The battle of Setina ( bg, Битка при Сетина) took place in the autumn of 1017 near the village of

Setina ''Setina'' is a genus of moths in the family Erebidae The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth gr ...

in modern northern

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

between the armies of

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 Mac ...

and Byzantium. The result was a Byzantine victory.

Prelude

In 1014, after decades of war, the Byzantine Emperor

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar ...

scored a decisive victory over the Bulgarian Emperor Samuil in the

battle of Kleidion The Battle of Kleidion ( grc-gre, Κλειδίον; or Clidium, after the medieval name of the village of Klyuch, "(the) key"; also known as the Battle of Belasitsa) took place on July 29, 1014, between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Em ...

. Samuil died of a heart attack on 6 October 1014 and the Byzantines took the opportunity to penetrate deep into

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

, the political heart 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 the ...

, and seized a number of important cities (

Bitola Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba (North Macedonia), Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of th ...

Prilep Prilep ( mk, Прилеп ) is the fourth-largest city in North Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 and is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko. Name The name of Prilep appea ...

, Voden, Maglen). After the new Bulgarian Emperor Ivan Vladislav, who in 1015 assassinated Samuil's son and heir

Gavril Radomir Gavril Radomir ( bg, Гаврил Радомир; el, Γαβριὴλ Ρωμανός, Gavriil Romanos; anglicized as "Gabriel Radomir"; died 1015) was the emperor (tsar) of the First Bulgarian Empire from October 1014 to August or September 101 ...

, had unsuccessfully tried to make an agreement with Basil II, he organized the defense of the country. The Bulgarians led by the Emperor,

Krakra of Pernik Krakra of Pernik ( bg, Кракра Пернишки, ''Krakra Pernishki''), also known as Krakra Voevoda or simply Krakra, was an 11th-century feudal lord in the First Bulgarian Empire whose domain encompassed 36 fortresses in what is today sou ...

and

Ivats Ivats ( bg, Ивац) or Ibatzes was a Bulgarian nobleHistory of the Byzantine Empire from DCCXVI to MLVII, George Finlay, BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2009, , p. 385. and military commander in the late 10th and early 11th century. He served three Bulgari ...

managed to return a number of towns and castles. The Byzantines were defeated in the

battle of Bitola The Battle of Monastir took place near the town of Bitola, Macedonia (then known as Monastir) during the First Balkan War, between Serbian and Ottoman forces from 16 to 19 November 1912. It resulted in a Serbian victory after heavy fighting ...

(September 1015) and at the siege of

Pernik Pernik ( bg, Перник ) is a town in western Bulgaria (about south-west of Sofia) with a population of 70,285 . Pernik is the most populated town in western Bulgaria after Sofia. It is the main town of Pernik Province and lies on both banks ...

(summer of 1016).

The war in 1017

In 1017 Basil II invaded Bulgaria with a large army including Rus' mercenaries. His objective was the town of

Kastoria Kastoria ( el, Καστοριά, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Gree ...

which controlled the road between

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 ...

and the coast of modern

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

. He sent parts of his army under the commanders

Constantine Diogenes Constantine Diogenes ( gr, Κωνσταντῖνος Διογένης; died 1032) was a prominent Byzantine Empire, Byzantine general of the early 11th century, active in the Balkans. He served with distinction in the final stages of the Byzanti ...

and

David Arianites David Areianites or Arianites ( el, ) was a high-ranking Byzantine commander of the early 11th century. Origin The origin of the surname is uncertain and different theories have been proposed ranging from various anthroponomastic and toponymic d ...

to loot

Pelagonia Pelagonia ( mk, Пелагонија, Pelagonija; el, Πελαγονíα, Pelagonía) is a geographical region of Macedonia named after the ancient kingdom. Ancient Pelagonia roughly corresponded to the present-day municipalities of Bitola, Pril ...

. Basil II himself managed to capture several minor Bulgarian castles but all attempts to seize Kastoria remained futile.Златарски, История на българската държава, Том I, Част II, с
725-728
(взето на 17.1.2008)Гръцки извори за българската история
ГИБИ, том VI
с. 289-290 (17.1.2008) Meanwhile, the governor of Pernik and

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. ...

Krakra gathered troops to attack north-eastern Bulgaria which was under Byzantine control since 1001. He had orders by Ivan Vladislav to negotiate with 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, პაჭ ...

a joint campaign against the Byzantines. Upon hearing word of the negotiations, Basil II retreated from Kastoria. However, the Bulgarian counter-attack towards

Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...

did not take place after the Pechenegs' refusal to back it. Basil II again invaded Bulgaria and took the small fortress of Setina located between Ostrovo and Bitola to the south of the river Cherna. The Bulgarians under the command of Ivan Vladislav marched to the Byzantine camp. Basil II sent strong units under Diogenes to repulse the Bulgarians but the troops of the Byzantine commander were ambushed and cornered. To save Diogenes, the 60-year-old Byzantine Emperor moved on with the rest of his army. When the Bulgarians understood that they retreated chased by Diogenes. According to the Byzantine historian

John Skylitzes John Skylitzes, commonly Latinized as Ioannes, la, Johannes, label=none, la, Iōannēs, label=none Scylitzes ( el, Ἰωάννης Σκυλίτζης, ''Iōánnēs Skylítzēs'', or el, Σκυλίτση, ''Skylítsē'', label=none ; la, ...

the Bulgarians had many casualties and 200 were taken prisoners.

Aftermath

The battle of Setina had no effect on the outcome of the war. In January 1018 Basil II withdrew to his capital

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

. The Bulgarians attacked the Adriatic port of Dyrrhachium and after Ivan Vladislav's death under the walls of the city the resistance finally broke. In the same year the First Bulgarian Empire was annexed by 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 ...

. In 1019 the Byzantines seized the last Bulgarian strongholds.Runciman, S., A history of the First Bulgarian Empire
pp. 248-252
(25.1.2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Setina 1010s in the Byzantine Empire 11th century in Bulgaria Battles involving the First Bulgarian Empire Battles of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars in Macedonia Battles in Macedonia (Greece) Medieval Macedonia Conflicts in 1017 Battles of Basil II 1017 in Europe

Prelude

The war in 1017

Aftermath

See also

References