This article refers to the Battle of Anchialus fought in 917. For other battles with the same name, see Battle of Anchialus (disambiguation)

The Battle of Anchialus took place on August 20, 917, on the Black Sea coast near the Bulgarian fortress Tuthom, now town of Pomorie, between Bulgarian and Byzantine Empire forces. The Battle of Anchialus refers to three battles between Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire. ... August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events August 20 - Battle of Anchialus: Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria invades Thrace and drives the Byzantines out. ... Coin of Roman Emperor Caracalla minted in Anchialos (Pomorie) Pomorie (Bulgarian: ; formerly known as Anchialos in Greek, Anchialus in Latin, Tuthom in Bulgar and Анхиало, Anhialo, a Bulgarianized Greek form) is a town in southeastern Bulgaria, located on a narrow rocky peninsula in Burgas Bay on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea... The Byzantine Empire (Greek name: - Basileia tōn Romaiōn) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, centered around its capital of Constantinople. ... Simeon the Great (modern painting) Tsar Simeon the Great (Bulgarian: Цар Симеон Велики, Tsar Simeon Veliki) (lived c. ... August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events August 20 - Battle of Anchialus: Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria invades Thrace and drives the Byzantines out. ... Map of the Black Sea. ... Coin of Roman Emperor Caracalla minted in Anchialos (Pomorie) Pomorie (Bulgarian: ; formerly known as Anchialos in Greek, Anchialus in Latin, Tuthom in Bulgar and Анхиало, Anhialo, a Bulgarianized Greek form) is a town in southeastern Bulgaria, located on a narrow rocky peninsula in Burgas Bay on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea... Coin of Roman Emperor Caracalla minted in Anchialos (Pomorie) Pomorie (Bulgarian: ; formerly known as Anchialos in Greek, Anchialus in Latin, Tuthom in Bulgar and Анхиало, Anhialo, a Bulgarianized Greek form) is a town in southeastern Bulgaria, located on a narrow rocky peninsula in Burgas Bay on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea... The Byzantine Empire (Greek name: - Basileia tōn Romaiōn) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, centered around its capital of Constantinople. ...

Prelude

In 914 the Bulgarians had captured Adrianople, while the Byzantine army was occupied in the east. In 917, the empire had stabilized its eastern borders, and the generals John Bogas and Leo Phocas were able to gather additional troops from Asia Minor, perhaps as many as 110,000. Romanus Lecapenus commanded the fleet at the mouth of the Danube. The Bulgarians, under Simeon I of Bulgaria, had an army of only 70,000 men. The Bulgarians were afraid that the old allies of the Byzantines, the Pechenegs and the Hungarians, would attack them from the north, so two small Bulgarian armies were sent to protect the northern borders of the vast Bulgarian empire that spread from Bosnia in the west to Moldova in the east. John indeed tried to pay the Pechenegs to attack, but Romanus would not agree to transport them across the Danube, and instead they attacked Bulgarian territory on their own.
Events Town of Warwick, England founded on the River Avon Vikings conquer much of Ireland Byzantine Empire battles with Bulgaria over city of Adrianople, which changes hands several times Reconstruction of Nanjing after a long dissertation; it marked the beginning of contemporary Nanjing City. ... Edirne is a city in (Thrace), the westernmost part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. ... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to... Contemporary coin of Romanus I. Romanus I Lecapenus (Romanos I Lakapenos, 870 - 948), who shared the throne of the Byzantine Empire with Constantine VII and exercised all the real power from 919 to 944, was admiral of the Byzantine fleet on the Danube River when, hearing of the defeat of... The Danube (ancient Danuvius, ancient Greek Istros) is the longest river of the European Union and Europes second-longest[3] (after the Volga). ... Simeon the Great (modern painting) Tsar Simeon the Great (Bulgarian: Цар Симеон Велики, Tsar Simeon Veliki) (lived c. ... Pechenegs or Patzinaks, also known as Besenyők, were a semi-nomadic steppes people of Central Asia that spoke a Turkic language. ... Approximate borders between Bosnia (marked light) and Herzegovina (marked dark) Historically and geographically, the region known as Bosnia (natively Bosna/Босна) comprises the northern part of the present-day country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ...

The battle

On [20 August] 917, the battle between the Romans and Bulgarians was fought by the river Acheloos (near the modern village Acheloi, 8 kilometers north from Anchialos (modern Pomorie) on [Bulgaria]'s [Black Sea] coast). The Romans were completely routed. Their headlong flight was punctuated by fearful cries as some men were trampled by comrades and others were killed by the enemy; there was such a letting of blood as had not been seen for very many years. [Leo Phokas] was saved by fleeing to Mesembria (modern [Nesebar] in [Bulgaria], but in the thick of the battle Constantine Lips, John Grapson and many other commanders (archontes) were cut down.

The battle was fought furiously. The decisive moment came when a heavy cavalry corps of Bulgarians, led by Simeon himself, attacked the Byzantine left wing from behind the hills. It is estimated that approximately 70,000 Byzantine soldiers died in this battle. The Byzantine historian Paulus Deakon says that 75 years after this military catastrophe the field at Anchialus was still covered with tens of thousands of Roman skeletons.

Aftermath

The remainder of the Byzantine army fled all the way back to Constantinople, followed by the Bulgarians, who defeated John again outside the city. The Byzantines proposed a new peace treaty, and Simeon entered the imperial city and was crowned for a second time as "Tsar" (the Slavonic title for Caesar) "of all Bulgarians and Romans". Simeon also demanded that his daughter marry Constantine VII, the son of empress Zoe Karvounopsina, but Zoe refused and allied with Serbia and Hungary against him. However in August of 918, the general Romanus engineered a coup to depose Zoe and confine her to the monastery of St Euphemia-in-Petrium, allowing him to assume the purple. Map of Constantinople. ... Monomakhs Cap symbol of Russian autocracy, the crown of Russian grand princes and tsars Czar and tzar redirect here. ...  Countries where a West Slavic language is the national language  Countries where an East Slavic language is the national language  Countries where a South Slavic language is the national language The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup... Caesar (plural Caesars), Latin: Cæsar (plural Cæsares), is a title of imperial character. ... Constantine and his mother Zoë. Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos (the Purple-born) (Constantinople, 905 – November 9, 959 in Constantinople) was the son of Byzantine emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife Zoe Karvounopsina. ... Zoe and her son, emperor Constantine VII. Zoe Karvounopsina, or Carbonopsina (Coal-Eyes), was fourth wife of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI and mother of Constantine VII. Leo had caused a controversy in the Orthodox church by marrying for a third time. ... Motto: none Anthem: Bože pravde (English: God of Justice) Capital (and largest city) Belgrade Serbian written with the Cyrillic alphabet1 Government Republic  - Prime Minister Vojislav KoÅ¡tunica  - President Boris Tadić Establishment    - Formation 814   - First Serbian Uprising 1804   - Internationally recognized July 13, 1878   - Kingdom of SCS created December 1, 1918... Events Taebong has been overthrown and Goryeo established in Korean peninsula. ...

Sources

• Theophanes Continuatus, The Byzantine Attack on Bulgaria, AD 917, Theophanes Continuatus, ed. Bekker, 388-90.
• John Skylitzes, Synopsis Historion, translated by Paul Stephenson.