Battle of the Gates of Trajan
Returning from a failed siege of Serdica, the army of the young Emperor Basil II was ambushed by Samuel’s Bulgarians in a mountain pass and destroyed — the worst defeat of Basil’s reign, which he avenged three decades later.
- Date
- 17 August 986exact dateDate in the Julian calendar
- Place
- Gates of Trajan passtoday: near Ihtiman, Sofia Province, Bulgaria · Balkans and Anatolia
- Participants
- Byzantine Empire, Basil II, First Bulgarian Empire, Samuel of Bulgaria
- Threads
- Early medieval Europe (500–1000)
- Also known as
- Trajan’s Gate; Траяновы ворота; Battle of Trayanovi Vrata
After John Tzimiskes annexed eastern Bulgaria in 971, the western Bulgarian lands remained free under the four sons of Count Nicholas, of whom Samuel became the leader. In 986 Basil II marched on Serdica (Sofia) to cut Bulgaria in two, but after twenty days of fruitless assaults, with his supplies running out and the siege engines burnt in a sortie, he retreated. On 17 August his army was trapped in the pass known as the Gates of Trajan; most of it perished, the imperial insignia were captured, and the emperor barely escaped. The historian Leo the Deacon took part in the campaign.
The defeat, followed by new aristocratic revolts, forced Basil to seek help from Vladimir of Kiev, whose Rus’ warriors formed the core of the later Varangian Guard. Basil returned to the Bulgarian war in 991; at Kleidion in 1014 he destroyed Samuel’s army, and by 1018 Bulgaria had become a Byzantine province, earning him the name “Bulgar-Slayer”.
Connections
Related events
- Baptism of Rus’988 · Eastern EuropeWeakened by defeat and revolts, Basil II allied with Vladimir of Kiev, who was baptized and married Basil’s sister Anna
- Vladimir’s siege of Chersonesus (Korsun)between 988 and 989 · Eastern Europedefeated by the Bulgarians and facing revolts, Basil II sought the help of Vladimir
Same participants
- Sviatoslav’s invasion of Bulgariabetween 967 and 968 – July 971 · Balkans and Anatoliavia First Bulgarian Empire
- Siege of Dorostolon23 April 971 – July 971 · Balkans and Anatoliavia Byzantine Empire
- Vladimir’s choice of faith986–987 · Eastern Europevia Byzantine Empire
Adjacent events in the thread
- Baptism of Poland14 April 966 · Western and Central Europe
- Hugh Capet becomes King of the FranksMay 987 – 3 July 987 · Western and Central Europe
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within 5 years of this event
Western and Central Europe
- Hugh Capet becomes King of the FranksMay 987 – 3 July 987
Eastern Europe
- Vladimir’s choice of faith986–987
- Baptism of Rus’988
- Vladimir’s siege of Chersonesus (Korsun)between 988 and 989
- Building of the Church of the Tithes989–996
- The first Rus’ coinsbetween 988 and 1000 – 1015
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Battle of the Gates of Trajan
- Wikipedia (English): Basil II
- Wikipedia (Russian): Битва у Траяновых Ворот
- Wikipedia (Russian): Василий II Болгаробойца
- Holmes C. Basil II and the Governance of Empire (976–1025). — Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
- Stephenson P. The Legend of Basil the Bulgar-Slayer. — Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
- Wikidata: Q2292026