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Battle of Beroia

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	Topics Battle of Beroia Topic Home The Battle of Beroia (modern Stara ZagoraStara Zagora Stara Zagora is a large city and an important economic centre of southern Bulgaria.... ) was fought between the PechenegsPechenegs The Pechenegs or Patzinaks were a semi-nomadic Turkic people of the Central Asian steppes speaking a Turkic language.... and Emperor John II KomnenosJohn II Komnenos John II Komnenos or Comnenus was Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143.... of the Byzantine EmpireByzantine Empire Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the... in the year 1122 in what is now BulgariaBulgaria Summary Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in Southeastern Europe.... , and resulted in the disappearance of the Pecheneg people as an independent force. Background In 1091, the Pechenegs had invaded the Byzantine Empire, and had been crushingly defeated by John II's father Alexios I KomnenosAlexios I Komnenos Overview Alexios I Komnenos or Alexius I Comnenus , Byzantine emperor , was the nephew of Isaac I Komnenos , being the third s... at the Battle of LevounionBattle of Levounion The Battle of Levounion was the first decisive Byzantine victory of the Komnenian restoration.... . This defeat had meant the almost total extinction of all the Pechenegs who had taken part in the expedition; however, some Pechenegs had remained behind. Attacked again in 1094 by the CumansCumans Cumans, also called Polovtsy, Polovtsians, or the Anglicized Polovetsian, is a Western European exonym for... , many Pechenegs were slain or absorbed. Yet even so, they still had not yet been absorbed by neighbouring peoples. In 1122, Pechenegs from the Russian steppes invaded the Byzantine Empire by crossing the DanubeDanube The Danube is the longest river of the European Union and Europe's second-longest .... frontier into Byzantine territory. According to Michael Angold, it is possible that their invasion took place with the connivance of Vladimir Monomakh, the ruler of KievKiev Kiev, also written as Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the co... . The Pechenegs had once been his auxiliaries. Either way, the invasion was a threat to Byzantine control over the northern BalkansBalkans The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe a region of southeastern Europe.... . Emperor John II Komnenos of Byzantium determined to meet the invaders in the field and drive them back, and therefore transferred his field army from Asia Minor (where it had been engaged against the TurksTurkic peoples Turkic peoples are Northern and Central Eurasian peoples who speak languages belonging to the Turkic family, and who, in var... ) to EuropeEurope Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth.... , and prepared to march north. Battle The Byzantine emperor gathered his forces near Constantinople, and set out to meet the Pecheneg army as soon as possible. Meanwhile the Pechenegs had set up a wagon laagerLaager A laager, lager, leaguer or laer, is a defensive formation of wagons or motor vehicles.... near the city of BeroiaStara Zagora Stara Zagora is a large city and an important economic centre of southern Bulgaria.... in Bulgaria. The emperor at first offered the Pecheneg chiefs presents, offering to grant them a treaty that was favourable to their interests. The Pechenegs were taken in by this deception, and were as a result taken by surprise when the Byzantines suddenly launched a major attack on their laager. The battle was hard fought, but when John ordered in the Varangian Guard, the elite Palace Guard of the Byzantine Emperors, the Pechenegs were forced back. The Varangians hacked their way through the Pecheneg circle of wagons, collapsing the Pecheneg position and causing a general rout in their camp. The Byzantine victory was complete, and the Pecheneg survivors were rounded up and enlisted into the Byzantine army. Aftermath The Byzantine victory effectively destroyed the Pechenegs as an independent force. For some time, significant communities of Pechenegs still remained in HungaryHungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovaki... , but eventually the Pechenegs ceased to be a distinct people and were assimilated by neighboring peoples such as the BulgarsBulgars The Bulgars were a seminomadic asiatic people who since the 2nd century inhabited the steppe north of Caucasus and the bank... and Magyars. For the Byzantines, the victory did not immediately lead to peace, however. In 1128, the Byzantines were attacked by the Hungarians, and it was not until 1130 that they were able to finally secure their Danube frontier. Nevertheless, the battle marks a continuation of the Komnenian restorationKomnenian restoration The Komnenian restoration is the term used by Byzantinists to describe the military, financial and territorial recovery of t... of the Byzantine Empire. The victory over the Pechenegs and later the Hungarians ensured that much of the Balkan peninsula would remain Byzantine, which in turn allowed John to turn his attention to extending Byzantine power and influence further in Asia Minor and the Holy LandHoly Land The expression The Holy Land generally refers to the Land of Israel, otherwise known as the region of Palestine.... . Bibliography Michael Angold, The Byzantine Empire 1025–1204, a political history, Longman, 1997 (second edition). John Haldon, The Byzantine Wars, Tempus, 2000.