Siege of Debeltos

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]

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]

Krum destroyed the walls of Debeltos,[4] and the city's population, including its bishop, was resettled in Bulgaria.[1] Panic spread throughout Thrace as Roman colonists fled the countryside and the cities of Anchialus, Markellai, Beroia, and Philippopolis were abandoned by its inhabitants.[4] Emperor Michael I led an army to relieve the siege on 7 June,[4] however, whilst en route at Tzouroulon, the news of the fall of Debeltos led to a mutiny and the army returned to Constantinople.[2]

• Curta, Florin (2006). Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1250. Cambridge University Press.
• Hupchick, Dennis P. (2017). The Bulgarian-Byzantine Wars for Early Medieval Balkan Hegemony: Silver-Lined Skulls and Blinded Armies. Springer.
• Sophoulis, Panos (2011). Byzantium and Bulgaria, 775-831. BRILL.