Lardea or Lardeya ( bg, Лардея, gr, Λαρδέα) is a ruined late

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

fortress, situated near the village of Lozenets in

Straldzha Municipality Straldzha ( bg, Стралджа ) is a small town in Yambol Province, Southeastern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Straldzha Municipality. As of December 2016, the town has a population of 6,326 inhabitants. The muni ...

Yambol Province Yambol ( bg, област Ямбол, ''oblast Yambol'', former name Yambol okrug) is a province in southeastern Bulgaria, neighbouring Turkey to the south. It is named after its main city Yambol, while other towns include Straldzha, Bolyarovo ...

, south-eastern

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 ...

. In the Middle Ages, Lardea often changed hands between

and Byzantium.

History

Lardea was founded in the late 3rd or early 4th century. In 705, it was ceded to the Bulgarian Empire along with the

Zagore Zagore may refer to: * Zagore (region) (also Zagora, Zagorie, Zagoriya), a region in medieval Bulgaria * , a village Mošćenička Draga Municipality, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Croatia * , a village Stara Zagora Municipality, Stara Zagora Prov ...

area by the Byzantine Empire. After the Byzantine–Bulgarian Treaty of 815, its fortifications were reinforced. Lardea was conquered by the Byzantine Empire in the aftermath of the Rus' invasion of Bulgaria (967–971). In 1051 or 1052, Nikephoros Bryennios defeated a

Pecheneg 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, პაჭ ...

detachment near Lardea. According to '' Alexiad'' by

Anna Komnene Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...

, the Byzantine emperor

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

(r. 1081–1118) spent 40 days in the fortress during his war with the Pechenegs in 1088. In her account, Komnene describes the fortress as lying between Diampolis and

Goloe Cabyle or Kabyle ( grc, Καβύλη), also known as Calybe or Kalybe (Καλύβη), is a town in the interior of ancient Thrace, west of Develtus, on the river Tonsus. The town later bore the names of Diospolis (Διὸς Πόλις), and Goloë ...

. Lardea was conquered by the re-established Bulgarian Empire in the late 12th century. In 1186, the Bulgarian and

Cuman The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many so ...

forces of the brothers Asen and

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

engaged the troops of Byzantine emperor

Isaac II Angelos Isaac II Angelos or Angelus ( grc-gre, Ἰσαάκιος Κομνηνός Ἄγγελος, ; September 1156 – January 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204. His father Andronikos Doukas Angelos was a ...

, who were retreating to the fortress of Lardea amidst an anti-Bulgarian campaign. The Bulgarian army employed its cavalry to weaken the Byzantine force before organizing a successful all-out attack. Forced to retreat, Isaac II Angelos abandoned his campaign and fled to Adrianople. Lardea was captured by the Byzantines along with Ktenia in 1278 during the

Uprising of Ivaylo The Uprising of Ivaylo ( bg, Въстанието на Ивайло) was a rebellion of the Bulgarian peasantry against the incompetent rule of Emperor Constantine Tikh and the Bulgarian nobility. The revolt was fuelled mainly by the failure ...

. In 1304, emperor

Theodore Svetoslav Theodore Svetoslav ( bg, Тодор Светослав, ''Todor Svetoslav'' and also Теодор Светослав, ''Teodor Svetoslav'') ruled as emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 1300 to 1322. The date of his birth is unknown. He expanded the ter ...

(r. 1300–1321) regained north-eastern

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 ...

including Lardea for Bulgaria. The fortress became part of the enlarged Despotate of Kran, which served as the

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...

Aldimir Aldimir ( bg, Алдимир) or EltimirWhile Aldimir is mentioned in Medieval Greek sources solely as Ἐλτιμηρῆς, ''Eltimiris'', his original name ''Aldimir'' has been established thanks to the discovery of his son Ivan Dragushin's epi ...

, a Bulgarian noble loyal to his nephew Theodore Svetoslav. However, the fortress was lost once again during the interregnum after the premature death of Theodore Svetoslav's son George II Terter in 1322. It was recovered by the new emperor Michael Shishman (r. 1323–1330) in 1324. After another brief Byzantine occupation between 1330 and 1332, it was once again in Bulgarian hands in the aftermath of the

Battle of Rusokastro The Battle of Rusokastro ( bg, Битка при Русокастро, el, Μάχη τοῦ Ῥουσοκάστρου) occurred on July 18, 1332 near the village of Rusokastro, Bulgaria, between the armies of the Bulgarian and Byzantine Empires ...

on 18 July 1332.Andreev, p. 268-270 In 1373, the Ottomans captured the important city of Diampolis and the surrounding fortresses including Lardea.

Footnotes

Sources

* {{Castles in Bulgaria Castles in Bulgaria Buildings and structures in Yambol Province