enterta ...
, in Croatia, on his way back to Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
...
in 928. The negotiations regarding ecclesiastical matters were successful, and Archbishop Leontius was created Patriarch in Preslav, still during Simeon's reign.
Reasons for the war
In 924 Simeon sent a large army against Zaharija in the Principality of Serbia
The Principality of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Књажество Србија, Knjažestvo Srbija) was an autonomous state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation wa ...
. The Bulgarian armies ravaged Serbia and forced Zaharija to flee to Croatia. Serbia was annexed by Bulgaria by which Simeon considerably expanded his state. After Simeon's annexation of Serbia the Bulgarian state bordered the Croatian kingdom under Tomislav, who was a Byzantine ally.[John Van Antwerp Fine: The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century, 1991, p. 157] Croatia was now located between Bulgaria and the weakly defended Byzantine Theme of Dalmatia
The Theme of Dalmatia ( el, θέμα Δαλματίας/Δελματίας, ''thema Dalmatias/Delmatias'') was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea in Southeastern Europe, headquartered at Jader ...
, a possible new target of Simeon.Ivo Goldstein
Ivo Goldstein (; born 16 March 1958) is a historian, author and ambassador from Croatia. Goldstein is a recipient of the Order of Danica Hrvatska (2007) and the City of Zagreb Award (2005).
Biography Education
Ivo Goldstein graduated from ...
Hrvatski rani srednji vijek
Zagreb, 1995, p. 289-291
Tomislav received and protected the Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
who were expelled by Simeon from Rascia.[''De Administrando Imperio'': XXXII. Of the Serbs and of the country they now dwell in] Tomislav may have been granted by the Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos
Romanos I Lekapenos ( el, Ρωμανός Λεκαπηνός; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for the infant Constantine VII.
Origin
Romanos ...
some years previously with some form of control over the coastal cities of the Byzantine Theme of Dalmatia and rewarded with some share of the tribute collected from the cities,[Florin Curta: Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1250]
p. 196 thus securing the friendship of Tomislav. These events were a sufficient proof to Simeon that the Croats
The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...
took the side of the Byzantine Emperor and that they would support him actively in the future. Therefore, Simeon saw Croatia, harboring his enemies and allied to the empire, as a threat and he could not direct all his forces towards Byzamtium since there was nothing to prevent Croatia from striking his rear.[
]
The battle
In 926 Simeon sent a large army to invade Croatia.[ The strength of Simeon's army is unknown. The commander of the Bulgarian forces in this battle was Duke Alogobotur.][ According to Byzantine historian ]Constantine Porphyrogenitus
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Ka ...
, Croatia at the time was able to field an army of 100,000 foot soldiers, 60,000 horse soldiers, 80 big battleships and 100 smaller battleships, but these numbers are generally taken as a considerable exaggeration. According to the palaeographic analysis of the original manuscript of ''DAI'', the estimation of the number of inhabitants in medieval Croatia between 440 and 880 thousand people, and military numbers of Franks and Byzantines - the Croatian military force was most probably composed of 20,000-100,000 infantrymen, and 3,000-24,000 horsemen organized in 60 allagion
The ''allagion'' ( el, ) was a Byzantine military term designating a military unit of 50-400 soldiers. It first appeared in the mid-to-late 10th century, and by the 13th century had become the most frequent term used for the Byzantine army's sta ...
s. The Bulgarians were met by a Croatian army in the mountainous area of Eastern Bosnia.[
The Croatian forces completely destroyed the Bulgarians.][ Arguably key to the overwhelming victory was the choice of terrain on which the battle took place. Bulgarians at the time when the battle started were in an unfavorable position and the Croatian army had made a surprise attack against them.][
Croatian soldiers would probably have been more experienced in fighting in the mountainous terrain of the Bosnian highlands. The Croats adjusted their military tactics, time and place of the battle to their opponents who possibly outnumbered them, which brought themselves a decisive advantage.][ Duke Alogobotur most likely perished in the battle along with most of his soldiers since he is no longer mentioned in sources.
]
Aftermath
Simeon suffered a crushing defeat, but did not lose the bulk of his forces. He had sent a part of his army on that campaign and those forces had suffered heavy losses, but his overall army was strong enough to carry out another invasion of Byzantium.[ The Croatian-Bulgarian war did not continue in a significant extent, no territorial changes followed,][ and peace was concluded after the death of Emperor Simeon in 927.][ In 927 ]Pope John X
Pope John X ( la, Ioannes X; died 28 May 928) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 914 to his death. A candidate of the counts of Tusculum, he attempted to unify Italy under the leadership of Berengar of Friul ...
sent his legates with Bishop Madalbert to mediate between Croats and Bulgarians.[
Simeon died in May 927. His son and successor ]Peter I Peter I may refer to:
Religious hierarchs
* Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus
* Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint
* Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...
renewed the war with the Byzantines and concluded a peace treaty the same year. Byzantine sources, specifically George Kedrenos
George Kedrenos, Cedrenus or Cedrinos ( el, Γεώργιος Κεδρηνός, fl. 11th century) was a Byzantine Greek historian. In the 1050s he compiled ''Synopsis historion'' (also known as ''A concise history of the world''), which spanned the ...
, say that the cause for Peter's peace treaty proposal was his fear that all his neighbors, the Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...
, Serbians
The term Serbians in English is a polysemic word, with two distinctive meanings, derived from morphological differences:
* Morphology 1: Serb- ian- s, derived from the noun ''Serb'' and used interchangeably to refer to ethnic Serbs, thus having ...
, Croatians and other, could take the advantage of Simeon's death to attack Bulgaria. In addition, Bulgaria had a major domestic problem, a severe famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...
resulting from an attack by locust
Locusts (derived from the Vulgar Latin ''locusta'', meaning grasshopper) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstanc ...
s.[John Van Antwerp Fine: The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century, 1991, p. 161]
See also
*Croatian–Bulgarian wars
The Croatian–Bulgarian Wars were a series of conflicts that erupted three times during the 9th and 10th centuries between the medieval states of Bulgaria and Croatia. During these wars, the Croatian state was a vassal state or formed alliance ...
*History of Croatia
At the time of the Roman Empire, the area of modern Croatia comprised two Roman provinces, Pannonia and Dalmatia. After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, the area was subjugated by the Ostrogoths for 50 years, before ...
*History of Bulgaria
The history of Bulgaria can be traced from the first settlements on the lands of Bulgaria, modern Bulgaria to its formation as a nation-state, and includes the history of the Bulgarians, Bulgarian people and their origin. The earliest evidence of ...
References
External links
Map of Bulgaria in the late 9th and early 10th century
(Петър Коледаров: "Схема на българските граници с Византия към 865 и 905 г. и с Хърватско през 30-те години на X в.")
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croatian-Bulgarian battle of 926
10th-century military history of Croatia
920s conflicts
926
Battles involving the First Bulgarian Empire
Battles involving medieval Croatia
Military history of Bosnia and Herzegovina
10th century in Bulgaria
Battles of the Middle Ages
Medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina