Battle of Arkadiopolis (970)

Battle of Arcadiopolis

Part of: Byzantine-Russian Wars and Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars

Persecution of the Rus by the Byzantine army , Chronicle of Johannes Skylitzes

date	970
place	Arcadiopolis , Thrace
output	Byzantine victory

Parties to the conflict
Byzantine Empire	Kievans Rus Bulgarians Magyars Pechenegs
Commander
Bardas Scleros	Svyatoslav I.
Troop strength
approx. 12,000	approx. 30,000
losses
unknown	unknown

The Battle of Arkadiopolis in 970 was a battle between the Byzantines under general Bardas Skleros and a coalition of Kievan Rus , Bulgarians , Magyars and Pechenegs under the leadership of Kievan Grand Duke Svyatoslav I. It took place near Arkadiopolis (today's Lüleburgaz ) in eastern Thrace (around 100 kilometers west of Constantinople ) and ended in a victory for the Byzantines. The background was the dispute between the Kievan Rus and the Byzantine Empire over the possession of Bulgaria. In 968 Svyatoslav had defeated the Bulgarian Tsar Boris II and in 969 relocated his capital to Pereslavets at the mouth of the Danube . In the same year he conquered Philippopel ( Plovdiv ) and besieged Adrianople ( Edirne ) in the summer of 970 . The threat to Constantinople led to the takeover of power by Johannes Tzimiskes , who in December 969 killed Emperor Nikephorus II .

CHERTKOV (1843) Svyatoslav's army in battle scenes. Copied from the Manasses Chronicle.

The defeat at Arkadiopolis then ended Svyatoslav's hopes to conquer Constantinople and bring his ally Kalokyres to the imperial throne. In the following year the Byzantines took the former Bulgarian capital Preslaw and besieged Svyatoslav in Dorostolon ( Silistra ), where he had withdrawn (→ Siege of Dorostolon ).

The battle is described in the Nestor Chronicle and the Chronicle of Johannes Skylitzes .