Battle of Spercheios

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Date	16 July, 996
Location	The Spercheios river, Greece
Result	Byzantine victory

Combatants

Bulgarian Empire

Byzantine Empire

Commanders

Samuil of Bulgaria

Nicephorus Uranos

Strength

Unknown

Casualties

Heavy

Unknown

Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars
Ongala –1st Anchialus – Rishki Pass –2nd Anchialus – Berzitia – Marcelae – Serdica – Pliska – 1st Adrianople – Versinikia – Bulgarophygon – 3rd Anchialus – Katasyrtai – Pigae – Trayanovi Vrata – Solun – Spercheios – Skopie – Kleidion – Ostrovo – Klokotnitsa – 2nd Adrianople – Devnya – Skafida – Rusokastro

The battle of Spercheios (Bulgarian: битка при Сперхей) took place in 996, on the shores of the river of the same name in present-day central Greece.

1 Origines of the conflict
2 The battle
3 Aftermath
4 References

[edit] Origines of the conflict

After the major success of the Bulgarians in the battle of Trayanovi Vrata, Byzantium descented in a civil war. Samuil of Bulgaria took advantage of the situation and assumed the control of virtually the whole Balkan Peninsula excluding some parts of Thrace and Achea. He attacked the Byzantines each year and regularily plundered the areas out of Bulgarian control. In 991 the Byzantines managed to capture the Emperor Roman of Bulgaria but this did not stop Samuil who was now de facto the only Emperor. In 996 he defeated the Byzantines in the battle of Solun and marched to the south eventually reaching Korinth. On his way back he met a Byzantine army on the opposite side of the Spercheios river.

[edit] The battle

Due to the heavy rain several days ago the river had flooded a large area on both shores. As the night approached Samuil camped on the right shore without taking any serious measures for the defence of the camp. He was convinced that the enemy could not find a ford to cross the river but this was exactly what the Byzantines did. In the early morning they hit the camp and overran the unprepared Bulgarian soldiers, most of whom perished. Samuil himself was woulded in the arm and his capture seemed inevitable but his resoursefulness saved him: he and his son Gavril Radomir mingled with the death and pretended to have been killed. After nightfall they set off to Bulgaria and due to the difficult 400 km journey to Ochrid his arm healed at an angle of 140°. The Byzantine commander did not dare to chase the rest, so the survivors successfully made they way to Bulgaria.

[edit] Aftermath

The battle was the first major defeat of the Bulgarian army. Although Samuil managed to recover and conquer Serbia, the Byzantines gradually took the lead in the war. In 1014 they decisively defeated the Bulgarians and four years later the country was throughly conquered.