Siege of Debeltos
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| Siege of Debeltos | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Byzantine–Bulgarian wars | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Bulgarian Empire | Eastern Roman Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Khan Krum | George, Archbishop of Debeltos | ||||||
The siege of Debeltos was fought between the Eastern Roman Empire and Bulgaria from May to June 812. The siege took place at the city of Debeltos in Thrace and resulted in a Bulgarian victory.
Emperor Nikephoros I invaded Bulgaria and sacked the capital of Pliska in 811, but was killed and his army annihilated at the Battle of Varbitsa Pass as he returned to Roman territory.[1] Khan Krum's peace offer was rejected by Emperor Michael I Rangabe,[1] and the Bulgarians invaded the Roman Empire in the spring of 812.[2]
Siege
In May, Krum besieged Debeltos and used siege engines to bombard the city.[2] The surrounding countryside was devastated in an effort to demoralise the city's inhabitants and cut off their access to fresh supplies.[2] This probably led the population of Debeltos to face starvation,[2] and George, archbishop of Debeltos,[3] was thus forced to negotiate the surrender of the city with Krum and agree to the deportation of the population of Debeltos to Bulgarian territory.[4]