Battle of Klokotnitsa
| date | March 9, 1230 |
|---|---|
| place | near Klokotnitsa (today in Oblast Chaskowo , southern Bulgaria ) |
| Casus Belli | Dominant position in Southeast Europe |
| output | Victory of the Bulgarians |
| Territorial changes | Thrace |
| consequences | Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia and large parts of Thrace came under Bulgarian control, and Byzantium committed itself to annual tribute payments |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Emperor Theodoros I Angelos |
Tsar Ivan Assen II. |
| Troop strength | |
| approx. 85,000 | approx. 25,000 |
| losses | |
|
devastating |
easy |
The Battle of Klokotnitsa ( Bulgarian Битка при Клокотница ) was fought on March 9, 1230 near the village of Klokotnitsa (today 's Haskovo Oblast , Bulgaria ) between the Second Bulgarian Empire and the despotate of Epirus . As a result of this battle, the Second Bulgarian Empire again became the most powerful state in Eastern Europe and the power of the despotate Epirus sank considerably. The battle is often considered by historians to be the happiest and most fruitful battle in Bulgarian history.
Origins of the conflict
Around 1221/22 the Bulgarian emperor Ivan Assen II entered into an alliance with Theodoros I , the despot of Epirus. Secured by the treaty, Theodoros succeeded in conquering Thessaloniki , which until then had belonged to the Latin Empire , as well as Bulgarian lands in Macedonia , including Ohrid . After the death of the Latin emperor Robert von Courtenay in 1228, Iwan Assen II was seen as the most likely choice as regent for the underage Balduin II (Latin Empire) . Theodoros thought that Bulgaria would be the last obstacle on his way to Constantinople and therefore invaded Bulgaria in 1230, breaking the peace treaty and without declaring war.
The battle
Theodoros raised a huge army, partly consisting of western mercenaries. He was so sure of his victory that he took the entire royal court with him, along with his wife and children. As a result, his army moved slowly on their way through Bulgaria, pillaging the villages they encountered. When the Bulgarian tsar learned that his country was under attack, he assembled a small army of a few thousand soldiers and marched quickly south. In four days the Bulgarians covered a distance that was three times as long as the distance that Theodoros' army had taken a week to cover.
On March 9, the two armies met near the village of Klokotnitsa. It is said that Ivan II. Assen is said to have ordered the broken mutual treaty to be speared on his spear in order to use it as a banner. As a good tactician, he used the element of surprise and succeeded in surrounding Theodoros' troops - they had only expected the meeting a few days later and were accordingly unprepared. The battle lasted until dawn and saw the complete defeat of the Epireans. Only a small force under Theodoros' brother Manuel managed to escape from the battlefield. The rest were killed or captured, including Theodorus and the royal court of Epirus.
Ivan II Asen's inscription in Veliko Tarnovo
To commemorate the battle, the Bulgarian emperor had an inscription engraved on one of the marble columns of the Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs in the capital of the empire, Great Tarnowo . Of all the existing documents, the column inscription provides the most accurate information about the outcome and consequences of the battle:
In the year 6738 (1230), third indiction . Johannes Assen in God-Christ true tsar of the Bulgarians, son of the old tsar Assen, rose from the foundations and decorated this holy church with art in the name of the Forty Martyrs with their help when this church was decorated in the twelfth year of my reign. I waged war in Byzantium and defeated the Greek army and captured their tsar, Kyr Teodore Komnenos, along with all his boyars . And I occupied all his land from Odrin Adrianople to Drach Dyrrhachium , Greeks and also Albanians and Serbs; and the cities around Constantinople and this city itself were ruled by the Frandzen ( Latins ), but they also submitted to my empire; for they had no other tsar and thanks to me they passed their days when God commanded this, because without Him neither deed nor word would be done. Thanks be to Him forever, amen.
consequences
Ivan II Assen released the captured soldiers immediately after the battle without any conditions and deported the nobles to Tarnowo . His fame as a gracious and just ruler extended beyond the borders of his empire to the lands of Theodoros Komnenos, and Bulgaria was incorporated without resistance.
More pictures
Column inscription in the Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs
The Bulgarian Empire after the Battle of Klokotnitsa
Tsar Ivan Assen II, fresco in the Zográfou monastery
Individual evidence
- ↑ Column inscription in the Church of the Forty Martyrs of Veliko Tarnovo