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The 'battle of Spercheios' (, Bulgarian: битка при Сперхей) took place in 996, on the shores of the river of the same name in present-day central Greece.

Contents

Origins of the conflict

The battle

Aftermath

References

Origins of the conflict

After the major success of the Bulgarians in the battle of the Gates of Trajan in 986, Byzantium descended into a civil war, further exacerbated by the conflict with the Fatimids in Syria. Tsar Samuil took advantage of the situation and assumed the control of virtually the whole of the Balkan Peninsula, excluding the parts of Thrace closest to Constantinople, and southern Greece. Every year he led campaigns against the Byzantines and plundered their territories. In 991 the Byzantines managed to capture the Emperor Roman but this did not stop Samuil who was now ''de facto'' the only Emperor. In 996 he ambushed and destroyed the forces of the ''strategos'' of Thessalonica and marched to the south, eventually reaching Corinth. On his way back he met a Byzantine army on the opposite side of the Spercheios river, led by the Domestic of the East, Nikephoros Ouranos.

The battle

Due to heavy rainfalls, the river had swollen and flooded a large area on both shores. The Bulgarians camped on the southern shore and the Byzantines on the northern, separated from each other by the river. The two armies remained thus encamped for several days. Samuil was confident that the Byzantines could not cross, and neglected taking measures to protect his camp. Ouranos however, sought and found a ford, leading his army across during the night, and attacking the Bulgarians at dawn. The Bulgarians, caught at unawares, were not able to put up an effective resistance, and the larger part of their army was routed. Samuil himself was wounded in the arm and his capture seemed inevitable, but his resourcefulness saved him: he and his son Gavril Radomir mingled with the dead and pretended to have been killed. After nightfall they set off to Bulgaria and due to the difficult 400 km journey to Ochrid his arm healed at an angle of 140°.

Aftermath

The battle was the first major defeat of the Bulgarian army. Although Samuil managed to recover and conquer Serbia, the Byzantines gradually took the lead in the war. In 1014 they decisively defeated the Bulgarians and four years later the country was thoroughly conquered.

References

★ Йордан Андреев, Милчо Лалков, Българските ханове и царе, Велико Търново, 1996.