Battle of Tryavna

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Battle of Tryavna
Part of the Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars
Date Spring 1190 Location near Tryavna, Bulgaria Result Bulgarian victory
Belligerents
Bulgarian Empire	Byzantine Empire
Commanders
Ivan Asen I	Isaac II Angelos
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Heavy

The battle of Tryavna (Bulgarian: Битка при Трявна) occurred in 1190 in the mountains around the contemporary town of Tryavna, central Bulgaria. The result was a Bulgarian victory which secured the successes achieved since the beginning of the Rebellion of Asen and Peter in 1185.

[edit] Origins of the conflict

After his second campaign in Moesia and the fruitless siege of Lovech in 1187 the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos was forced to conclude a truce thus de facto recognizing the independence of Bulgaria. Up to 1189 both sides observed the truce which the Bulgarians used to further organize the administration and the army and when the soldiers of the Third Crusade reached the Bulgarian lands at Niš Asen and Peter offered to help the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Frederick I Barbarosa with 40,000 army against the Byzantines. However the relations between the Crusaders and the Byzantines smoothed and the Bulgarian proposal was evaded.

[edit] The battle

The Byzantines prepared a third campaign to revenge for the Bulgarian actions. Like the previous two invasions they managed to overcome the passes of the Balkan mountains. They pretended that they would pass near the sea from Pomorie but instead headed to the west and passed through the Rishki Pass to Preslav and then marched westwards to besiege the capital Tarnovo. At the same time the Byzantine fleet reached the Danube in order to bar the way of the Cuman auxiliaries from the northern Bulgarian territories.

The siege of Tarnovo was unsuccessful. The defense of the city was led by Asen himself and the morale of his troops was very high. The enemy was on the other pole: the lack of any success, the heavy casualties and the fact that the soldiers were not paid for months ruined the morale of the Byzantines. That was used by Asen who sent a man who pretended to be a deserter in the Byzantine camp. The man told Isaac II that despite the efforts of his navy an enormous Cuman army had passed the river Danube and was heading towards Tarnovo to relive the siege. The Byzantine Emperor panicked and immediately called for a retreat through the nearest pass. The Bulgarian Emperor knew that his opponent would go through the Tryavna Pass and while the Byzantine army marched slowly southwards stretched for kilometers the Bulgarians reached the pass before them and organized an ambush on the heights of a narrow gorge. Asen decided to let the Byzantine avantguard go ahead and concentrate the attack on the centre where was the Emperor and the nobles. In the beginning the Byzantines tried to resist and stopped for a moment the rushing Bulgarian soldiers but after they were showered with arrows and stones from the heights they broke down and began to flee. The Bulgarians slaughtered everyone on their way. Isaac II Angelos barely escaped from captivity as his guards killed the Byzantine soldiers who were standing on his way. The Byzantine historian Nikita Chroniates wrote that only Isaac Angelos escaped and most of the others perished.

The battle was a major catastrophe for the Byzantines. The victorious army captured the Imperial treasure of Byzantium including the golden helmet of the Byzantine Emperors, the crown and the Imperial Cross which was the most valuable possession of the Byzantine rulers made of solid gold and part of the Holy Cross built in inside. It was thrown in the river by a Byzantine cleric but was soon recovered by the Bulgarians. These trophies later became the pride of the Bulgarian Treasure and were carried around the capital Tarnovo during official occasions.

[edit] Aftermath

The victory was very important for Bulgaria. Up to that moment the official Emperor was Peter IV but after the major successes of his brother he gave the power to his smaller brother Asen who was proclaimed Emperor later that year. Officially Peter preserved his title and ruled from Preslav but the state now governed by Ivan Asen I. In the next two years he liberated many lands to the west and south-west including Sofia and Niš. His troops looted Thrace and the Byzantines were completely powerless to resist the Bulgarian attacks.