Battle of Skafida

The Battle of Skafida ( Bulgarian Битка при Скафида ) was a confrontation in 1304 at Poros ( Burgas today in Eastern Bulgaria ), on Skafida flow between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire. The battle ended with a clear victory Bulgarian.

Prehistory

When the Boljar Todor Svetoslav was crowned tsar in 1300, he sought the culprits for the dependence of Bulgaria by the Tatars in the previous years. He reached through hard and made well before the Bulgarian Patriarch Joakim III. not stop. After he had consolidated the Bulgarian Empire internally, Todor directed his efforts against Byzantium, whose diplomacy had instigated the Tartars attacks and plundering raids against Bulgaria. 1303 marched the Bulgarian Tsar and his army in Thrace, taking many towns in the region Zagore and the Black Sea coast a.

In the next year moved the Byzantine emperor Michael IX. Palaiologos to the counter-attack. He followed with his army Via pontica and the two armies met at the river Skafida near the present city of Burgas each other.

The Battle

The battle took place on the western shore of the river. After a deception, in which the Bulgarian army pretended to retreat, the Byzantines of their victory were safe and gave chase. Then as the Bulgarian Reserve wanted to take the wings of the Byzantines in the pliers, these retreated over a small bridge. At the bridge, in front of which dammed the army, this was eventually wiped out. In addition, the bridge collapsed due to the weight of the soldiers, and many were drowned in the deep river.

Follow

After the victory of the Bulgarian Empire could consolidate. Emperor Michael IX. went on further in the following year a further advance against Bulgaria. He devastated the Zagore this region and took the coastal towns south of Sosoplis again. However Tsar Todor Slwetoslaw they could recapture that same year.

A peace and thus an end to the Byzantine- Bulgarian war could only be closed in 1307. Byzantium undertook to pay tribute to and recognize the status quo after the Battle of Skafida to. Thus Bulgaria secured the cities of the southern Black Sea coast to Agatopolis. The Bulgarian Tsar married then with Theodora Palaiologos, one of the daughters of the Byzantine emperor Michael IX. , Which further contributed to peace.