The Battle of Anchialus

Battle of Anchialus (Aheloi) took place on August 20, 917, on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, between Bulgarian, lead by tsar Simeon, and Byzantine Empire forces, commanded by Leo Focas. In 917 the Byzantine royalties decided that Bulgaria should be destroyed since the neighbor became too powerful. The empire strated mobilization of all of its forces – both in Europe and Asia, as about 62,000 troops were mobilized. The Byzantines tried to find allies and sent emissaries to the Magyars, Pechenegs and Serbs, but Simeon was familiar with the methods of Byzantine diplomacy and from the very beginning took successful actions to subvert a possible alliance between his enemies. Thus the Byzantines were forced to fight alone. The enormous Byzantine army marched northwards and set its camp in the vicinity of the strong fortress Anchialus. Simeon swiftly concentrated his army on the heights around the fortress. In the morning of 20 August 917, the battle between Bulgarians and Byzantines began. The Bulgarian ruler concentrated his most powerful forces in the two wings and left the center relatively weak in order to surround the enemy. Simeon himself was in charge of large cavalry reserves hidden behind the hills who were supposed to make the decisive blow. The Byzantine attack was fierce and it was not long before the Bulgarians began slowly to retreat. The enemy cavalry charged the infantry in the center killing many Bulgarians. Elated, the Byzantines started a bitter chase and their battle formations soon began to break. The decisive moment came when the heavy cavalry corps of Bulgarians, led by Simeon, attacked the Byzantine left wing. With an irresistible rush the cavaliers dashed down at the confused enemy who immediately bent under their attack, panicked and took on their heels. Тhe battle was among the bloodiest in the whole Medieval history and some historians refer to it as 'the battle of the century'. The remainder of the Byzantine army fled all the way back to Constantinople, followed by the Bulgarians. Several days later Phocas was defeated once more in a night fight. The way to Constantinople was clear. The Byzantines proposed a new peace treaty, and Simeon entered the imperial city and was crowned for a second time as 'Tsar of all Bulgarians and Romans'.