The battle of Marcellae ( bg, Битката при Маркели, el, Μάχη των Μαρκελλών) took place in 756 between the armies of 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 Eur ...

and the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

Markeli Markeli ( bg, Маркели; el, Μαρκέλλαι, ''Markellai''; la, Marcellae) was a medieval Byzantine and Bulgarian frontier stronghold, the ruins of which are located in Karnobat Municipality, Burgas Province, southeastern Bulgaria. D ...

, near the town of

Karnobat Karnobat ( bg, Карнобат ) is a town in the Burgas Province, Southeastern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Karnobat Municipality. According to the 2021 census, the town has a population of 16,483 inhabitants.h ...

in south eastern

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. The result was a Byzantine victory.

Origins of the conflict

In 755, the long peace between Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire came to an end. This was mainly because, after significant victories over the

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

, the Byzantine Emperor

Constantine V Constantine V ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantīnos; la, Constantinus; July 718 – 14 September 775), was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able ...

began to fortify his border with Bulgaria. To this aim he resettled heretics from

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

. Khan Kormisosh took those actions, and the construction of a new fortress along the border, as a breach of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Treaty of 716, signed by

Tervel Khan Tervel ( bg, Тервел) also called ''Tarvel'', or ''Terval'', or ''Terbelis'' in some Byzantine sources, was the khan of Bulgaria during the First Bulgarian Empire at the beginning of the 8th century. In 705 Emperor Justinian II named ...

. The Bulgarian ruler sent envoys to ask for tribute for the new fortresses. After the refusal of the Byzantine Emperor, the

Bulgarian army The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were establishe ...

invaded Thrace. Looting everything on their way, the Bulgarians reached the outskirts of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, where they were engaged and defeated by Byzantine troops.

Battle

In the next year, Constantine V organized a large campaign against Bulgaria which was now ruled by a new khan, Vinekh. An army was sent with 500 ships which plundered the area around the

Danube Delta The Danube Delta ( ro, Delta Dunării, ; uk, Дельта Дунаю, Deľta Dunaju, ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Ro ...

. The Emperor himself, leading the main force, advanced into Thrace, and was engaged by the Bulgarians at the border castle of Marcellae. The details of the battle are unknown but it resulted in a victory for Constantine V. In order to stop the invasion, the Bulgarians sent hostages to Constantinople. However, three years later (759), Constantine invaded Bulgaria once more, but suffered a crushing defeat in the battle of the Rishki Pass.Zlatarski, I/1
274-275
/ref>

Citations

References

*Zlatarski, V. ''History of the Bulgarian state during the Middle Ages'', vol. I, part 1, Sofia 1970, "Nauka i Izkustvo" (fro
„Books for Macedonia“
29.11.2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Marcellae (756) 750s conflicts 8th century in Bulgaria 750s in the Byzantine Empire Battles involving the First Bulgarian Empire Battles of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars in Thrace Military history of Bulgaria History of Burgas Province 756