The siege of Braničevo was laid by Hungarian king Géza II against Byzantine-held Braničevo in late 1154.
Siege of Braničevo | |||||||
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Part of the Byzantine–Hungarian War (1149–1155) | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Byzantine Empire | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Géza II Ban Borić | |||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Cuman unit Bohemian unit Foreign mercenaries |
Background
Emperor Manuel's cousin, Andronikos Komnenos, who administered Belgrade, Braničevo, and Niš sent a letter to Géza II in 1154, offering to hand over those towns to him in exchange for his support against the emperor.[1] Géza II sent his envoys to Sicily to sign a new alliance with William I of Sicily around the end of the year, but William I was fighting with his rebellious subjects.[2]
Siege
Although Andronikos' plot was discovered and he was captured, Géza II invaded the Byzantine Empire and laid siege to Braničevo fortress[3][4] Géza II was aided by Cumans, who had been raiding the Danube at the time.[5] As a Hungarian vassal, Borić, the ban of Bosnia took part in the attack, alongside a Bohemian detachment.[6][7] Braničevo was besieged and the surroundings were ravaged.[7] After hearing of the imprisonment of Andronikos, Géza II abandoned the siege and returned for Hungary.[2]
in late 1154.Aftermath
Manuel answered by dispatching troops towards the battlefield.[8] Through Serdica (Sofia) and Niš, Manuel arrived in the Smilis province near Paraćin where he set up camp.[8] The Hungarian Army retreated towards Belgrade.[8] The pursuing Byzantine troops,[8] under general Basil Tzintzilukes, entered into battle with them, but the Byzantines were annihilated before the Hungarians returned to Hungary.[2][9]
In early 1155, the Byzantine and Hungarian envoys signed a new peace treaty.[2] In the same year, a Byzantine army expelled Géza II's ally, Desa, from Serbia and restored Uroš II who had promised that he would not enter into an alliance with Hungary.[10]
See also
- Battle of Sirmium (1167)
References
Sources
- Fine, John V. A (1991). The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth century. The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08149-7.
- Makk, Ferenc (1989). The Árpáds and the Comneni: Political Relations between Hungary and Byzantium in the 12th century. Translated by György Novák. Akadémiai Kiadó. ISBN 963-05-5268-X.
- Stephenson, Paul (2000). Byzantium's Balkan Frontier: A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900–1204. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-02756-4.
Further reading
- Византијски извори за историју народа Југославије [Byzantine sources on the history of the peoples of Yugoslavia] (in Serbian). Vol. 4. Београд: SANU. 2007. pp. 45–54.