The Battle of Kleidion ( grc-gre, Κλειδίον; or Clidium, after the medieval name of the village of
Klyuch
Klyuch (, "key"; also transliterated ''Кључ, Ključ, Kliuch, Kljuch'', etc., Medieval Greek: Κλειδίον, ''Kleidion,'' Latin: Clidium) is a village in south-westernmost Bulgaria, part of Petrich Municipality, Blagoevgrad Province. It l ...
, "(the) key"; also known as the Battle of Belasitsa) took place on July 29, 1014, between the
Byzantine Empire and the
Bulgarian Empire
In the medieval history of Europe, Bulgaria's status as the Bulgarian Empire ( bg, Българско царство, ''Balgarsko tsarstvo'' ) occurred in two distinct periods: between the seventh and the eleventh centuries and again between the ...
. It was the culmination of the nearly half-century struggle between the
Byzantine Emperor Basil II and the
Bulgarian Emperor Samuel
Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...
in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. The result was a decisive Byzantine victory.
The battle took place in the valley between the mountains of
Belasitsa
Belasica ( Macedonian and Bulgarian: , also translit. ''Belasitsa'' or ''Belasitza'', Ottoman Turkish: بلش Turkish: ''Beleş''), Belles ( el, Μπέλλες, ''Bélles'') or Kerkini (, ''Kerkíni'';), is a mountain range in the region of M ...
and
Ograzhden, near the modern Bulgarian village of
Klyuch
Klyuch (, "key"; also transliterated ''Кључ, Ključ, Kliuch, Kljuch'', etc., Medieval Greek: Κλειδίον, ''Kleidion,'' Latin: Clidium) is a village in south-westernmost Bulgaria, part of Petrich Municipality, Blagoevgrad Province. It l ...
. The decisive encounter occurred on July 29 with an attack in the rear by a force under the Byzantine general
Nikephoros Xiphias, who had infiltrated the Bulgarian positions. The ensuing battle was a major defeat for the Bulgarians. Bulgarian soldiers were captured and reputedly blinded by order of Basil II, who would subsequently be known as the "Bulgar-Slayer". Samuel survived the battle, but died two months later from a heart attack, reportedly brought on by the sight of his blind soldiers.
Although the engagement did not end the
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Europ ...
, the Battle of Kleidion reduced its ability to resist Byzantine advances, and it has been considered the pivotal encounter of the war with Byzantium.
Background
The origins of the conflict date back to the 7th century, when the
Bulgars
The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...
under
Khan
Khan may refer to:
*Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan
*Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name
*Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
Asparukh established a state along the
Danube in one of the provinces of the
Eastern Roman Empire. As a result, the Bulgarian state fought a series of wars with Byzantium in order to secure its continued existence.
In 968,
Bulgaria was invaded from the north by the Kievan Prince
Sviatoslav
Sviatoslav (russian: Святосла́в, Svjatosláv, ; uk, Святосла́в, Svjatosláv, ) is a Russian and Ukrainian given name of Slavic origin. Cognates include Svetoslav, Svatoslav, , Svetislav. It has a Pre-Christian pagan charact ...
. By that time, the Bulgarian Empire, which had once threatened the existence of Byzantium under the reign of
Simeon, had lost much of its power. During the conflict, the Kievan raids were repeatedly defeated by the Byzantines, who were also at war with the Bulgarians, a continuous conflict since the fall of the Bulgarian capital
Preslav in 971. This war had resulted in the Bulgarian Emperor
Boris II being forced to renounce his Imperial title in Constantinople, and eastern Bulgaria came under Byzantine rule. The Byzantines assumed that this act would signify the end of independent Bulgaria, but the western Bulgarian lands remained autonomous and under the
Comitopuli brothers
David,
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
,
Aaron
According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...
and Samuel, resistance against the Byzantines emerged.
When the
Byzantine emperor Basil II ascended the throne in 976, he made the destruction of independent Bulgaria his first ambition. Opposing him were the Western Bulgarians, now led by
Samuel of Bulgaria. Basil II's first campaign was disastrous, the emperor barely escaping with his life when the Bulgarians annihilated the Byzantine army in the
Gates of Trajan Pass in 986.
Over the next fifteen years, while Basil was preoccupied with revolts against his rule and the
Fatimid threat in the East, Samuel retook most of the previously conquered Bulgarian lands and carried the war into enemy territory in a series of campaigns. However, his invasion of southern
Greece, that reached as far as
Corinth, resulted in a major defeat in the
Battle of Spercheios in 996. The next phase of the war began in 1000, when Basil, having secured his own position, launched a series of offensives against Bulgaria. He secured
Moesia
Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...
, and in 1003, his forces took
Vidin. The next year, Basil inflicted a heavy defeat on Samuel in the
Battle of Skopie
The Battle of Skopje occurred in the vicinity of the city of Skopje in 1004.
Background
In 1003, Basil II launched a campaign against the First Bulgarian Empire and after eight months of siege conquered the important town of Vidin to the north ...
. By 1005, Basil had regained control of
Thessaly and parts of southern
Macedonia
Macedonia most commonly refers to:
* North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia
* Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity
* Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...
. Over these and the next few years, a regular pattern emerged: the Byzantines would campaign in Bulgaria, laying siege to forts and pillaging the countryside, while the numerically inferior Bulgarians, unable to offer direct opposition, launched diversionary raids in Macedonia and Greece. Despite some successes, these did not achieve any permanent results, nor did they force Basil to abandon his campaigns in Bulgaria. A counter-attack in 1009 failed at the
Battle of Kreta, and although the Byzantines themselves did not achieve any decisive success, their methodical war of attrition deprived the Bulgarians of their strongholds and gradually weakened their forces. In the words of Byzantine historian
John Skylitzes: "The Emperor
Basil II continued to invade Bulgaria each year and destroy and devastate everything on his way. Samuel could not stop him in the open field or engage the Emperor in a decisive battle, and suffered many defeats and began to lose his strength." The culmination of the war came in 1014, when Samuel, at the head of his army, resolved to stop the Byzantine army before it could enter the Bulgarian heartland.
Prelude

Samuel knew that the Byzantine army would have to invade the country through a series of mountain passes, and so took precautions to bar them. The Bulgarians built ditches along the frontier and fortified many of the valleys and passes with walls and towers, especially the pass of Kleidion on the
Struma River
The Struma or Strymónas ( bg, Струма ; el, Στρυμόνας ; tr, (Struma) Karasu , 'black water') is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. Its ancient name was Strymṓn (Greek: Στρυμών ). Its drainage area is , of which in Bulgaria, ...
which Basil would need to pass through to reach the heart of Bulgaria. Samuel heavily fortified the northern slopes of the Belasitsa mountain to the south and east of Strumitsa Castle. The wide valley of the
Strumitsa River
The Strumica (Macedonian and bg, Струмица, ; also transliterated ''Strumitsa'' or ''Strumitza'') or Strumeshnitsa () is a river in North Macedonia and Bulgaria. It runs through the town of Strumica and flows into the river Struma.
The ...
was a convenient place for attack and it had been used by Byzantine forces for this purpose in previous years. The Bulgarians disposed a strong guard to keep the pass safe. In addition, the Bulgarian ruler chose
Strumitsa for his defensive base — it was located on the road from Thessaloniki leading to Thrace to the east and
Ohrid
Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inh ...
to the west. The rugged terrain to the south was dotted with earthworks and walls guarded by strong Bulgarian units.
Samuel's decision to face Basil II and the bulk of his army at Kleidion was not only prompted by the constant defeats and invasions which had devastated the country, but also by concerns over his authority among the nobility, which had been fatally weakened by Basil's campaigns. In 1005 for example, the governor of the important
Adriatic port of
Dyrrhachium had surrendered the town to Basil II. To face this threat, Samuel gathered a large army to face the Byzantines, some claiming it numbered as many as 45,000 soldiers. Basil II also prepared carefully, assembling a large army of his own and taking his most experienced commanders, including the governor of Philippopolis (modern
Plovdiv
Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...
), Nicephorus Xiphias, who had conquered the old Bulgarian capitals
Pliska
Pliska ( , cu, Пльсковъ, translit=Plĭskovŭ) was the first capital of the First Bulgarian Empire during the Middle Ages and is now a small town in Shumen Province, on the Ludogorie plateau of the Danubian Plain, 20 km northeast ...
and Preslav from Samuel in 1001.
Battle
The Byzantine army marched from Constantinople through
Komotini
Komotini ( el, Κομοτηνή, tr, Gümülcine, bg, Комотини) is a city in the region of East Macedonia and Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Rhodope. It was the administrative centre of the Rhodope-Evros super-pr ...
,
Drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
and
Serres
Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki.
Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Nort ...
and reached the
Rupel pass on the Struma river. From there the army entered the Strumitsa valley and reached the vicinity of the village of Klyuch, where the river bent and approached Belasitsa and Ozgrazhden. There the army was stopped by a thick wooden wall, defended by Bulgarian soldiers. The Byzantines attacked the palisade immediately, but were repulsed with heavy casualties.
In response, Samuel sent a large army under one of the most able Bulgarian nobles,
Nestoritsa Nestoritsa ( bg, Несторица) was a Bulgarian noble and general during the reign of Emperors Samuil (997-1014); Gavril Radomir (1014–1015) and Ivan Vladislav (1015–1018). He was one of Bulgaria's most skillful military commanders.
In 101 ...
, to strike southwards and draw the attention of Basil away from the siege at Klyuch. Nestoritsa's Bulgarians reached
Thessalonika, but Byzantine troops under
Theophylact Botaneiates Theophylact Botaneiates ( el, Θεοφύλακτος Βοτανειάτης, ''Theophylaktos Botaneiates'') was an 11th-century Byzantine general and governor of Thessalonica.
Life
Theophylact Botaneiates is only mentioned in the history of Jo ...
, the ''
strategos
''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek to mean military general. In the Hellenisti ...
'' (Governor-General) of the city and his son Mihail managed to
defeat them outside the city walls in a bloody battle. Theophylactus captured many soldiers and a large quantity of military equipment and marched north to join Basil II at Klyuch.
Basil II's first attempt to overwhelm the defenders of the pass was unsuccessful and his army was unable to pass through the valley, which was defended by 15,000–20,000 Bulgarians. Despite the difficulties the Byzantine Emperor did not abandon the attack. He ordered his general Nicephorus Xiphias to manoeuvre his troops around the high Belasitsa mountain and threaten the Bulgarians from behind, while he continued the assaults on the wall.
[''Cedrin'', pp. 457–458. ]George Kedrenos
George Kedrenos, Cedrenus or Cedrinos ( el, Γεώργιος Κεδρηνός, fl. 11th century) was a Byzantine Greek historian. In the 1050s he compiled ''Synopsis historion'' (also known as ''A concise history of the world''), which spanned the ...
's ''Historical Synopsis'' is a compilation chronicle based on the writings of John Skylitzes, George Syncellus
George Syncellus ( el, Γεώργιος Σύγκελλος, ''Georgios Synkellos''; died after 810) was a Byzantine chronicler and ecclesiastic. He had lived many years in Palestine (probably in the Old Lavra of Saint Chariton or Souka, near Tekoa ...
, Theophanes the Confessor
Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before takin ...
and several other historians. It is not clear what edition is referred to here. Xiphias led his troops along a steep path that led him into the Bulgarians' rear.
On July 29, Xiphias attacked the Bulgarian defenders, trapping them in the valley.
The Bulgarians abandoned their towers to face this new threat and Basil was able to break through the front line and destroy the wall.
In the confusion of the rout, thousands of Bulgarian troops were killed and the remainder desperately attempted to flee westwards. Samuel and his son
Gabriel Radomir immediately headed to the east from their headquarters in the
Strumitsa fortress to aid their army, but in desperate fighting near the village of
Mokrievo
Mokrievo ( mk, Мокриево) is a village in the municipality of Novo Selo, North Macedonia. It is located close to the Greek and Bulgarian borders.
Demographics
According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 1,211 inhabitants. Ethn ...
(present-day
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
) they were overwhelmed by the quickly advancing enemy. Many Bulgarian soldiers were killed at Mokrievo and many more were captured. Emperor Samuel himself barely escaped, only breaking free through the bravery of his son, who mounted his father on his own horse and took him to safety in
Prilep
Prilep ( mk, Прилеп ) is the fourth-largest city in North Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 and is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko.
Name
The name of Prilep appea ...
. From Prilep, Samuel returned to
Prespa
Prespa ( mk, Преспа, sq, Prespa, el, Πρέσπα) is a region shared between North Macedonia, Albania and Greece. It shares the same name with the two Prespa lakes which are situated in the middle of the region. The largest town is ...
while Gabriel Radomir headed towards Strumitsa to continue the struggle.
Further developments

After his victory, Basil II advanced towards Strumitsa, which was key to holding the whole
Vardar
The Vardar (; mk, , , ) or Axios () is the longest river in North Macedonia and the second longest river in Greece, in which it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . T ...
valley. On their way to the city, the Byzantines seized the Matsukion fortress to the east of their advance. The Byzantine Emperor also sent an army under Botaneiates to surround Strumitsa and destroy all ramparts to the south and clear the passage to Thessalonica. With the remainder of his troops, Basil laid siege to the city itself. The Bulgarians allowed Botaneiates to destroy the fortifications, but he and his army were ambushed by Bulgarian raiders in a narrow valley, soon after their task was complete. In the ensuing battle Botaneiates was
completely defeated and the Bulgarian commander Gabriel Radomir personally stabbed Botaneiates with his spear. As a result, Basil II was forced to abandon the siege of Strumitsa and retreat. On the return, the eloquence of the ''
cubicularius
''Cubicularius'', Hellenized as ''koubikoularios'' ( gr, κουβικουλάριος), was a title used for the eunuch chamberlains of the imperial palace in the later Roman Empire and in the Byzantine Empire. The feminine version, used for the l ...
'' Sergius convinced the defenders of
Melnik to surrender, another heavy blow for the Bulgarians as the town guarded the main road to
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. ...
from the south.
Prisoners
Skylitzes records that Basil completely routed the Bulgarian army and took 15,000 prisoners (14,000 according to
Kekaumenos Kekaumenos ( el, Κεκαυμένος) is the family name of the otherwise unidentified Byzantine author of the '' Strategikon'', a manual on military and household affairs composed c. 1078. He was apparently of Georgian-Armenian origin and the gra ...
). Modern historians, however, such as
Vasil Zlatarski
Vasil Nikolov Zlatarski ( bg, Васил Николов Златарски; – 15 December 1935) was a Bulgarian historian-medievalist, archaeologist, and epigraphist.
Life
Vasil Zlatarski was born in Veliko Tarnovo in 1866, the youngest ...
, claim that these numbers are exaggerated. The 14th century Bulgarian translation of the
Manasses Chronicle numbers the prisoners at 8,000. Basil divided the prisoners into groups of 100 men, blinded 99 men in each group and left one man in each with one eye so that he could lead the others home; this was done in retaliation for the death of Botaneiates, who was Basil's favourite general and advisor, and also to crush the Bulgarian morale. Another possible reason was that, in Byzantine eyes, the Bulgarians were rebels against their authority, and blinding was the
usual punishment meted out to rebels. For this action, Basil gained the nickname ''Boulgaroktonos'' ( el, Βουλγαροκτόνος, bg, Българоубиец), "the Bulgar-slayer". Samuel died of a heart attack on October 6, 1014, reportedly due to seeing his soldiers blinded.
Aftermath

The death of Botaneiates and the four more years of war that followed indicate that the Byzantine success was not complete. Some modern historians doubt that the Bulgarian defeat was as complete as described by Skylitzes and Kekaumenos. Other historians emphasize that the death of Emperor Samuel two months later was much more fateful for Bulgaria. His heirs
Gabriel Radomir and
Ivan Vladislav were unable to effectively resist the attacks of Basil II, and Bulgaria was completely defeated in 1018. In that year Emperor Ivan Vladislav was killed in a
battle at Dyrrhachium, and Bulgaria became a
province of the Byzantine Empire until the
successful uprising led by the
Asen brothers in 1185.
Other theses in the historiography stress the significance of the battle. As a result of the battle of Belasitsa, the Bulgarian army suffered heavy casualties that could not be restored. The ability of the central government to control the peripheral and interior provinces of the Empire was reduced and the actions of the local and provincial governors became more decisive for the outcome of the war with Byzantium. Many of them voluntarily surrendered to Basil II.
The battle also affected the
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their ...
and the
Croats
The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...
, who were forced to acknowledge the supremacy of the Byzantine Emperor after 1018. The borders of the Byzantine Empire were restored to the
Danube for the first time since the 7th century, allowing Byzantium to control the entire
Balkan peninsula
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whol ...
from the Danube to the
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge whi ...
and from the
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...
to the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, ...
.
[''Vasiliev'', A., History of the Byzantine empire, 6. The Macedonian epoch (867–1081)]
Relations of the Byzantine Empire with the Bulgarians and Magyars
retrieved on 20 November 2007. (in Russian: ''Васильев'', А. А., "История Византийской империи"
)
References
Further reading
*John Skylitzes
, translated by Paul Stephenson
*Treadgold, Warren T. ''A History of the Byzantine State and Society''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997.
*Mutafchiev, Petar, ''Book about the Bulgarians'' (''Kniga za balgarite, Книга за българите''), in Bulgarian, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Publishing House, Sofia 1992,
*Mutafchiev, Petar, ''Lecture notes on Byzantine history'' (''Lektsii po istoria na Vizantia, Лекции по история на Византия''),in Bulgarian, Vol. II, Anubis Publishers, Sofia 1995, (т. 2)
*Gyuzelev, Vasil, Bulgaria from the second quarter of the 10th century to the beginning of the 11th century, (Balgaria ot vtorata chetvart na X do nachaloto na XI vek, България от втората четвърт на Х до началото на ХІ век), in Bulgarian, In: Dimitrov, Ilcho (Ed.), ''Short History of Bulgaria'' (''Kratka istoria na Balgaria, Кратка история на България''), in Bulgarian, Science and Arts Publishers, Sofia 1983
*Bozhilov, Ivan, ''Tsar Simeon the Great (893–927): The Golden Century of Medieval Bulgaria'' (''Tsar Simeon Veliki (893–927): Zlatniyat vek na Srednovekovna Balgaria, Цар Симеон Велики (893–927): Златният век на Средновековна България''), in Bulgarian, Fatherland Front Publishers, Sofia 1983
*Pirivatrich, Sardzan, ''The State of Samuel. Territory and Characteristics'' (''Samuilovata darzhava. Obhvat i harakter, Самуиловата държава. Обхват и характер''), AGATA-A Publishing Group, Sofia 2000,
*Selected sources of Bulgarian history (''Podbrani izvori na balgarskata istoria, Подбрани извори за българската история''), Vol. II: Bulgarian States and Bulgarians in the Middle Ages (Balgarskite darzhavi i balgarite prez Srednovekovieto, Българските държави и българите през Средновековието), TANGRA TanNakRA IK Publishers, in Bulgarian, Sofia 2004,
*Angelov, Dimitar, and Boris Cholpanov, ''Bulgarian Military History in the Middle Ages (10th–15th centuries)'' (''Balgarska voenna istoria prez srednovekovieto (X-XV vek), Българска военна история през средновековието (Х-XV век''), in Bulgarian, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Publishers, Sofia 1994,
*
*
Ostrogorsky, George, ''History of Byzantium'' (''Istoria na vizantiyskata darzhava, История на византийската държава''), in Bulgarian, Sofia, 1998,
*
*Pavlov, Plamen, ''The Sunset of the First Bulgarian Kingdom (1015–1018)'' (''Zalezat na Parvoto balgarsko tsarstvo (1015–1018), Залезът на Първото българско царство (1015–1018)''), in Bulgarian, Marin Drinov Academic Publishers, Sofia, 1999,
*Ćirković, Sima
''Doseljavanje slovena i dukljanska država'' fro
on 20 November 2007.
*Holmes, Catherine
publ. in
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors retrieved on 16 November 2007.
*Vasiliev, А.
''History of the Byzantine empire'' retrieved on 20 November 2007.
*Runciman, Steven, ''A History of the First Bulgarian Empire''
, retrieved on 28 January 2008.
*Stevenson, Paul (2003). ''The Legend of Basil the Bulgar-Slayer''. Cambridge University Press (September 15, 2003).
retrieved on 28 January 2008.
The battle of Kleidion (in French). retrieved on 28 January 2008.
* , pp. 195–200 (pp. 195–197, 200 can be seen inside the link)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kleidion 1014
11th century in Bulgaria
1010s in the Byzantine Empire
Battles involving the First Bulgarian Empire
Kledion
Battles of the Middle Ages
Military history of Bulgaria
History of Blagoevgrad Province
Conflicts in 1014
Battles of Basil II
1014 in Europe