The siege of Adrianople () in 813 was a part of the wars of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

with the Bulgarian khan

Krum Krum (, ), often referred to as Krum the Fearsome () was the Khan of Bulgaria from sometime between 796 and 803 until his death in 814. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper a ...

( Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars). It began soon after the Byzantine field army was defeated in the battle of Versinikia on 22 June. At first the besieging force was commanded by Krum's brother (whose name is not mentioned in the primary sources). The khan himself went on with an army to besiege Constantinople. After an unsuccessful Byzantine attempt to murder him ruined all prospects for negotiations with them, Krum ravaged much of

Eastern Thrace East Thrace or Eastern Thrace, also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the part of Turkey that is geographically in Southeast Europe. Turkish Thrace accounts for 3.03% of Turkey's land area and 15% of its population. The largest c ...

and then turned against

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 ...

which was still under siege. The city—one of the most important Byzantine fortresses in

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 ...

—held out for a while despite being attacked with

siege engine A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while othe ...

s. Yet, without any help from outside, the garrison was forced to capitulate due to starvation. On Krum's orders, the population of Adrianople and the surrounding area (numbering about 10,000) was transferred to Bulgarian territory north of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. Under the

peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...

concluded in 815, Adrianople remained in the Byzantine empire.Runciman
pp. 73-74

Sources

* Runciman, Steven

, G. Bell & Sons, London 1930 (online editio

, retrieved on 23.12.2008) * Гюзелев, В. ''Кавханите и ичиргу-боилите на българското ханство-царство (VII-XI в.)'', Пловдив 2007, * Златарски, В. ''История на българската държава през средните векове'', том I, част 1, София 1970 (цитиран по електронното издание �
„Книги за Македония“
достъп от 2.1.2009) * Острогорски, Г. ''История на византийската държава'', София 1998, * Рънсиман, Ст. ''История на Първото българско царство'', ИК „Иван Вазов“, София 1993 * Fine, J. ''The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century'', University of Michigan Press, 1991,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adrianople (813) 810s conflicts 813 810s in the Byzantine Empire 9th century in Bulgaria Sieges involving the First Bulgarian Empire Adrianople 813 Adrianople 813 Sieges involving the Byzantine Empire