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 Macedon ...

n town of

Silistra Silistra ( bg, Силистра ; tr, Silistre; ro, Silistra) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Sil ...

, but most probably on the modern territory of

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

. It was fought between the armies of

and

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...

and resulted in a Rus' victory. Upon the news of the defeat, the Bulgarian emperor

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 ...

abdicated. The

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

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 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 Uralic ...

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 t ...

. 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

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

knyaz , or ( Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...

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 understo ...

, 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

after Bulgarian diplomacy inspired the

Pechenegs The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა� ...

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

History of Silistra 10th century in Bulgaria 10th century in Kievan Rus' 968 960s conflicts