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Battle of Chariopolis |
year: 1051 |
| Annihilation of a Pecheneg raiding army in a night attack | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ |
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enemy: Pechenegs
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location: Outside of the fortress-town Chariopolis, modern Hayrabolu, in the European part of Turkey
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accuracy:
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battle type: Night attack |
war: Pecheneg Wars |
modern country:
Turkey |
| ▼ The Byzantines(emperor: Constantine IX Monomachos) | ▼ The Enemies | |
| Commander: | Nikephoros Βryennios & Michael | Unknown |
| Forces: | ||
| Losses: |
| Background story: |
| As a result of the recent defeats by the Pechenegs, half of the regular Byzantine army was destroyed; the command staff of the army suffered significant losses, and the Pechenegs established control over the northern part of Thrace. The invasion of the Pechenegs was evolving into a serious crisis and it is surprising that this happened just a few decades after the height of Byzantine military power during Basil II’s reign. So the Byzantine army was unable to stop the Pechenegs who constantly raided - burning, looting, slaughtering (even infants) - deeper and deeper into Byzantine territory. Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos decided to organize a new army to fight the Pechenegs. A corps of 20,000 men was created, consisting of Varangians, Frankish mercenaries, and cavalrymen from the frontier duchies of Asia Minor. The emperor would prefer - supposedly - to take over the command this time, but he had health problems suffering from gout. Thus patrikios Nikephoros Bryennios was appointed commander of this army, with the rank of Ethnarch (which was typically the title of the chief of foreign mercenaries). The co-leader was Akolouthos (commander of the Varangian guard) Michael. The Byzantines applied a new tactic. They avoided the open field confrontation with the Pechenegs (who were too many and very capable warriors). The army was divided into fortresses of Thrace, from where they made surprise attacks on the Pechenegs, preventing their looting activity. This tactic, which was a kind of guerrilla warfare, worked well and the forces of Bryennios managed to surprise the Pecheneg invaders several times and, at least in two occasions, to inflict heavy losses on them. |
The Battle: |
 Pechenegs The Byzantine generals predicting the course that the Pechenegs would follow, led their army very fast to the fortified city of Chariopolis, modern Hayrabolu. The Byzantines entered the city at night and waited for the enemy without taking any action that would expose their position. As expected, the horde of Pechenegs arrived in the area and indulged in the usual burning and looting in the countryside. In the evening they encamped near Charioupolis, having no idea that there was a relatively large enemy force in the city. At night the Byzantines came out of Charioupolis and attacked the sleeping Pechenegs killing them all. |
Aftermath: |
| It seems that the defeat was serious, because the Pechenegs stopped the raids in Thrace and Macedonia for a while. But their population remained settled in northern Bulgaria. |
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