Battle of Thessalonica (1014)

Battle of Thessalonica
	Part of the Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars
Date	July, 1014
Location	Thessaloniki, Greece
Result	Byzantine victory
Belligerents
Bulgarian Empire	Byzantine Empire
Commanders and leaders
Nestoritsa	Theophylactus Botaniates
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Heavy	Unknown

The battle of Thessalonica (

Belasitsa and Ograzhden

mountains.

Prelude

In the summer of 1014 the Byzantine Emperor

Samuil.^[1] To divert the attention of the enemy the Bulgarian Emperor sent a large force under his general Nestoritsa to the south to attack the second largest city of the Byzantine Empire, Thessalonica.^[2]

The battle

Several days later Nestoritsa reached the vicinity of Thessalonica. On the fields to the west of the city [2] or according to other historians near the river of Galik^[1] it was confronted by a strong army led by the doux (governor) of Thessalonica, Theophylactus Botaniates and his son Michael. The son of the governor charged the Bulgarians but was surrounded. In the fierce battle there the Bulgarians had many casualties and pulled back under the cover of archers. A second attack by Michael and the Byzantine cavalry resulted in a complete defeat for Nestoritsa's troops and they fled.^[3] The victorious Byzantines captured many soldiers.^[4] After he had secured Thessalonica, Botaniates joined Basil's army at Belasitsa.^[5]

Later in that summer, Botaniates and his army were defeated in the gorges to the south of

Byzantine Emperor entered the capital of Bulgaria Ohrid.^[7]^[8]

Footnotes

^ ^a ^b Ангелов/Чолпанов, Българска военна история през средновековието (Х-XV век), с. 55
^ ^a ^b Николов, Централизъм и регионализъм в ранносредновековна България, с. 146
^ That is the way the battle was fought according to the Byzantine historian Michael Attaleiates, quoted in details in В. Златарски, История на българската държава през средните векове, том 1, част 2, с. 732-733 (с. 693-694 in the electronic version of the 1971 edition).
^ ^a ^b Подбрани извори за българската история, Том II: Българските държави и българите през средновековието, с. 66
^ Пириватрич, Самуиловата държава, с. 136
^ Пириватрич, Самуиловата държава, с. 137
^ Пириватрич, Самуиловата държава, с. 143
^ Подбрани извори за българската история, Том II: Българските държави и българите през средновековието, с. 69