The siege of Zadar in 998 was part of the third Croatian–Bulgarian war and one of the last

military conflict War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regu ...

s between

Croatian Croatian may refer to: * Croatia *Croatian language *Croatian people *Croatians (demonym) See also * * * Croatan (disambiguation) * Croatia (disambiguation) * Croatoan (disambiguation) * Hrvatski (disambiguation) * Hrvatsko (disambiguation) * S ...

forces of King Svetoslav Suronja (r. 997–1000), supported by

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

and 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 Constantin ...

, and the army of Emperor Samuil (r. 997–1014), who launched a large-scale Bulgarian military campaign against the

Kingdom of Croatia Kingdom of Croatia may refer to: * Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102), an independent medieval kingdom * Croatia in personal union with Hungary (1102–1526), a kingdom in personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary * Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg) ( ...

. Samuil's army besieged the fortified city of

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...

in order to aid the king's rebel brothers Krešimir and Gojslav, who asked Samuil to come and help them to remove Svetoslav Suronja from the Croatian throne. The siege was unsuccessful and Samuil's forces withdrew in the direction of the Croatian hinterland and

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 ...

, finally tracing their way back home.

Background

In the last three decades of the 10th century, the Kingdom of Croatia was ruled by Stjepan Držislav, an ally of the

, which in turn recognized him as the King of Croatia and

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, stre ...

. After his death in 997, his son and successor Svetoslav Suronja continued the pro-Byzantine policy of his father, but his younger brothers Krešimir and Gojslav started to organize a

rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

against him, since he rejected to share power over the Kingdom. The brothers asked Samuil, the new ruler of the Bulgarian Empire, also called the Western Bulgarian–Macedonian Empire, for help, knowing that he was at war with the

. The Byzantines had conquered the north-eastern regions of the Bulgarian Empire in 971, including the capital

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 ...

, and in the beginning of his rule Samuil controlled only the western half of the country centred in the important province of

Kutmichevitsa Kutmichevitsa ( bg, Кутмичевица) was an administrative region of the Bulgarian Empire during 9th-11th cent., corresponding roughly with the northwestern part of the region of Macedonia and the southern part of Albania, broadly taken to ...

(approximately present-day

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and southern

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). At first he controlled only the Slavic Macedonians' lands at the southwestern part of the former large Bulgarian Empire, but later conquered a lot of

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. By 997, however, he had liberated north-eastern Bulgaria and pushed the Empire's borders south to include

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

. At the height of his power, Samuil accepted the proposal of Croatian rebel princes. He attacked Croatia in 998, starting the Third Croatian–Bulgarian war. In his military campaign, he took almost all of the Dalmatian coast of Croatia up to the Zadar area, including cities like

Trogir Trogir (; historically known as Traù (from Dalmatian, Venetian and Italian: ); la, Tragurium; Ancient Greek: Τραγύριον, ''Tragyrion'' or Τραγούριον, ''Tragourion'') is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in S ...

and

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, entertain ...

. King Svetoslav Suronja was forced to withdraw westwards, in the direction of Zadar.

Siege

Having taken the most of

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the te ...

Samuil turned his army further to the west and besieged the city of Zadar. It is not known whether King Svetoslav Suronja resided in the city during the siege and led the defence forces himself, but the large and thick stone

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

, as well as its

defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: *Defense (military) *Defense (sports) **Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...

, resisted the attack and the siege failed. Having had no success, Samuil's army withdrew from the siege and then marched towards the Croatian hinterlands, including the territory which is now part of

Bosnia and Herzegovina 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 ...

. Later the Bulgarian army returned home using the Bosnian route. Thus the third and last of three Croatian-Bulgarian wars came to its end.

Aftermath

The Croatian territory conquered by Samuil's forces during the campaign was taken over by Krešimir and Gojslav, who finally won the Croatian

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

and came to power in the Kingdom in 1000. Svetoslav Suronja, the Byzantine and Venetian ally, was forced into exile. When the Byzantines eventually conquered the Bulgarian Empire in 1018 after 50 years of bitter warfare, Krešimir and Gojslav became Byzantine vassals.

External links

Samuil's army marched into Dalmatia and reached Zadar

According to the Priest of Dioclea Samuil marched up the Dalmatian coast as far north as Zadar

998 Samuil's campaign through Croatia up to Zadar was aid to rebellion of Croatian princes Gojslav and Krešimir
(''Croatian'')
Samuil attacked Croatian coast up to Zadar, but returned through Bosnia to Ohrid
(''Croatian'')
Thick city walls of Zadar resisted the attack of Samuil's Bulgarian-Macedonian army
(''Croatian'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Zadar (998) Sieges involving Croatia Sieges involving the First Bulgarian Empire 10th-century military history of Croatia 10th century in Bulgaria Battles involving medieval Croatia 990s conflicts 998 Sieges

Siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...