The siege of Varna ( bg, Обсада на Варна) took place between 21 and 24 March 1201 at Varna, on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast between the Bulgarians and the Byzantines. The Bulgarians were victorious and captured the city.

Prelude

After the youngest of the three Asen brothers, Kaloyan, was crowned Emperor in early 1197 he immediately showed his resolution to continue the war with the Byzantines by all means and liberate all Bulgarian lands. In the next year Kaloyan even allied with

Ivanko Ivanko is a Slavic given name and a surname, a diminutive from the given name Ivan, a Slavic variant of the name "John". It may be a transliteration from Иванко or Иванько. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Ivan ...

, the murderer of his eldest brother,

Ivan Asen John or Ivan Asen may refer to: * Ivan Asen I (1186–1196), ruler of Bulgaria * Ivan Asen II (1218–1241), ruler of Bulgaria * Ivan Asen III (1279–1280), ruler of Bulgaria * John Komnenos Asen John Komnenos Asen ( bg, Йоан Комнин ...

The siege

At the turn of the new century he seized the strong castle of Constancia (near modern Simeonovgrad) and then struck in the opposite direction and besieged the last Byzantine stronghold to the north of the

Balkan mountains The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border betw ...

, Varna. Varna was defended by a large garrison including western mercenaries who were known to be the bravest soldiers in the Byzantine army. To take the fortress the Bulgarian engineers constructed an enormous siege tower which was wider that the outer moat. With the help of the siege equipment the Bulgarian army was able to cross the moat and reach the walls of the city and on the third day of the siege, on 24 March 1201 the Bulgarians made a breakthrough. According to the Byzantine historian

Niketas Choniates Niketas or Nicetas Choniates ( el, Νικήτας Χωνιάτης; c. 1155 – 1217), whose actual surname was Akominatos (Ἀκομινάτος), was a Byzantine Greek government official and historian – like his brother Michael Akominatos, wh ...

Kaloyan did not hesitate to kill all defenders despite the fact that it was Easter. The Byzantines were thrown in the moat and buried alive. This action, carried out according to George Acropolites as

revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

for the 14 thousand blinded Bulgarian prisoners of war by Emperor Basil II "the Bulgar Slayer" after the Battle of Klyuch in 1014,when the Bulgarian tsar Samuil was defeated, earned Kaloyan the moniker "the Roman Slayer".Илюстрована енциклопедия "Великите битки и борби на българите през средновековието", издателство "Световна библиотека", София, 2006 - та, стр. 51 After that he destroyed the city walls and returned to the capital Tarnovo.

Aftermath

By the end of the year Bulgaria and Byzantium started negotiation which ended with a peace treaty in the beginning of 1202. The Bulgarians secured their new gains and now were able to face the Hungarian threat to the north-west. After several battle in the valley of the Morava river, the Hungarians were defeated.

Prelude

The siege

Aftermath

References

Further reading