Battle of Ihtiman

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict= Bulgarian-Ottoman Wars


caption=
date= 1355
place= near Ihtiman, Bulgaria
territory=
result= Ottoman victory
combatant1=
combatant2=
commander1= Michail Asen †
commander2= Unknown
strength1= Unknown
strength2= Unknown
casualties1= Heavy
casualties2= Heavy
notes=

The battle of Ihtiman occurred in 1355 between Bulgarians and Ottomans and resulted in Ottoman victory. The exact location is not known but in an anonimous Bulgarian chronicle is mention that the armies of Michail Asen engaged the invading forces before they could reach Sofia.

Origins of the conflict

After the Ottoman Turks seized their first fortress in the Balkans in 1352 they quickly became to expand their territory in Europe. From 1354 their raiding parties began looting in Bulgarian Thrace. They ravaged the regions of Plovdiv and Stara Zagora and in the following year launched a campaign against the key city of Sofia.

The battle

The son of the Bulgarian Emperor Ivan Alexander, Michail Asen, summoned an army to stop the advancing enemy. The battle was fierce and the Bulgarians suffered heavy casualties and their commander and heir to the throne was killed. However, the Ottoman losses were also heavy and they were unable to continue their march to Sofia.

Aftermath

The battle showed that the Bulgarians were not ready to challenge the Turks in an open field and the loss of his eldest and allegedly most capable son was a great blow for the Bulgarian Emperor. But the battle and his death were not in vain: the Ottomans were able to reach Sofia 30 years later in 1382. But during that time the Bulgarian could not prevent them from taking over the whole Thrace.

References

*Йордан Андреев, Милчо Лалков, Българските ханове и царе, Велико Търново, 1996.