Battle of Pliska 811
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 811 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Bulgaria | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 42.9275, 26.6683 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
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. The final battle took place on 26 July 811, in some of the passes in the eastern part of the Balkans, most probably the Vărbitsa Pass. There, the Bulgarians used the tactics of ambush and surprise night attacks to effectively trap and immobilize the Byzantine army, thus annihilating almost the whole army, including the Emperor. After the battle, Krum encased the skull of Nicephorus in silver, and used it as a cup for drinking. This is one of the most documented instances of the custom of the skull cup.
The Battle of Pliska was one of the worst defeats in Byzantine history. It deterred Byzantine rulers from sending their troops north of the Balkans for more than 150 years afterwards, which increased the influence and spread of the Bulgarians to the west and south of the Balkan Peninsula, resulting in a great territorial enlargement of the First Bulgarian Empire.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Pliska (revision 1380959686), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Devina 1279 · 18 km
- Battle of the Rishki Pass 759 · 22 km
- Battle of Marcellae (756) 756 · 37 km
- Battle of Marcellae 792 · 37 km
- Battle of Kulevicha 1829 · 52 km
- Battle of Elena 1877 · 64 km
Other battles of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars
- Battle of Marcellae (756) 756
- Battle of the Rishki Pass 759
- Battle of Anchialus (763) 763
- Battle of Marcellae 792
- Siege of Serdica (809) 809
- Battle of Versinikia 813
- Siege of Adrianople (813) 813
- Battle of Boulgarophygon 896
- Battle of Constantinople (922) 922
- Battle of Strumica 1014
All 29 battles of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars →
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