The Battle of Ihtiman occurred in 1355 between

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

and

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

and resulted in a Bulgarian pyrrhic victory. The exact location is not known, but in an anonymous Bulgarian chronicle, it is mentioned that the armies of Michail Asen engaged the invading forces before they could reach

Sofia Sofia 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 part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

. When in

1355 Year 1355 (Roman numerals, MCCCLV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events * January 6 – Charles IV of Bohemia is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy as King of Italy in Milan. * January 7 – King ...

the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

again penetrated the borders of

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, Prince Michael Asen set out against them. The sources speak of a twenty-thousand-strong Ottoman cavalry against which Michael opposed an unknown number of Bulgarian soldiers. Considering the plague epidemic, the first attack of which had already ravaged the country in the same year in which his brother died, Michael could hardly count on numerical superiority. However, the very fact that the new armed force was commanded by the crown prince of the Bulgarian kingdom means that it was not entrusted with random fighters, but experienced and well-equipped soldiers. In all likelihood, the armies clashed again at Sofia, which from the Ottomans' point of view was the logical choice since they already knew the terrain. The anonymous Bulgarian chronicle tells us that "the Bulgarians gathered under the leadership of Michael, the son of Alexander, but he was also killed by the Agarians, who captured a large number of people and led them through

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

." Although it undoubtedly reveals to us that Michael died in the battle with the Ottomans and the Bulgarian army was defeated, the anonymous chronicler misses a very important fact - Ottoman troops did not reappear on Bulgarian territory until around 1370. This allows Ivan Alexander to focus his attention on other potential threats to his country. At Sofia, the Bulgarian heir to the throne died, but his self-sacrifice in the name of his compatriots was not entirely in vain - it took the Ottomans almost twenty years to decide again on a risky campaign against Bulgaria. Therefore, we should rather regard the loss as a pyrrhic victory - an obscure and stalemate in which both armies were severely bled.

Background

After the

seized their first fortress in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with 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 throug ...

in 1352, they quickly began to expand their territory in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. From the year 1354, their raiding parties began looting in Bulgarian

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

, ravaging the regions of

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

and

Stara Zagora Stara Zagora (, ) is a city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of Stara Zagora Province. It is located in the Upper Thracian Plain, near the cities of Kazanlak, Plovdiv, and Sliven. Its population is 121,582 making it the sixth largest c ...

, and in the following year launched a campaign against the key city of Sofia.

Battle

The son of the Bulgarian Emperor Ivan Alexander, Michail Asen, summoned an army to stop the advancing enemy. The battle was fierce, the Bulgarians suffered heavy casualties and their commander and heir to the throne was killed. However, the Ottoman losses were also heavy and they were unable to continue their march on

Aftermath

The Ottoman forces suffered heavy losses in the battle and were unable to launch an offensive against Sofia. Secondly, since Prince Halil had been kidnapped by European pirates, Byzantium used the prince as blackmail against the Sultan. In order to prevent any attempt on his son's life, Sultan Orhan stopped the expeditions to Europe.

Citations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ihtiman Battles involving the Second Bulgarian Empire Battles involving the Ottoman Empire 1355 in Europe Conflicts in 1355 14th century in Bulgaria 1350s in the Ottoman Empire Ihtiman