The Battle of Dorostopol or Dorystolon was fought in 971 between 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 ...

and forces of

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

. The Byzantines, led by John I Tzimiskes, were victorious.

Background

During the course of the Rus'-Bulgarian war, Svyatoslav I of Kiev overran the eastern part of the

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 by Asparuh of Bulgaria, Asparuh, moved south to the northe ...

and established his capital at Pereyaslavets on 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 ...

. Once John I usurped the throne, the Byzantines launched a counteroffensive. After they defeated the united Rus'-Bulgarian forces in the Battle of Arcadiopolis and recaptured Pereyaslavets, Svyatoslav was forced to flee to the northern fortress of Dorostolon (Drustur/Dorostorum).

Siege

Emperor John proceeded to lay siege to Dorostolon, which lasted for 65 days. His army was reinforced by a fleet of 300 ships equipped with

Greek fire Greek fire was an incendiary weapon system used by the Byzantine Empire from the seventh to the fourteenth centuries. The recipe for Greek fire was a closely-guarded state secret; historians have variously speculated that it was based on saltp ...

.Treadgold, Warren. ''A History of the Byzantine State and Society''. Stanford University Press, 1997, , p. 509. There were several engagements before the walls of the city, which demonstrated to the Byzantines that the Rus' lacked skill in cavalry warfare. Among the casualties were the Emperor's relative, John Kourkouas (whose severed head was displayed by the Rus' from one of the towers) and the second-in-command in Svyatoslav's army, a certain Ikmor (who was killed by Anemas, a son of the last Cretan emir, in revenge for Ikmor's assassination of his father during the Byzantine siege of Crete). The Rus' and their Bulgarian allies were reduced to extremities by famine. In order to appease their gods, they drowned children in the

, but the sacrifices failed to improve their position. During the siege of the city of Dorostolon the Rus forces were reduced to near starvation, and a force of some 2,000 warriors, including women, made a surprise sally out during the night to search for supplies and managed to defeat a Byzantine force on the way, returning later to the city. The Rus' felt they could not break the siege and agreed to sign a peace treaty with the

, whereby they renounced their interests towards the Bulgarian lands and the city of Chersonesos in

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. Svyatoslav bitterly remarked that all his allies (

Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common culture, language and history. They also have a notable presence in former parts of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...

Pechenegs The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks, , Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: , , , , , , ka, პაჭანიკი, , , ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Pečenezi, separator=/, Печенези, also known as Pecheneg Turks were a semi-nomadic Turkic peopl ...

) betrayed him during this decisive moment. He was allowed to evacuate his army to Berezan Island, while the Byzantines entered Dorostolon and renamed it Theodoropolis, after the reigning empress Theodora. After the eventual defeat of the Rus, the Byzantines were astonished at finding the bodies of armed women among the fallen warriors.Harrison, D. & Svensson, K. (2007). ''Vikingaliv''. Fälth & Hässler, Värnamo. . p. 71

Sources

The siege is described in detail by John Skylitzes and Leo the Deacon, although some of their assertions (e.g., Sveneld's death during the siege) appear to be apocryphal. Characteristically, Leo the Deacon attributes the victory to Saint Theodore Stratelates, who purportedly led the Byzantine army under the walls of Dorostolon.

Citations

Notes

References

* Andrey Nikolayevich Sakharov. ''Svyatoslav's Diplomacy''. Moscow: Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya, 1982. * Fyodor Uspensky. ''The History of the Byzantine Empire'', vol. 2. Moscow: Mysl, 1997. * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorostolon Sieges involving the Byzantine Empire Battles involving Kievan Rus' Sieges involving the First Bulgarian Empire Sieges of the Middle Ages History of Silistra 970s in the Byzantine Empire 10th century in Bulgaria 970s conflicts 971 10th century in Kievan Rus'