Sviatoslav’s invasion of Bulgaria
Invited by Nikephoros II to attack Bulgaria, Sviatoslav conquered its northeastern lands, captured Tsar Boris II and made Pereyaslavets on the Danube his residence; his advance into Thrace was stopped at Arcadiopolis in 970, and in 971 John I Tzimiskes took Preslav and drove him out of the Balkans.
- Date
- between 967 and 968 – July 971start: exact date unknown: an interval is given; end: month known · duration: ≈ 4 years
- Place
- Pereyaslavets on the Danubeapproximate locationtoday: Probably Nufăru, Tulcea County, Romania · Balkans and Anatolia
- Route
- Kyiv → Pereyaslavets → Preslav → Arcadiopolis → Dorostolon
- Participants
- Sviatoslav I, Kievan Rus’, Byzantine Empire, First Bulgarian Empire, Pechenegs, Magyars (Hungarians)
- Threads
- Eastern Europe and Rus’ before the Baptism (1st–10th c.)
- Also known as
- Balkan campaigns of Sviatoslav; Battle of Arcadiopolis; Pereyaslavets; Переяславец; Битва при Аркадиополе
Nikephoros II Phokas sent the patrikios Kalokyros of Cherson to Kyiv, with 1,500 pounds of gold according to Leo the Deacon, to turn the Rus’ against Bulgaria. The Primary Chronicle dates the first campaign to 967 (Byzantine evidence suggests 968): Sviatoslav defeated the Bulgarians on the Danube, took eighty towns and settled at Pereyaslavets. Recalled by the Pecheneg siege of Kyiv, he came back in 969, held Preslav and Tsar Boris II by 970 and now aimed at Byzantium itself, with Pechenegs and Magyars as allies.
After Bardas Skleros defeated the Rus’ at Arcadiopolis in 970, John Tzimiskes crossed the Balkan passes in April 971, stormed Preslav on 13–14 April and besieged Sviatoslav in Dorostolon. The war ended with the treaty of July 971, and eastern Bulgaria was annexed to the Byzantine Empire. The exact chronology of the first campaign (967 or 968) and of the return (969) is disputed.
Connections
Includes
- Siege of Dorostolon23 April 971 – July 971 · Balkans and Anatolia
Related events
- Golden Age of Bulgaria under Simeon I893 – 27 May 927 · Balkans and AnatoliaHalf a century after Simeon, his capital Preslav became a battlefield in the wars of Sviatoslav and John Tzimiskes
- Sviatoslav’s campaign against the Khazars964 – between 968 and 969 · Eastern EuropeByzantium turned the victorious prince towards Bulgaria
- Pecheneg siege of Kyiv968 · Eastern Europethe siege recalled Sviatoslav from the Danube
Same participants
- Battle of Achelous20 August 917 · Balkans and Anatoliavia First Bulgarian Empire
- Battle of Lechfeld10–12 August 955 · Western and Central Europevia Magyars (Hungarians)
- Olga’s visit to Constantinople and her baptism9 September – 18 October 957 · Balkans and Anatoliavia Byzantine Empire
- Death of Sviatoslav at the Dnieper rapids972 · Eastern Europevia Pechenegs
- Battle of the Gates of Trajan17 August 986 · Balkans and Anatoliavia First Bulgarian Empire
- Coronation of Stephen I of Hungarybetween 25 December 1000 and 1 January 1001 · Western and Central Europevia Magyars (Hungarians)
Same place
- Founding of the First Bulgarian Empirebetween 680 and 681 · Balkans and Anatolia
- Siege of Izmail11 (22) December 1790 · Eastern Europe
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within 25 years of this event
Western and Central Europe
- Baptism of Poland14 April 966
- Imperial coronation of Otto I2 February 962
- Battle of Lechfeld10–12 August 955
- Hugh Capet becomes King of the FranksMay 987 – 3 July 987
Eastern Europe
- Pecheneg siege of Kyiv968
- Death of Sviatoslav at the Dnieper rapids972
- Sviatoslav’s campaign against the Khazars964 – between 968 and 969
- Feud of the Sviatoslavichi977 – between 978 and 980
- Vladimir’s pagan pantheonbetween 978 and 980
+ 9 events
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria
- Wikipedia (English): Battle of Arcadiopolis (970)
- Wikipedia (Russian): Походы Святослава Игоревича в Болгарию
- Wikipedia (Russian): Битва при Аркадиополе (970)
- Лев Диакон. История / Пер. М. М. Копыленко; коммент. М. Я. Сюзюмова, С. А. Иванова. — М.: Наука, 1988.
- Stokes A. D. The Background and Chronology of the Balkan Campaigns of Svyatoslav Igorevich // The Slavonic and East European Review. — 1962. — Vol. 40. — P. 44–57.
- Wikidata: Q2991800