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The Story of

Bulgaria

316 – 2025

Country in southeast Europe

  1. Battle of Mardia

    316

    The Battle of Mardia, also known as Battle of Campus Mardiensis or Battle of Campus Ardiensis, was fought in late 316/early 317 between the forces of Roman Emperors Constantine I and Licinius. Its location was probably modern Harmanli (Bulgaria) in Thrace.

  2. Battle of Marcianople

    376

    The Battle of Marcianople or Marcianopolis took place in 376 following the Goths' migration over the Danube. It was the first notable battle of the Gothic War of 376–382.

  3. Battle of the Utus

    477

    The Battle of the Utus was fought in 447 between the army of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Huns led by Attila at Utus, a river that is today the Vit in Bulgaria. It was the last of the bloody pitched battles between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Huns, as the former attempted to stave off the Hunnic invasion.

  4. Battle of Anchialus

    708

    The Battle of Anchialus (Bulgarian: Битката при Анхиало) (Medieval Greek: Μάχη του Αγχίαλου) occurred in 708 near the modern-day town of Pomorie, Bulgaria

  5. Battle of Marcellae

    756

    The Battle of Marcellae (Bulgarian: Битката при Маркели, Greek: Μάχη των Μαρκελλών) took place in 756 between the armies of the First Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire at Markeli, near the town of Karnobat in south eastern Bulgaria. The result was a Byzantine victory.

  6. Battle of Anchialus

    30 June 763

    The battle of Anchialus (Bulgarian: Битката при Анхиало) occurred in 763, near the town of Pomorie on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. The result was a Byzantine victory.

  7. Battle of Marcellae

    792

    The Battle of Marcellae (Bulgarian: Битката при Маркели; Greek: Μάχη των Μαρκελλών) was fought on the 20 July 792 between the forces of the Byzantine Empire, led by Constantine VI, and those of the First Bulgarian Empire under Kardam. The Byzantines were routed and forced to retreat to Constantinople.

  8. Siege of Serdica (809)

    809

    The siege of Serdica (Bulgarian: Обсадата на Сердика) took place in the spring of 809 at modern Sofia, Bulgaria. As a result, the city was annexed to the Bulgarian State and remained so until the fall of the First Bulgarian Empire.

  9. Battle of Pliska

    26 July 811

    The Battle of Pliska or Battle of Vărbitsa Pass was a series of battles between the forces of the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Nicephorus I, and the First Bulgarian Empire under Khan Krum in July 811. The Byzantines plundered and burned the Bulgar capital Pliska which gave time for the Bulgarians to block passes in the Balkan Mountains that served as exits out of Bulgaria.

  10. Battle of Versinikia

    22 June 813

    Bulgarian Battle of Versinikia (Bulgarian: Битката при Версиникия; Greek: Μάχη της Βερσινικίας) was a battle fought in 813 AD between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire, near the city of Adrianople (Edirne), in modern-day Turkey. The Bulgarian army, led by Krum of Bulgaria, defeated the Byzantine forces.

  11. Battle of Achelous

    20 August 917

    The Battle of Achelous or Acheloos (Bulgarian: Битката при Ахелой, Greek: Μάχη του Αχελώου), also known as the Battle of Anchialus, took place on 20 August 917, on the Achelous river near the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, close to the fortress Tuthom (modern Pomorie) between Bulgarian and Byzantine forces. The Bulgarians obtained a decisive victory which not only secured the previous successes of Simeon I, but made him de facto ruler of the whole Balkan Peninsula, excluding the well-protected Byzantine capital Constantinople and the Peloponnese.

  12. Siege of Dorostolon

    971

    The Siege and Battle of Dorostolon (Silistra) was fought in 971 between the Byzantine Empire and forces of Kievan Rus'. The Byzantines, led by John I Tzimiskes, were victorious.

  13. Battle of the Gates of Trajan

    17 August 986

    The Battle of the Gates of Trajan (Bulgarian: Битка край Траянови врати, Medieval Greek: Μάχη στις Πύλες του Τραϊανού) was a battle between Byzantine and Bulgarian forces in the year 986. It took place in the pass of the same name, modern Trayanovi Vrata, in Sofia Province, Bulgaria.

  14. Battle of Beroia

    1122

    The Battle of Beroia (modern Stara Zagora) was fought in 1122 between the Pechenegs and the Byzantine Empire under Emperor John II Komnenos (r. 1118–1143) in what is now Bulgaria.

  15. Battle of Klokotnitsa

    9 March 1230

    The Battle of Klokotnitsa (Bulgarian: Битката при Клокотница, Bitkata pri Klokotnitsa) occurred on 9 March 1230 near the village of Klokotnitsa (today in Haskovo Province, Bulgaria) between the Second Bulgarian Empire and the Empire of Thessalonica. As a result, Bulgaria emerged once again as the most powerful state in South-Eastern Europe.

  16. Battle of Skafida

    1304

    The Battle of Skafida (Bulgarian: Битка при Скафида) was an engagement between the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire which occurred in 1304 near Poros (Burgas), modern Bulgaria. The outcome was Bulgarian victory.

  17. Battle of Velbazhd

    28 July 1330

    The Battle of Velbazhd (Bulgarian: битка при Велбъжд, romanized: bitka pri Velbazhd; Serbian: Битка код Велбужда, romanized: Bitka kod Velbužda) was fought by the Second Bulgarian Empire and the Kingdom of Serbia on 28 July 1330, near the town of Velbazhd (present day Kyustendil). The growing power of the Serbian Kingdom from the late 13th century raised serious concerns in the traditional Balkan powers Bulgaria and Byzantine Empire which agreed for joint military actions against Serbia in 1327.

  18. Battle of Rusokastro

    18 July 1332

    The Battle of Rusokastro (Bulgarian: Битка при Русокастро, Greek: Μάχη τοῦ Ῥουσοκάστρου) occurred on 18 July 1332 near the village of Rusokastro, Bulgaria, between the armies of the Bulgarian and Byzantine Empires.

  19. Battle of Ihtiman

    1355

    The Battle of Ihtiman occurred in 1355 between Bulgarians and Ottomans and resulted in a Bulgarian pyrrhic victory. The exact location is not known, but in an anonymous Bulgarian chronicle, it is mentioned that the armies of Michail Asen engaged the invading forces before they could reach Sofia.

  20. Siege of Tarnovo

    17 July 1393

    The siege of Tarnovgrad occurred in the spring of 1393 and resulted in a decisive Ottoman victory. With the fall of its capital, the Bulgarian Empire was reduced to a few fortresses along the Danube.