Croatian–Bulgarian battle of 852
| Croatian–Bulgarian battle of 854 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Croatian–Bulgarian wars | |||||||
 Bulgaria under rule of knyaz Boris I | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Duchy of Croatia | Khanate of Bulgaria | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Duke Trpimir I of Croatia | Khan (Knyaz) Boris I of Bulgaria | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| unknown | unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| unknown | unknown | ||||||
Croatian–Bulgarian battle of 854 was the first known military conflict between the armies of the Bulgarian Khanate (from 913 Bulgarian Empire), under the rule of Khan (later Knyaz) Boris I[1], and the Duchy of Croatia, ruled by Duke Trpimir I, during the First Croatian-Bulgarian War. It was fought on the Croatian territory in the vicinity of the Croatian–Bulgarian border[2] in present-day northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. None of warring sides emerged victorious, Bulgarian forces retreated and finally both parties subsequently concluded a peace treaty[3].
Background
In the middle of the 9th century Bulgaria was a powerful country in the central and eastern Balkans. The Bulgarian ruler Boris I from Krum's dynasty made an alliance with the Moravian Prince Rastislav to strenghten his position against King Louis II of Germany, the ruler of East Francia. On the other side, Duke Trpimir I of Croatia was a faithful Frankish vassal. Between 846 and 848, he occasionally but effectively fought against Byzantium and the Republic of Venice both on land and sea.
After the successful war against Rascia, a medieval Serbian state, Bulgaria's ongoing expansion to the west reached Croatian borders. Bulgarian forces invaded Croatia[4] approximately in 853 or 854 in northeastern Bosnia, where Croatia and Bulgaria bordered at the time.
Battle and aftermath
According to available sources, there was only one major battle between the Bulgarian army[5] and the Croatian forces. Sources say that the invading army led by the powerful Bulgarian Khan Boris I fought Duke Trpimir's forces on the mountainous territory of present-day northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina in 854. The exact place and time of the battle is not known due to the lack of contemporary accounts of the battle. Neither Bulgarian nor Croatian side emerged victorious. Very soon afterward, both Boris of Bulgaria and Trpimir of Croatia turned to diplomacy and reached a peace treaty. Negotiations resulted in a long term establishment of peace with the border between the Duchy of Croatia and Bulgarian Khanate stabilized at the Drina River (between modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia).
The situation changed only when Simeon I, Bulgarian Tsar, started a new war against the Byzantine Empire and Croatia as well, by the end of the 9th century and in the first quarter of the 10th century, which ended with Simeon's death in 927.
See also
- Croatian–Bulgarian wars
- Old Great Bulgaria
- Timeline of Croatian history
- List of rulers of Croatia
- List of Bulgarian monarchs
- Medieval Bulgarian army
- History of Croatia
- History of Bulgaria
- Transdanubian Bulgaria
- Byzantine–Bulgarian wars
References
- ^ "Boris I". Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2021-11-13.
- ^ Fine, John van Antwerp (13 November 2021). "The Early Medieval Balkans, page 112". The University of Michigan Press, 1983.
- ^ Deliso, Christopher (13 November 2021). "The History of Croatia and Slovenia, page 46". ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2020, Santa Barbara, California.
- ^ "Trpimir I". Croatian Encyclopedia of the Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography. 2021-11-13.
- ^ Springer, Zvonko (13 November 2021). "Regional History of Vukovar and Ilok". Croatian History Net, 2005.
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