Lardea or Lardeya (, ) is a ruined late

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

fortress, situated near the village of Lozenets in Straldzha Municipality,

Yambol Province Yambol (, ''oblast Yambol'', former name Okrug, Yambol okrug) is a province in southeastern Bulgaria, neighbouring Turkey to the south. It is named after its main city Yambol, while other towns include Straldzha, Bolyarovo and Elhovo. The provi ...

, south-eastern

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 ...

. In the Middle Ages, Lardea often changed hands between Bulgaria and

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...

History

Lardea was founded in the late 3rd or early 4th century. In 705, it was ceded to the

Bulgarian Empire Bulgarian Empire may refer to: * First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire (; was a medieval state that existed in Southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 680–681 after part of the Bulgars, led b ...

along with the Zagore area by the Byzantine Empire. After the Byzantine–Bulgarian Treaty of 815, its fortifications were reinforced. Lardea was conquered by the Byzantine Empire in the aftermath of the Rus' invasion of Bulgaria (967–971). In 1051 or 1052, Nikephoros Bryennios defeated a Pecheneg detachment near Lardea. According to '' Alexiad'' by

Anna Komnene Anna Komnene (; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine Greek historian. She is the author of the '' Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Her work constit ...

, the Byzantine emperor

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos (, – 15 August 1118), Latinization of names, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine Emperor, Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. After usurper, usurping the throne, he was faced with a collapsing empire and ...

(r. 1081–1118) spent 40 days in the fortress during his war with the Pechenegs in 1088. In her account, Komnene describes the fortress as lying between Diampolis and Goloe. Lardea was conquered by the re-established

in the late 12th century. In 1186, the Bulgarian and

Cuman The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Rus' chronicles, as " ...

forces of the brothers Asen and

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

engaged the troops of Byzantine emperor

Isaac II Angelos Isaac II Angelos or Angelus (; September 1156 – 28 January 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and co-Emperor with his son Alexios IV Angelos from 1203 to 1204. In a 1185 revolt against the Emperor Andronikos Komnenos, Isaac ...

, who were retreating to the fortress of Lardea amidst an anti-Bulgarian campaign. The Bulgarian army employed its cavalry to weaken the Byzantine force before organizing a successful all-out attack. Forced to retreat, Isaac II Angelos abandoned his campaign and fled to

Adrianople Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

. Lardea was captured by the Byzantines along with Ktenia in 1278 during the Uprising of Ivaylo. In 1304, emperor

Theodore Svetoslav Theodore Svetoslav (, ''Todor Svetoslav'' and also Теодор Светослав, ''Teodor Svetoslav'') ruled as emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 1300 to 1322. The date of his birth is unknown. He captured northeast fortresses and expanded the ter ...

(r. 1300–1321) regained north-eastern

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 ...

including Lardea for Bulgaria. The fortress became part of the enlarged Despotate of Kran, which served as the

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

of Aldimir, a Bulgarian noble loyal to his nephew Theodore Svetoslav. However, the fortress was lost once again during the interregnum after the premature death of Theodore Svetoslav's son George II Terter in 1322. It was recovered by the new emperor Michael Shishman (r. 1323–1330) in 1324. After another brief Byzantine occupation between 1330 and 1332, it was once again in Bulgarian hands in the aftermath of the Battle of Rusokastro on 18 July 1332.Andreev, p. 268-270 In 1373, the Ottomans captured the important city of Diampolis and the surrounding fortresses including Lardea.

Footnotes

Sources

* {{Castles in Bulgaria Castles in Bulgaria Buildings and structures in Yambol Province