Great Battles of Bulgaria
Dr. Lyubomir Ivanov
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Sofia, March 2007
c. 440 AD – Silesia[edit]
The Bulgars defeat and kill King Agelmund of Langobards in Silesia
(present southwestern Poland).
499 AD – Illyricum[edit]
The Bulgars defeat four armies of Emperor Anastasius of the Eastern
Roman Empire (Byzantium) in Illyricum (western Balkans).
680 AD – Ongal[edit]
Khan Asparuh of Bulgaria defeats Emperor Constantine IV of Byzantium
at the Danube delta.
718 AD – Constantinople[edit]
Khan Tervel of Bulgaria defeats the Arab army of Caliph Umar II led
by Gen. Maslama, relieving the Arab siege of Constantinople.
792 AD – Markeli[edit]
Khan Kardam defeats Emperor Constantine VI of Byzantium at Markeli
(near present Karnobat in southeastern Bulgaria).
811 AD – Varbitsa[edit]
Khan Krum the Horrible defeats and kills Emperor Nikephoros I Genikos
of Byzantium at Varbitsa Pass (in eastern Bulgaria).
813 AD – Versinikia[edit]
Khan Krum defeats Emperor Michael I Rangabe of Byzantium at Versinikia
(near Adrianople, present Edirne in Turkey).
896 AD – Bulgarophygon[edit]
Tsar Simeon I the Great defeats the Byzantine army at Bulgarophygon
(present Babaeski in Turkey).
917 AD – Anchialus[edit]
Tsar Simeon I defeats the Byzantine army led by Gen. Leo Phocas at Aheloy
River near Anchialus (present Pomorie in southeastern Bulgaria).
986 AD – Trayan Gates[edit]
Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria defeats Emperor Basil II of Byzantium at Trayan
Gates (in central Bulgaria).
1014 – Klyuch (Kleidon)[edit]
Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria defeated by Byzantine Emperor Basil II at Klyuch
(in southwestern Bulgaria).
1205 – Adrianople[edit]
Tsar Kaloyan of Bulgaria defeats and captures Emperor Baldwin of
the Latin Empire (formerly of Flanders) at Adrianople (present Edirne
in Turkey).
1223 – Samara Bend[edit]
King Gabdulla Chelbir of Volga Bulgaria defeats the Mongol army
of Ghengis Khan at Samara Bend (in present Russia).
1230 – Klokotnitsa[edit]
Tsar Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria defeats and captures Byzantine Emperor
Contender Theodore Komnenos of Epirus at Klokotnitsa (near Haskovo
in southeastern Bulgaria).
1279 – Devnya[edit]
Tsar Ivaylo of Bulgaria defeats the Byzantine army of Emperor Michael
VIII Palaiologos at Devnya (in northeastern Bulgaria).
1304 – Sozopol[edit]
Tsar Svetoslav Terter of Bulgaria defeats the Byzantine army of Emperor
Andronikos II Palaiologos at Sozopol (in southeastern Bulgaria).
1332 – Rusokastro[edit]
Tsar Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria defeats Emperor Andronikos III
Palaiologos of Byzantium at Rusokastro (in southeastern Bulgaria).
1396 – Nicopolis[edit]
Joint European forces under Duke Jean de Nevers defeated by
the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I at Nicopolis (present Nikopol in northern
Bulgaria).
1444 – Varna[edit]
Joint European forces under King Władysław III of Poland and King Janos
Hunyadi of Hungary defeated by the Ottoman Sultan Murad II at Varna
(in northeastern Bulgaria).
1878 – Shipka[edit]
Bulgarian volunteer units and Russian troops under Gen. Stoletov defeat
the Turkish army under Suleiman Pasha at Shipka Pass (central Bulgaria)
in one of the crucial battles of the Russo-Turkish War.
1885 – Slivnitsa[edit]
Prince Alexander I Battenberg of Bulgaria defeats King Milan I of Serbia
at Slivnitsa (in western Bulgaria) during the Serbo-Bulgarian War.
1912 – Lozengrad (Kirklareli)[edit]
Gen. Ivan Fichev and Gen. Radko Dimitriev defeat the Turkish army
at Lozengrad, Lyuleburgas and Bunarhisar (present Kirklareli, Lüleburgaz
and Pinarhisar in Turkey) during the First Balkan War.
1913 – Odrin (Edirne)[edit]
Gen. Georgi Vazov defeats Shukri Pasha to capture the reputedly
impenetrable German-built Turkish fortress of Odrin (present Edirne
in Turkey) during the First Balkan War.
1913 – Kalimantsi[edit]
Gen. Vicho Dikov defeats the Serbian and Montenegrin army at Kalimantsi
(in present Republic of Macedonia) during the Second Balkan War.
1913 – Kresna[edit]
The Bulgarian army under Gen. Radko Dimitriev surrounds Greece’s
120,000-strong main army group north of Kresna Gorge (in western
Bulgaria) during the Second Balkan War.
1916 – Tutrakan[edit]
Gen. Panteley Kiselov defeats the Romanian garrison under
Gen. Constantin Teodorescu to capture the fortress of Tutrakan (in northeastern
Bulgaria) during WWI; Bulgaria occupies Bucharest.
1916 – Dobrudzha[edit]
Gen. Ivan Kolev defeats the Russian 7 Cavalry (Cossack) Division under
Gen. Evgeniy Leontovich, and captures the 25th Orenburg Battalion flag
in Dobrudzha during WWI.
1917 – Red Wall[edit]
6 Bdin Division under Gen. Hristo Popov defeats 11 and 16 French
Divisions to keep the strategic Red Wall Peak near Bitolya (in present
Republic of Macedonia) during WWI.
1918 – Doiran[edit]
Gen. Vladimir Vazov defeats the British army under Gen. George Milne
at Doiran (on the border between Greece and present Republic of Macedonia)
during WWI.
1945 – Nish (Niš)[edit]
Gen. Kiril Stanchev defeats and captures the flag of the German ‘Prinz
Eugen’ SS Division at Nish (in Serbia) during WWII.
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