Battle of Serres (1205)
Appearance
41°5′N 23°33′E / 41.083°N 23.550°E
Battle of Serres | |||||||
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Part of Bulgarian–Latin wars | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Bulgarian Empire | Latin Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Kaloyan | Hugues de Coligny † Guillaume d'Arles † | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Light | Heavy |
The battle of Serres (Bulgarian: Битка при Сяр) took place in June 1205 in the town of Serres (Syar) in contemporary Greece between the Bulgarian Empire and the Latin Empire. It resulted in a Bulgarian victory.
Origins of the conflict
After the stunning victory in the
Boniface Montferrat, the King of Thessalonica
and vassal of the Latin Empire.
The battle
The first town on the way of the Bulgarian army was Serres. The
Crusaders tried to fight back in the vicinity of the town, but after the death of the commander Hugues de Coligny, were defeated and had to pull back to the town but during their retreat, the Bulgarian troops also entered Serres. The remaining Latins under the command of Guillaume d'Arles were besieged in the citadel. In the negotiations which followed Kaloyan agreed to give them safe conduct to the Bulgarian-Hungarian
border. However, when the garrison surrendered, the knights were killed while the ordinary people were spared.
Aftermath
The successful campaign in 1205 ended with the capture of
Byzantine nobility of the city, led by Alexios Aspietes, resisted. After Kaloyan seized the city its ramparts were destroyed and Aspietes was hanged. In the following year the war against the Latin Empire and the local Byzantine nobility continued and the Crusader army was defeated once again in the battle of Rusion
.
References
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (November 2014) ) |
- Йордан Андреев, Милчо Лалков, Българските ханове и царе, Велико Търново, 1996.