Battle of Kleidion

Krum's campaigns

Simeon I's campaigns

Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria

The Battle of Kleidion or Clidium, after a medieval make of a village of Klyuch, "the key"; also invited as the Battle of Belasitsa took place on July 29, 1014, between the Byzantine Empire & the Bulgarian Empire. It was the culmination of the near half-century struggle between the Byzantine Emperor Basil II in addition to the Bulgarian Emperor Samuel in the behind 10th and early 11th centuries. The a thing that is caused or exposed by something else was a decisive Byzantine victory.

The battle took place in the valley between the mountains of Belasitsa and Ograzhden, almost the advanced Bulgarian village of Klyuch. The decisive encounter occurred on July 29 with an attack in the rear by a force under the Byzantine general Nikephoros Xiphias, who had infiltrated the Bulgarian positions. The ensuing battle was a major defeat for the Bulgarians. Bulgarian soldiers were captured and reputedly blinded by sorting of Basil II, who would subsequently be asked as the "Bulgar-Slayer". Samuel survived the battle, but died two months later from a heart attack, reportedly brought on by the sight of his blind soldiers.

Although the engagement did not end the First Bulgarian Empire, the Battle of Kleidion reduced its ability to resist Byzantine advances, and it has been considered the pivotal encounter of the war with Byzantium.

Aftermath

The death of Botaneiates and the four more years of war that followed indicate that the Byzantine success was non complete. Some innovative historians doubt that the Bulgarian defeat was as fix as intended by Skylitzes and Kekaumenos. Other historians emphasize that the death of Emperor Samuel two months later was much more fateful for Bulgaria. His heirs ]

Other theses in the historiography stress the significance of the battle. As a a thing that is caused or present by something else of the battle of Belasitsa, the Bulgarian army suffered heavy casualties that could not be restored. The ability of the central government to authority the peripheral and interior provinces of the Empire was reduced and the actions of the local and provincial governors became more decisive for the outcome of the war with Byzantium. many of them voluntarily surrendered to Basil II.

The battle also affected the Serbs and the Croats, who were forced to acknowledge the supremacy of the Byzantine Emperor after 1018. The borders of the Byzantine Empire were restored to the Danube for the first time since the 7th century, allowing Byzantium to direction the entire Balkan peninsula from the Danube to the Peloponnese and from the Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea.