How the Bulgarian Khan Krum defeated a powerful
Byzantine army by doing almost nothing at all
In the early 9th
century, multiple Byzantine emperors warred with Bulgaria. The Bulgarian khan
of the time, named Krum, faced an invasion from Emperor Nicephorus I (also
spelled Nikephoros) into Bulgarian territory. By 811 CE, the Emperor and his
son were leading their army into Bulgaria. Their campaign, however, did not go
as planned—Emperor Nicephorus I died in battle on Bulgarian soil and his son
was mortally wounded.
(Depiction of Krum feasting after defeating Nicephorus I, from the
Manasses Chronicle circa 14th century, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)
The imperial throne passed over
the dying son of the emperor and was bestowed upon a reluctant Michael Rangabe
(Emperor Michael I), who was related to the former emperor by marriage. Michael
I had very little time to settle into his new position as emperor, for Krum and
the Bulgarians knew that imperial successions could leave the Byzantine Empire
in a tumultuous and unstable state, ripe for invasion.
(Coronation of Emperor Michael I, from Chronicles of John Skylitzes
circa 12th century, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)
Khan Krum moved into the
Byzantine-controlled regions of Thrace and Macedonia in 812 CE, occupying
cities such as Develtus and Mesembria. With the Byzantine cities in his
possession, Krum had the captured occupants shackled and sent back to Bulgaria
to be forced into servitude. The khan sent an invitation to the Byzantine
Emperor to begin a negotiation for peace, but the emperor, understandably,
refused to consider an end to the war—after all, he was in the midst of
gathering a massive army from the far reaches of his empire.
By 813 CE, the Byzantine army
had grown enough for the emperor and his generals to confidently march against
the Bulgarian forces. Michael I led his troops toward the Bulgarian front and
camped his men at Versinikia, near Adrianople. Krum and the Bulgarians arrived
at Versinikia soon after Michael I, and camped across from the Byzantines. For
around two weeks, the Byzantine and Bulgarian forces held defensive postures,
with no aggression or movement to be seen on either side. Despite having a much
larger force than Krum, Michael refused to attack—a decision that made
Byzantine soldiers, both officers and fresh recruits, disgruntled, anxious and
mutinous.
(Approximate location of Battle of Versinikia (modern day Edirne
Turkey) via Google Maps)
Eventually, Michael I lost
control of the situation. His troops no longer wanted to wait. John Haldon, a Princeton
professor of history, claims that one Byzantine general, named Aplakes, who
controlled an entire wing of Michael’s army, decided to charge the Bulgarian
forces against the wishes of his emperor. Michael I, furious at his disobedient
general, had the rest of the army continue to hold its position. Unaided by the
other Byzantine troops, Aplakes and his men were cut down in what many call a
massacre while the rest of the army was ordered to do no more than watch.
This event triggered
something in Leo the Armenian, commander of the other Byzantine wing. With
either disgust for the emperor’s actions, or a treacherous eye for the
emperor’s throne, Leo gathered his men and withdrew from the battlefield. The
men in the Byzantine middle, commanded by Emperor Michael, were in a terrifying
situation—one wing of the army was massacred and the other had abandoned the
emperor. With their fellow countrymen either dead or fleeing, Michael’s own
troops lost the will to fight and fled from the battle.
(The battle of Versinikia from the 14th century Bulgarian copy of the
Manasses Chronicle, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)
On the other side of the
battle, the Bulgarians were likely just now looking up from the corpses left
behind from the fruitless Byzantine charge. Krum’s men must have expected to be
encircled by the remainder of the Byzantine army, or at least involved in a
second engagement. When their eyes focused on the other Byzantine divisions,
however, they were astonished to find the large army of Michael I fleeing from
the scene. Krum and the Bulgarians were so surprised by this sight, that they
expected the retreat to be a clever ploy to pull the Bulgarian forces into a
trap. Krum, however, soon realized the retreat was genuine and eagerly sent his
cavalry to run down the Byzantine soldiers who were still in range.
Though the Battle of
Versinikia, itself, was tragic and humiliating for Emperor Michael I, there was
more yet to come. Leo, who had withdrawn from the fight, did not stop at
abandoning his emperor in the midst of a battle. No, he used his troops to occupy
the Byzantine capitol of Constantinople. He also used the example of the Battle
of Versinikia to spread rumors of Emperor Michael I’s military incompetence.
By the time Michael made his
way back to Constantinople, Leo had gained significant admiration and support
from the Byzantine people. Michael still had a formidable force of loyal
soldiers, but he refused to begin a civil war. Michael, who was reluctant to
even take the throne only two years previously, decided to peacefully abdicate
the throne to Leo, who became Emperor Leo V in 813 CE.
(The proclamation of Emperor Leo V the Armenian from the 12th century
Chronicles of John Skylitzes, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)
Michael and his family were
spared from the political assassinations and murders that plagued the monarchal
shifts in power throughout much of history. That does not mean, however, that
Michael and his family were treated well. Michael was separated from his family
and forced to spend the rest of his life in a monastery located on the island
of Prote, and at least one of his sons (the eldest) was ordered by Emperor Leo
V to be castrated.
The Battle of Versinikia was
certainly a strange battle. Emperor Michael and the Bulgarian Khan Krum both
used the same tactic—waiting. For Michael, this led to a humiliating defeat and
the end of his dynasty. For Krum, however, doing nearly nothing at all during
the Battle of Versinikia allowed him to defeat a much larger Byzantine army and
begin events leading to another imperial succession that resulted in the
downfall of Michael I and the rise of Leo V.
Written by C. Keith Hansley
thehistorianshut.comSources:
- John Skylitzes. A Synopsis of Byzantine History (811-1057) translated by John Wortley. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
- John Haldon. The Byzantine Wars. Gloucesterchire: The History Press, 2008.
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michael-I-Rhangabe#ref74654
- http://www.byzantium.xronikon.com/battle.php?byzbat=b9_05
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nicephorus-I
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