Battle of Bulgarophygon
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| Battle of Bulgarophygo | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars | |||||||
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| Combatants | |||||||
| Byzantine Empire | Bulgaria Vlachs | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Unknown | Simeon I of Bulgaria | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| Almost the whole army | Unknown | ||||||
| Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars |
|---|
| Ongala –1st Anchialus – Rishki Pass –2nd Anchialus – Berzitia – Marcelae – Serdica – Pliska – 1st Adrianople – Versinikia – Bulgarophygon – 3rd Anchialus – Katasyrtai – Pigae – Trayanovi Vrata – Solun – Spercheios – Skopie – Kleidion – Ostrovo – Klokotnitsa – 2nd Adrianople – Devnya – Skafida – Rusokastro |
The battle of Bulgarophygon occurred in the summer of 896 near the town of Babaeski in modern Turkey.
[edit] Origins of the conflict
In 894 the Byzantines moved the market of Bulgarian goods from Constantinople to Solun which meant that the Bulgarian merchants were supposed to pay higher taxes. Insulted, Simeon I declared war on Byzantium. In the first battle in 894 the Byzantine army was completely defeated. Then they bribed the Magyars to attack Bulgaria in the rear. The Magyars managed to defeat the Bulgarian army twice but in 896 were decisively defeated by Boris I, who was a monk at that time, in the battle of Southern Buh. This enabled Simeon I to concentrate his army against the Byzantines.
[edit] The battle
The two armies met near Bulgarophygon in the summer of 896. The Byzantines gathered enormous army, they assembled even the troops who fought against the Arabs and guarded the Asian frontiers of their empire. This did not help them and the Bulgarians won a brilliant victory. A Byzantine historian wrote: "the Romans were decisevly defeated all down the line and they all perished".
[edit] Sources
- Атанас Пейчев и колектив, 1300 години на стража, Военно издателство, София 1984.
- Йордан Андреев, Милчо Лалков, Българските ханове и царе, Велико Търново, 1996.
