Battle of Pliska
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Pliska or Battle of Vărbitsa Pass was a series of battles between troops, gathered from all parts of the Byzantine Empire
, led by the Emperor Nicephorus I Genik, and Bulgaria
, governed by Khan Krum
. The Byzantines plundered and burned the Bulgar capital Pliska
which gave time for the Bulgarians to block passes in the Balkan Mountains
that served as exits out of Bulgaria. The final battle took place on 26 July 811, in some of the passes in the eastern part of the Balkan, most probably the Vărbitsa Pass
. There, the Bulgarians used the tactics of ambush and surprise night attack to effectively trap and immobilize the Byzantine forces, thus annihilating almost the whole army, including the Emperor. After the battle, Krum encased Nicephorus's skull in silver, and used it as a cup for wine-drinking. This is probably the best documented instance of the custom of the skull cup
.
The battle of Pliska was one of the worst defeats in Byzantine history. It deterred Byzantine rulers from sending their troops north of the Balkans for more than 150 years afterwards, which increased the influence and spread of the Bulgarians to the west and south of the Balkan Peninsula, resulting in a great territorial enlargement of the First Bulgarian Empire
.
, he planned to reincorporate Bulgar-held territory back into the empire. In 807
he launched a campaign but only reached Odrin and achieved nothing because of a conspiracy in his capital. That attempted attack, however, gave reason for the Bulgar Khan Krum
to undertake military operations against the Byzantine Empire. The main objective was an extension to the south and south-west. In the next year a Bulgar army penetrated the Struma
valley and defeated the Byzantines. The Bulgar troops captured 1,100 litres of gold and killed many enemy soldiers including all strategos and most of the commanders. In 809
the Khan personally besieged the strong fortress of Serdica and seized the city
, killing the whole garrison of 6,000.
an themata, and the imperial bodyguard (the tagmata
); they were joined by a number of irregular troops who expected a swift victory and plunder. The conquest was supposed to be easy, and most of the high-ranking officials and aristocrats accompanied him, including his son Stauracius and his brother-in-law Michael I Rangabe
. The whole army consisted of around 80,000 soldiers.
) near the Bulgarian frontier. Nicephorus intended to confuse them and over the next ten days launched several supposed attacks, which were immediately called back. Krum assessed the situation and estimated that he could not repulse the enemy and offered peace, which Nicephorus haughtily rejected. Theophanes wrote that the Emperor "was deterred from his own ill thoughts and the suggestions of his advisors who were thinking like him". Some of his military chiefs considered the invasion of Bulgaria to be imprudent and too risky but Nicephorus was convinced of his ultimate success.
In June he invaded the Bulgarian lands and marched through the Balkan passes towards the capital Pliska
. On July 20 Nicephorus divided the army into three columns, each marching by a different route towards Pliska. He met little resistance and for three days he reached the capital where the Byzantines met a 12,000 army of elite soldiers who guarded the stronghold. The Bulgarians were defeated and most of them perished. Another hastily assembled army of 50,000 soldiers had a similar fate. On 23 July the Byzantines quickly captured the defenseless capital. The city was sacked and the countryside destroyed. Khan Krum attempted once more to negotiate for peace. According to the historian Theophanes, Krum’s proclamation stated "Here you are, you have won. So take what you please and go with peace." Nicephorus, overconfident with his success ignored him. He believed that Bulgaria was thoroughly defeated and conquered.
Michael the Syrian
, patriarch of the Syrians Jacobites in 12th century described in his Chronicle the brutalities and atrocities of the Roman Emperor Nikephoros I Genik. “Nicephorus, emperor of the Romans, walked in Bulgarians land: he was victorious and killed a great number of them. He reached their capital, took it over and devastated it. His savagery went to such a point that he ordered to bring their small children, got them tied down on earth and made thresh grain stones to smash them.” The Byzantine soldiers looted and plundered; burnt down the unharvested fields, cut the tendons of the oxes, slaughtered sheep and pigs. The Emperor took over Krum's treasury, locked it and did not allow his troops to reach it.
and reach Serdica before returning to Constantinople but the news of these preparations for a battle changed his decision and he chose the shortest way to his capital. The overconfident emperor neglected to scout ahead. On 25 July his army entered the Varbica Pass but his cavalry told him the road was barred with thick wooden walls and Krum's detachments watched from the heights around. The emperor became panicked by the situation and repeatedly stated to his companions "Even if we have had wings we could not have escaped from peril." Before they could retreat, the Bulgars blocked the valley entrance too.
Nicephoros, unable to face attacking one of the palisades, simply set up camp, despite his generals' pleading. By the third night, Byzantine morale was shattered, Bulgar troops banged their shields and taunted them.
On that night the Bulgarians gathered their troops and tightened the belt around the trapped enemy. At dawn they rushed down and started to kill the panicked and totally confused Byzantines. The tagmata were the first to be attacked. The Byzantines fruitlessly resisted for a short time and perished. Upon seeing their comrades' fate, the next units immediately ran away.
On their way south the Byzantine forces hit a muddy river which was difficult to cross. As they could not find a ford quick enough, many Byzantines fell into the river. The first stalled in the mud with their horses and were trampled by those who came next. The river was filled with so many dead that the chasing Bulgarians easily passed over them and continued the pursuit. Those who passed through the river reached the wooden wall which was high and thick. The Byzantines left their horses and began climbing the wall with hands and legs and hung over the other side. The Bulgarians had dug a deep moat from the inner side and when the Byzantine soldiers were getting across the ramparts, they fell from the high wall, breaking their limbs. Some of them died instantly, others hobbled some time before falling to the ground and dying from thirst and hunger. The Byzantine troops burned the wall at several places but as they were rushing to get across it, they too fell into the moat along with the burning parts of the palisade. Almost everyone perished; some were killed by sword, others drowned in the river or were mortally injured after falling from the wall and some of them died in the fire. Among the nobles killed were the patricius Theodosius Salivara; the strategos
of the Eastern armies Romanos and the strategos of Thrace
.
Only a few survived the defeat but the majority of them died shortly after they arrived in their homes. The most notable person to be killed, however, was Emperor Nicephoros, who according to historians died on a dunghill on the day of the battle. Nicephoros' son Staurakios was carried to safety by the imperial bodyguard after receiving a paralyzing wound to his neck. Six months later, his wounds finally killed him. According to tradition, Krum had the Emperor's head on a spike, then lined his skull with silver and used it as a drinking cup.
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, led by the Emperor Nicephorus I Genik, and Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, governed by Khan Krum
Krum of Bulgaria
Krum the Horrible was Khan of Bulgaria, from after 796, but before 803, to 814 AD. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper and from Odrin to the Tatra Mountains. His able and energetic rule brought law and order to Bulgaria and...
. The Byzantines plundered and burned the Bulgar capital Pliska
Pliska
Pliska is the name of both the first capital of Danubian Bulgaria and a small town which was renamed after the historical Pliska after its site was determined and excavations began....
which gave time for the Bulgarians to block passes in the Balkan Mountains
Balkan Mountains
The Balkan mountain range is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the Vrashka Chuka Peak on the border between Bulgaria and eastern Serbia eastward through central Bulgaria to Cape Emine on the Black Sea...
that served as exits out of Bulgaria. The final battle took place on 26 July 811, in some of the passes in the eastern part of the Balkan, most probably the Vărbitsa Pass
Varbitsa Pass
Varbitsa Pass is a mountain pass in the Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria. It connects Shumen and Petolachka crossroads.The famous Battle of Pliska was fought in the pass on August 26, 811 between the armies of Bulgarian Empire led by Khan Krum and the Byzantine Empire under Nicephorus I which ended...
. There, the Bulgarians used the tactics of ambush and surprise night attack to effectively trap and immobilize the Byzantine forces, thus annihilating almost the whole army, including the Emperor. After the battle, Krum encased Nicephorus's skull in silver, and used it as a cup for wine-drinking. This is probably the best documented instance of the custom of the skull cup
Skull cup
A skull cup is a drinking vessel or eating bowl made from an inverted human calvaria that has been cut away from the rest of the skull. The use of a human skull as a drinking cup in ritual use or as a trophy is reported in numerous sources throughout history and among various peoples, and among...
.
The battle of Pliska was one of the worst defeats in Byzantine history. It deterred Byzantine rulers from sending their troops north of the Balkans for more than 150 years afterwards, which increased the influence and spread of the Bulgarians to the west and south of the Balkan Peninsula, resulting in a great territorial enlargement of the First Bulgarian Empire
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
.
Initial campaigns
When Nicephorus I became emperor in 802802
Year 802 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.-Europe:* October 31 – Irene is deposed as Empress of Byzantium, replaced by Nicephorus I, and banished to Lesbos....
, he planned to reincorporate Bulgar-held territory back into the empire. In 807
807
Year 807 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* After the death of Cuthred, king Coenwulf of Mercia takes control over Kent himself....
he launched a campaign but only reached Odrin and achieved nothing because of a conspiracy in his capital. That attempted attack, however, gave reason for the Bulgar Khan Krum
Krum of Bulgaria
Krum the Horrible was Khan of Bulgaria, from after 796, but before 803, to 814 AD. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper and from Odrin to the Tatra Mountains. His able and energetic rule brought law and order to Bulgaria and...
to undertake military operations against the Byzantine Empire. The main objective was an extension to the south and south-west. In the next year a Bulgar army penetrated the Struma
Struma
The Struma was a ship chartered to carry Jewish refugees from Axis-allied Romania to British-controlled Palestine during World War II. On February 23, 1942, with its engine inoperable and its refugee passengers aboard, Turkish authorities towed the ship from Istanbul harbor through the Bosphorus...
valley and defeated the Byzantines. The Bulgar troops captured 1,100 litres of gold and killed many enemy soldiers including all strategos and most of the commanders. In 809
809
Year 809 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Emperor Saga succeeds Emperor Heizei as emperor of Japan.* Nagabhatta is defeated in India.- Births :* date unknown...
the Khan personally besieged the strong fortress of Serdica and seized the city
Siege of Serdica (809)
The Siege of Serdica took place in the spring of 809 at modern Sofia, Bulgaria. As a result, the city was permanently included in the Bulgarian State.- Origins of the conflict :...
, killing the whole garrison of 6,000.
Preparation for an invasion
In 811, the Byzantine Emperor organised a large campaign to conquer Bulgaria once and for all. He gathered an enormous army from the Anatolian and EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an themata, and the imperial bodyguard (the tagmata
Tagma (military)
The tagma is a term for a military unit of battalion or regiment size. The best-known and most technical use of the term however refers to the elite regiments formed by Byzantine emperor Constantine V and comprising the central army of the Byzantine Empire in the 8th–11th centuries.-History and...
); they were joined by a number of irregular troops who expected a swift victory and plunder. The conquest was supposed to be easy, and most of the high-ranking officials and aristocrats accompanied him, including his son Stauracius and his brother-in-law Michael I Rangabe
Michael I Rangabe
Michael I Rangabes was Byzantine Emperor from 811 to 813.Michael was the son of the patrician Theophylaktos Rangabes, the admiral of the Aegean fleet...
. The whole army consisted of around 80,000 soldiers.
Sack of Pliska
The army gathered in May, and by July 10 had set up camp at the fortress of Marcelae (present-day KarnobatKarnobat
Karnobat is a town in the Burgas Province, Southeastern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Karnobat Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 18,480 inhabitants.-Geography:...
) near the Bulgarian frontier. Nicephorus intended to confuse them and over the next ten days launched several supposed attacks, which were immediately called back. Krum assessed the situation and estimated that he could not repulse the enemy and offered peace, which Nicephorus haughtily rejected. Theophanes wrote that the Emperor "was deterred from his own ill thoughts and the suggestions of his advisors who were thinking like him". Some of his military chiefs considered the invasion of Bulgaria to be imprudent and too risky but Nicephorus was convinced of his ultimate success.
In June he invaded the Bulgarian lands and marched through the Balkan passes towards the capital Pliska
Pliska
Pliska is the name of both the first capital of Danubian Bulgaria and a small town which was renamed after the historical Pliska after its site was determined and excavations began....
. On July 20 Nicephorus divided the army into three columns, each marching by a different route towards Pliska. He met little resistance and for three days he reached the capital where the Byzantines met a 12,000 army of elite soldiers who guarded the stronghold. The Bulgarians were defeated and most of them perished. Another hastily assembled army of 50,000 soldiers had a similar fate. On 23 July the Byzantines quickly captured the defenseless capital. The city was sacked and the countryside destroyed. Khan Krum attempted once more to negotiate for peace. According to the historian Theophanes, Krum’s proclamation stated "Here you are, you have won. So take what you please and go with peace." Nicephorus, overconfident with his success ignored him. He believed that Bulgaria was thoroughly defeated and conquered.
Michael the Syrian
Michael the Syrian
Michael the Syrian , also known as Michael the Great or Michael Syrus or Michael the Elder, to distinguish him from his nephew, was a patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1166 to 1199. He is best known today as the author of the largest medieval Chronicle, which he composed in Syriac...
, patriarch of the Syrians Jacobites in 12th century described in his Chronicle the brutalities and atrocities of the Roman Emperor Nikephoros I Genik. “Nicephorus, emperor of the Romans, walked in Bulgarians land: he was victorious and killed a great number of them. He reached their capital, took it over and devastated it. His savagery went to such a point that he ordered to bring their small children, got them tied down on earth and made thresh grain stones to smash them.” The Byzantine soldiers looted and plundered; burnt down the unharvested fields, cut the tendons of the oxes, slaughtered sheep and pigs. The Emperor took over Krum's treasury, locked it and did not allow his troops to reach it.
The battle
While Nikephoros I and his army were busy plundering the Bulgarian capital, Krum mobilized his people (including women and Avar mercenaries) to set traps and ambushes in the mountain passes. Initially Nicephorus intended to march through MoesiaMoesia
Moesia was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River. It included territories of modern-day Southern Serbia , Northern Republic of Macedonia, Northern Bulgaria, Romanian Dobrudja, Southern Moldova, and Budjak .-History:In ancient...
and reach Serdica before returning to Constantinople but the news of these preparations for a battle changed his decision and he chose the shortest way to his capital. The overconfident emperor neglected to scout ahead. On 25 July his army entered the Varbica Pass but his cavalry told him the road was barred with thick wooden walls and Krum's detachments watched from the heights around. The emperor became panicked by the situation and repeatedly stated to his companions "Even if we have had wings we could not have escaped from peril." Before they could retreat, the Bulgars blocked the valley entrance too.
Nicephoros, unable to face attacking one of the palisades, simply set up camp, despite his generals' pleading. By the third night, Byzantine morale was shattered, Bulgar troops banged their shields and taunted them.
On that night the Bulgarians gathered their troops and tightened the belt around the trapped enemy. At dawn they rushed down and started to kill the panicked and totally confused Byzantines. The tagmata were the first to be attacked. The Byzantines fruitlessly resisted for a short time and perished. Upon seeing their comrades' fate, the next units immediately ran away.
On their way south the Byzantine forces hit a muddy river which was difficult to cross. As they could not find a ford quick enough, many Byzantines fell into the river. The first stalled in the mud with their horses and were trampled by those who came next. The river was filled with so many dead that the chasing Bulgarians easily passed over them and continued the pursuit. Those who passed through the river reached the wooden wall which was high and thick. The Byzantines left their horses and began climbing the wall with hands and legs and hung over the other side. The Bulgarians had dug a deep moat from the inner side and when the Byzantine soldiers were getting across the ramparts, they fell from the high wall, breaking their limbs. Some of them died instantly, others hobbled some time before falling to the ground and dying from thirst and hunger. The Byzantine troops burned the wall at several places but as they were rushing to get across it, they too fell into the moat along with the burning parts of the palisade. Almost everyone perished; some were killed by sword, others drowned in the river or were mortally injured after falling from the wall and some of them died in the fire. Among the nobles killed were the patricius Theodosius Salivara; the strategos
Strategos
Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
of the Eastern armies Romanos and the strategos of Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
.
Only a few survived the defeat but the majority of them died shortly after they arrived in their homes. The most notable person to be killed, however, was Emperor Nicephoros, who according to historians died on a dunghill on the day of the battle. Nicephoros' son Staurakios was carried to safety by the imperial bodyguard after receiving a paralyzing wound to his neck. Six months later, his wounds finally killed him. According to tradition, Krum had the Emperor's head on a spike, then lined his skull with silver and used it as a drinking cup.
Primary sources
- Theophanes the ConfessorTheophanes the ConfessorSaint Theophanes Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church .-Biography:Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac,...
, Chronographia, Ed. Carl de Boor, vol. I, 1883, vol. II, 1885, Leipzig. - Scriptor Incertus. Anonymous Vatican Narration (Narratio anonyma e codice Vaticano), In: Codice Vaticano graeca 2014 (XII s.) ff. 119-122; Ivan Duychev (1936) New Biographic Data on the Bulgarian Expedition of Nicephorus I in 811, Proc. Bulg. Acad. Sci. 54:147-188 (in Bulgarian); H. Grégoire (1936) Un nouveau fragment du "Scriptor incertus de Leone Armenio", Byzantion, 11:417-427; Beshevliev, V (1936) The New Source About the Defeat of Nicephorus I in Bulgaria in 811, Sofia University Annual Reviews, 33:2 (In Bulgarian).
- Mannases Chronicle, 1335-1340. Apostolic Library. The Vatican.
- Michael the SyrianMichael the SyrianMichael the Syrian , also known as Michael the Great or Michael Syrus or Michael the Elder, to distinguish him from his nephew, was a patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1166 to 1199. He is best known today as the author of the largest medieval Chronicle, which he composed in Syriac...
, Chronique de Michel le Syrien, Patriarche Jacobite d'Antioche (1166-1199), published by Jean Baptiste Chabot (in French). 1st Ed. Paris : Ernest Leroux, 1899–1910, OCLC 39485852; 2nd Ed. Bruxelles: Culture et Civilisation, 1963, OCLC 4321714 - B. Flusin (trans.), J.-C. Cheynet (ed.), Jean Skylitzès: Empereurs de Constantinople, Ed. Lethielleux, 2004, ISBN 2-283-60459-1.
- Joannes ZonarasJoannes ZonarasIoannes Zonaras was a Byzantine chronicler and theologian, who lived at Constantinople.Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held the offices of head justice and private secretary to the emperor, but after Alexios' death, he retired to the monastery of St Glykeria, where he spent the rest of his...
. Epitome historiarum, ed. L. Dindorfii, 6 vol., Lipsiae (BT), 1858—75.