Battle of Velbužd
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| Battle of Velbuzd | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Combatants | |||||||
| Bulgarian Empire | Serbian Empire | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Michael III of Bulgaria | Stefan Decanski | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| c.15,000 | c.15,000 | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
The Battle of Velbužd is a battle which took between Bulgarian and Serbian armies on 28 July 1330, near the town of Velbužd (present day Kyustendil). Serbian victory shaped the balance of power in Balkans in the next decades.
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[edit] Origin of Conflict
During the internal war in Byzantium waged between the aged emperor Andonikos III and his ambitious grandson Andronikos II, Serbian king Stefan Uroš III (also known as Stefan Dečanski) actively supported the side of old emperor and in the process gained some minor forts in Macedonia. After in 1328 Andronikos II won and deposed his grandfather Serbia and Byzantium entered a period of bad relations, closer to the state of undeclared war. On the other hand, Bulgarian emperor Michael III was hostile to Stefan after he divorced and ousted his wife and Michael’s sister Ana in 1324 and married Andronik III’s sister Theodora. Seeking to take advantage of the antagonism between Serbia and Byzantium, in spring of 1330 Michael made an agreement with his borther-in-law to launch a joint attack on Serbia in the summer of the same year.
[edit] Preparations
Both sides took careful preparations. Michael called in his ally Basarab of Walachia who sent him a strong unit, as well as detachments of Ossetians and Tartars. Michael's army was estimated by contemporaries to be 12,000 strong (which is fairly possible number). Stefan Uroš strengthened his army by more Spanish and German mercenaries, experienced warriors which presented an elite unit of Serbian army which comprised approximately the same number of fighters as the Bulgarian.
[edit] Operations Before the Battle
The plan of the two emperors was to join forces somewhere in present day north Macedonia but their coordination was feeble. Andronikos stroke first heading for the vicinity of Ohrid where he conquered several smaller forts but then rested in the plain of Pelagonia (near present-day Bitola). Serbian objective was to prevent the joining of the allies and to beat in separate battles. Fearing an attack on Morava valley by the way of Nish he gathered his army in the field of Dobrich, on the confluence of River Toplica into Morava. However, Bulgarians attacked the upper Struma region, sacking the region around Zemen and Velbuzhd (already part of Serbian state). Upon learning this, King Stefan headed towards Skopje and than eastwards towards Velbuzhd, stopping at to pray for victory in the monasteries of Staro Nagorichino and Sarandapor, where he met father Jovan, a well known holy man and later saint. Mihailo’s army remained inactive and waited for the enemy on river Kamencha (today Sovolshtitsa) north of Velbuzhd.
[edit] The Battle and its Results
Upon reaching his enemy, Stefan acted quickly: after a nights rest (and prayer) he attacked his enemy without much hesitation, perhaps before all Bulgarian units could be mustered from their looting. Stefan apparently divided his army into two, with his son the “young king” Stefan Dušan commanding a division in which most of the mercenaries were. With the sounds of the battle horns the Serbian army attacked in noon. Dushan and his unit charged towards the flag of the Bulgarian emperor and won the day. The Bulgarian army could not regain its order and dispersed in confusion. During the flight, emperor Michael fell from his horse and was slaughtered as the enemy caught up with him.
The command over the remains of Bulgarian army was taken over by Michael’s brother Belaur who gathered the units in the region of Mraka in the upper reaches of Struma River. There he met king Stefan and peace was concluded in the village of Izvor near the town of Radomir. Bulgarians agreed to except as their ruler underage Ivan Stefan, the son of Miahilo with Stefan’s sister. All of Bulgarian nobles were confirmed in their titles and there were no territorial changes.
The body of the ill-fated emperor Michael was brought to King Stefan and was consequently buried in the monastery of Staro Nagorichino (near Kumanovo). On the place where he spent his last night praying in his tent, Stefan built a church (still existent to this day).
Hearing the news of his ally’s death, Andronik decided to abandon the war with Serbia and headed to take advantage of the Bulgarian weakness. King Stefan reached Macedonia and regained the towns that were taken by Byzantines at the beginning of the campaign. After a successful end of the war Stefan returned at to building the Visoki Dečani monastery, his grand edifice in the region of Metohija, which he bestowed with many villages in a charter issued at the end of the year.
[edit] Later Developments and Consequences
In the beginning of the year 1331 young king Stefan Dušan rebelled after his father, possibly on the course of further actions against Byzantium. In stark contrast with his pious father, juvenile Dušan was aggressive and was supported by those Serbian nobles who desired wider exploits of the victory by Velebuzhd. During the rebellion (January to April), Bulgarian nobles dethroned Ivan Stefan and brought to rule Ivan Aleksandar (1331-71) cousin of the late Michael.
In the long run Velebuzhd opened the era in which Serbia rose to be the strongest state in South-Eastern Europe. The defeat resounded far and wide, and Bulgaria tried to keep good relationships with its western neighbor. War with Byzantium was an open matter and when Dushan succeeded in taking over of the throne later in 1331 his launched attacks on Byzantine possessions taking them one by one.
