- Battle of Katasyrtai
Infobox Military Conflict
caption=
conflict=Battle of Katasyrtai
partof=theByzantine-Bulgarian Wars
date=Fall,917
place=Katasyrtai, nearConstantinople
result=Bulgarian victory
combatant1=Bulgarian Empire
combatant2=Byzantine Empire
commander1=Simeon I of Bulgaria
commander2=Leo Phocas
strength1=Unknown
strength2=Unknown
casualties1=Unknown
casualties2=HeavyThe battle of Katasyrtai occurred in the fall of917 , shortly after the striking Bulgarian triumph at Anchialus near the village of the same names close to theByzantine capitalConstantinople , (now Istanbul). The result was a Bulgarian victory.Origins of the conflict
From the beginning of 917 both sides prepared for decisive actions. The Byzantine tried to make a coalition against
Bulgaria but their attempts failed due to the fast reaction of Simeon. Nonetheless the Byzantines summoned an enormous army but they were decisively defeated at Anchialus.The battle
While the victorious Bulgarian army was marching southwards, the Byzantine commander Leo Phokas, who survived at Anchialus reached Constantinople by sea and gatherred the last Byzantine troops to intercept his enemy before reaching the capital. The two armies met near the village of Katasyrtai just outside the city and after a night fighting, the Byzantines were completely routed from the battlefield.
Aftermath
The last Byzantine military forces were literally destroyed and the way to Constantinople was opened but the Serbs rebelled to the west and the Bulgarians decided to secure their rear before the final assault of the Byzantine capital which gave the enemy precious time to recover.
*Ioannes Scylitzes. Historia. 2, p.88
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