Croatian-Bulgarian wars
Encyclopedia
The Croatian-Bulgarian Wars were a series of conflicts that erupted three times during the 9th and 10th centuries between the medieval realms of Croatia
and Bulgaria
. During these wars, Croatia formed alliances with Eastern Francia
and Byzantium
against the Bulgarian Empire
.
forged an official alliance with the Moravian
prince Rastislav
against Louis the German
of East Francia. Duke Trpimir
of Croatia
was a faithful Frankish
vassal
and was wary of Bulgaria's ongoing expansion when it expanded to Croatian borders after the wars against Rascia
. Bulgaria is said to have invaded Croatia in approximately 854, but there is also a possibility that King Louis gave some compensation to Trpimir to attack Bulgaria
. During the war of 854, there was only one great battle on the territory of present-day northeastern Bosnia
, and neither side emerged victorious from the battle. Soon afterward, peace negotiations began between Boris of Bulgaria and Trpimir of Croatia, resulting in gifts exchanged and the establishment of peace, with the border between the Croatian-Dalmatian Duchy and Bulgaria stabilized at the river of Drina
(between modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina
and Republic of Serbia).
Simeon I
, who wanted to take over the Byzantine Empire, and the Empire's monarch Romanos I
. Under heavy pressure from the Bulgarians and amassing defeat after defeat, the Byzantine Empire negotiated with Serbia and Croatia in an effort to forge an alliance against the Bulgarians. Having been informed of these plans by Prince Michael of Zachlumia, who was forced to the islands as the Serbian rulers took direct control most of his local lands for themselves, Simeon overran Serbia in 924, destroyed it by tricking its nobility, and made it directly part of the Bulgarian Empire. Serbia's ruler Zaharija Pribislavljević fled and found exile at the Croatian court, while after the realm's destruction massive waves of Serb
refugees fled and found refuge in Tomislav
's Croatia. Trying to gain Croatian entry into this coalition, Romanos I ordered the province of Dalmatia
in ca. 925 to pay taxes not to Byzantium but rather to the Croatian state; the Dalmatian territories, including most cities and the northern islands, were henceforth administered by King Tomislav and were to remain under Croatia. The Serbs of Zahumlje, allied with Croatia and Prince Michael, became vassals of Tomislav some time before 926. Tsar Simeon sent Duke Alogobotur
to drive the Serb refugees further into Croatia, causing outright war in ca. 926.
The climax of the war was the Battle of the Bosnian Highlands
on 27 May 927, when Croatian forces under the command of King Tomislav completely defeated the Bulgarian forces under the command of Alogobotur, killing most of the Bulgarians in the battle. The Croatian victory was so decisive and the battle so big that contemporary sources greatly overestimated Croatia's Army at 160,000 men, with a slightly bigger force on the Bulgarian side. This was the only battle Tsar Simeon ever lost. Since both rulers maintained good relations with Pope John X
, the pope was able to negotiate an end to the war soon afterward without any further border changes. Although the eastern border was extended down to the river of Bosnia, the Croatian realm was greatly strengthened both militarily and in natural resources: it emerged from the war as one of the most modern realms of the period and was able to consolidate a moderately sized navy. On the same day as the battle Simeon died in Preslav
and his successor Peter I
faced internal difficulties and revolts by his brothers Michail
and Ivan. The Serbs were able to take advantage of this situation and many of them returned by 931 to their homes in the renewed Serbian realm
, thus terminating Croatia's short-lived Bulgarian neighbor at the east.
. Stjepan formed an alliance with the Eastern Roman Empire, which in turn recognized him as the King of his lands. After his death in 997, his son Svetoslav Suronja
continued his pro-Byzantine policy. His brothers Krešimir III
and Gojslav
did not want Svetoslav as ruler and attempted a coup d'etat
, asking the Bulgarian tsar Samuil
for help. Answering their call, Samuil went on a rampage in 998 and razed the Dalmatian cities of Trogir
and Split
, but was stopped at the siege of Zadar
. The Bulgarian forces then returned to their home country using the Bosnian route. Territory taken by Samuil
during the war was given to Krešimir III and Gojslav, who, with further Bulgarian support, won the Croatian civil war
and took over the realm in the year 1000. Svetoslav Suronja
, a Byzantine and Venetian ally, was sent to exile in Venice
, but after a change in government in Venice
he was exiled to Hungary
. Following Ivan Vladislav's
death in 1018 Bulgaria fell under Byzantine rule, and Krešimir III and Gojslav, the two Croatian kings, became Byzantine
vassals.
History of Croatia
Croatia first appeared as a duchy in the 7th century and then as a kingdom in the 10th century. From the 12th century it remained a distinct state with its ruler and parliament, but it obeyed the kings and emperors of various neighboring powers, primarily Hungary and Austria. The period from the...
and Bulgaria
History of Bulgaria
The history of Bulgaria spans from the first settlements on the lands of modern Bulgaria to its formation as a nation-state and includes the history of the Bulgarian people and their origin. The first traces of human presence on what is today Bulgaria date from 44,000 BC...
. During these wars, Croatia formed alliances with Eastern Francia
Eastern Francia
East Francia , also known as the Kingdom of the East Franks or Francia Orientalis, was the realm allotted to Louis the German by the 843 Treaty of Verdun...
and Byzantium
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...
against the 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...
.
First war
During the middle of the 9th century, Bulgaria was the dominant power in the central, eastern and northern Balkans. In 854, the Bulgarian ruler Boris IBoris I of Bulgaria
Boris I, also known as Boris-Mihail and Bogoris was the Knyaz of First Bulgarian Empire in 852–889. At the time of his baptism in 864, Boris was named Michael after his godfather, Emperor Michael III...
forged an official alliance with the Moravian
Great Moravia
Great Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe and lasted for nearly seventy years in the 9th century whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. It was a vassal state of the Germanic Frankish kingdom and paid an annual tribute to it. There is some controversy as...
prince Rastislav
Rastislav
Rastislav or Rostislav was the second known ruler of Moravia . Although he started his reign as vassal to Louis the German, king of East Francia, he consolidated his rule to the extent that after 855 he was able to repel a series of Frankish attacks...
against Louis the German
Louis the German
Louis the German , also known as Louis II or Louis the Bavarian, was a grandson of Charlemagne and the third son of the succeeding Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye.He received the appellation 'Germanicus' shortly after his death in recognition of the fact...
of East Francia. Duke Trpimir
Trpimir I of Croatia
Trpimir I was a duke of Croatia in 845–864, and the founder of the Croatian House of Trpimirović. Although he was formally vassal of the Frankish Emperor Lothair I, Trpimir used Frankish-Byzantine conflicts to rule on his own.-Reign:...
of Croatia
History of Croatia
Croatia first appeared as a duchy in the 7th century and then as a kingdom in the 10th century. From the 12th century it remained a distinct state with its ruler and parliament, but it obeyed the kings and emperors of various neighboring powers, primarily Hungary and Austria. The period from the...
was a faithful Frankish
Frankish Empire
Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire , Frankish Kingdom , Frankish Realm or occasionally Frankland, was the territory inhabited and ruled by the Franks from the 3rd to the 10th century...
vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
and was wary of Bulgaria's ongoing expansion when it expanded to Croatian borders after the wars against Rascia
Rascia
Rascia was a medieval region that served as the principal province of the Serbian realm. It was an administrative division under the direct rule of the monarch and sometimes as an appanage. The term has been used to refer to various Serbian states throughout the Middle Ages...
. Bulgaria is said to have invaded Croatia in approximately 854, but there is also a possibility that King Louis gave some compensation to Trpimir to attack 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...
. During the war of 854, there was only one great battle on the territory of present-day northeastern Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, and neither side emerged victorious from the battle. Soon afterward, peace negotiations began between Boris of Bulgaria and Trpimir of Croatia, resulting in gifts exchanged and the establishment of peace, with the border between the Croatian-Dalmatian Duchy and Bulgaria stabilized at the river of Drina
Drina
The Drina is a 346 kilometer long river, which forms most of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps which belongs to the Danube river watershed...
(between modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
and Republic of Serbia).
Second war
A very long and arduous war was prosecuted between the Bulgarian TsarTsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Simeon I
Simeon I of Bulgaria
Simeon I the Great ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe...
, who wanted to take over the Byzantine Empire, and the Empire's monarch Romanos I
Romanos I
Romanos I Lekapenos was Byzantine Emperor from 920 until his deposition on December 16, 944.-Origin:...
. Under heavy pressure from the Bulgarians and amassing defeat after defeat, the Byzantine Empire negotiated with Serbia and Croatia in an effort to forge an alliance against the Bulgarians. Having been informed of these plans by Prince Michael of Zachlumia, who was forced to the islands as the Serbian rulers took direct control most of his local lands for themselves, Simeon overran Serbia in 924, destroyed it by tricking its nobility, and made it directly part of the Bulgarian Empire. Serbia's ruler Zaharija Pribislavljević fled and found exile at the Croatian court, while after the realm's destruction massive waves of Serb
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
refugees fled and found refuge in Tomislav
Tomislav
King Tomislav was a ruler of Croatia in the Middle Ages. He reigned from 910 until 928, first as Duke of Dalmatian Croatia in 910–925, and then became first King of the Croatian Kingdom in 925–928....
's Croatia. Trying to gain Croatian entry into this coalition, Romanos I ordered the province of Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
in ca. 925 to pay taxes not to Byzantium but rather to the Croatian state; the Dalmatian territories, including most cities and the northern islands, were henceforth administered by King Tomislav and were to remain under Croatia. The Serbs of Zahumlje, allied with Croatia and Prince Michael, became vassals of Tomislav some time before 926. Tsar Simeon sent Duke Alogobotur
Alogobotur
Alogobotur was a Bulgarian noble and military commander during the reign of Tsar Simeon the Great . He was probably a komit of one of Bulgaria's provinces....
to drive the Serb refugees further into Croatia, causing outright war in ca. 926.
The climax of the war was the Battle of the Bosnian Highlands
Battle of the Bosnian Highlands
In 927 a battle was fought in the Bosnian highlands between the armies of the two Balkan rulers of the time: Bulgarian Tsar Simeon I, the great victor of the Battle of Anchialus over the Byzantine Empire ten years earlier, and King Tomislav of Croatia, the first king of the Croatian state.According...
on 27 May 927, when Croatian forces under the command of King Tomislav completely defeated the Bulgarian forces under the command of Alogobotur, killing most of the Bulgarians in the battle. The Croatian victory was so decisive and the battle so big that contemporary sources greatly overestimated Croatia's Army at 160,000 men, with a slightly bigger force on the Bulgarian side. This was the only battle Tsar Simeon ever lost. Since both rulers maintained good relations with Pope John X
Pope John X
Pope John X, Pope from March 914 to May 928, was deacon at Bologna when he attracted the attention of Theodora, the wife of Theophylact, Count of Tusculum, the most powerful noble in Rome, through whose influence he was elevated first to the see of Bologna and then to the archbishopric of...
, the pope was able to negotiate an end to the war soon afterward without any further border changes. Although the eastern border was extended down to the river of Bosnia, the Croatian realm was greatly strengthened both militarily and in natural resources: it emerged from the war as one of the most modern realms of the period and was able to consolidate a moderately sized navy. On the same day as the battle Simeon died in Preslav
Preslav
Preslav was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire from 893 to 972 and one of the most important cities of medieval Southeastern Europe. The ruins of the city are situated in modern northeastern Bulgaria, some 20 kilometres southwest of the regional capital of Shumen, and are currently a...
and his successor Peter I
Peter I of Bulgaria
Peter I was emperor of Bulgaria from 27 May 927 to 969.-Early reign:Peter I was the son of Simeon I of Bulgaria by his second marriage to Maria Sursuvul, the sister of George Sursuvul. Peter had been born early in the 10th century, but it appears that his maternal uncle was very influential at...
faced internal difficulties and revolts by his brothers Michail
Mihail of Bulgaria
Mihail or Michael was the eldest son of Emperor Simeon I The Great. The date of his birth is unknown, but it is before 900. Mihail was born to Simeon's first wife....
and Ivan. The Serbs were able to take advantage of this situation and many of them returned by 931 to their homes in the renewed Serbian realm
Caslav Klonimirovic
Časlav Klonimirović or Časlav of Serbia was Prince of the Serbs from ca. 927 until his death in 960. He significantly expanded the Serbian Principality when he managed to unite several Slavic tribes, stretching his realm over the shores of the Adriatic Sea, the Sava river and the Morava valley...
, thus terminating Croatia's short-lived Bulgarian neighbor at the east.
Third war
In the second half of the 10th century, the Croatian realm was ruled by Stjepan DržislavStjepan Držislav
Stephen Držislav was a King of Croatia from 969 AD until his death in 997. He was a member of the Trpimirović dynasty. He ruled from Biograd with Godemir as his Ban.-Early period:...
. Stjepan formed an alliance with the Eastern Roman Empire, which in turn recognized him as the King of his lands. After his death in 997, his son Svetoslav Suronja
Svetoslav Suronja
Svetoslav Suronja was King of Croatia from 997 to 1000. He was a member of House of Trpimirović. He reigned with the help of his Ban, Varda. His name was Svetoslav, but because of his physiology and, probably, his temper, he was nicknamed Suronja which could be translated as dark man or cold man....
continued his pro-Byzantine policy. His brothers Krešimir III
Krešimir III of Croatia
Krešimir III was a King of Croatia in 1000–1030 from the House of Trpimirović and founder of its cadet line House of Krešimirović. He was the middle son of former King Stjepan Držislav. Until 1020, he co-ruled with his brother Gojslav.-Reign:...
and Gojslav
Gojslav of Croatia
Gojslav was a monarch who co-ruled the Kingdom of Croatia with his brother Krešimir III from 1000 to his death in 1020. He was the youngest son of the former Croatian King Stjepan Držislav and a member of royal House of Trpimirović.- Revolt and reign :...
did not want Svetoslav as ruler and attempted a coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
, asking the Bulgarian tsar Samuil
Samuil of Bulgaria
Samuel was the Emperor of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 980 to 997, he was a general under Roman I of Bulgaria, the second surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria, and co-ruled with him, as Roman bestowed upon him the command of the army and the effective royal...
for help. Answering their call, Samuil went on a rampage in 998 and razed the Dalmatian cities of Trogir
Trogir
Trogir is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia, with a population of 12,995 and a total municipality population of 13,322 . The historic city of Trogir is situated on a small island between the Croatian mainland and the island of Čiovo...
and Split
Split (city)
Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
, but was stopped at the siege of Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...
. The Bulgarian forces then returned to their home country using the Bosnian route. Territory taken by Samuil
Samuil of Bulgaria
Samuel was the Emperor of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 980 to 997, he was a general under Roman I of Bulgaria, the second surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria, and co-ruled with him, as Roman bestowed upon him the command of the army and the effective royal...
during the war was given to Krešimir III and Gojslav, who, with further Bulgarian support, won the Croatian civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
and took over the realm in the year 1000. Svetoslav Suronja
Svetoslav Suronja
Svetoslav Suronja was King of Croatia from 997 to 1000. He was a member of House of Trpimirović. He reigned with the help of his Ban, Varda. His name was Svetoslav, but because of his physiology and, probably, his temper, he was nicknamed Suronja which could be translated as dark man or cold man....
, a Byzantine and Venetian ally, was sent to exile in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, but after a change in government in Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
he was exiled to Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. Following Ivan Vladislav's
Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria
Ivan Vladislav ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from August or September 1015 to February 1018. The year of his birth is unknown, but he was born at least a decade before 987, but probably not much earlier than that....
death in 1018 Bulgaria fell under Byzantine rule, and Krešimir III and Gojslav, the two Croatian kings, became Byzantine
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...
vassals.