Battle of Adrianople 1205 AD - Emperor Kaloyan the Roman Slayer

 

It is 1204 AD.

 The Crusaders deviated from their goal of taking Jerusalem,

 and instead ransacked Constantinople, ripping apart the Byzantine Empire and dividing its’ territory among themselves along western feudal lines.

 Baldwin of Flanders was crowned Emperor of what is today known as The Latin Empire… As the Latins consolidated in Constantinople, their major vassals were the Kingdom of Thessalonica, the Duchy of Athens, the Principality of Achaia, and the Duchy of Archipelago, while many important ports and islands were rewarded to the Republic of Venice for their assistance in the sacking of Constantinople.

 During the winter of 1204/1205, the Latins sought to incorporate territories still ruled by the Byzantines into their orbit.

 However, the most immediate threat lay to the north…

 The Second Bulgarian Empire was established just twenty years prior, under the Asen dynasty.

 Emperor Kaloyan was the youngest of three brothers that ruled the new Bulgarian realm since 1185.

 After Constantinople fell to the Western Crusaders, Bulgaria emerged as the leading power in the Balkans.

 Recognizing their biggest rival in the region, the Latin Empire attempted to negotiate an alliance with Bulgaria, against the remaining Byzantine territories.

 But Byzantine diplomacy, just as effective as their armies, prevailed in persuading the Bulgarians to resist Latin blandishments and, by allying themselves with Kaloyan, ensured that the remaining Byzantine territories would not go down easily against the Latins and that an invasion of their lands would be a risky venture for Baldwin.

 And these close ties with the Bulgarian Emperor would be of good use just a year later, when Greek officials in Adrianople revolted and expelled Latin administrators, requesting Bulgarian support against Baldwin who set out from Constantinople in force as soon as news of the revolt reached him.

 Kaloyan obliged, assembling an army by early April and marched to aid the Greeks at Adrianople, seeing this as an opportunity to expand Bulgarian influence in the region.

 As the Latins approached the city, they saw Bulgarian flags flying on the city walls.

 With no sign of the enemy, Baldwin promptly besieged the city.

 But over the course of the next ten days, elements of the Bulgarian army appeared to the north.

 Riding ahead of the main army, contingents of fast moving Cuman horse archers probed the Latin camp.

 Some of the mounted Crusader knights and men-at-arms rode out, but the Cumans simply fled.

 For once, the Latins’ discipline eluded them and they carried on the chase, quickly becoming spread out.

 Cuman riders turned and unleashed volleys of arrows, wounding many of the Latins’ horses, but killing only a few.

 The westerners finally wheeled about and retreated, realizing their mistake.

 Furious with the lack of discipline among those who chased after the enemy, Baldwin held a council of war.

 Well aware that there would be a major battle the following day, he issued strict orders that no one was to move unless explicitly ordered.

 During the discussion on how to conduct the battle, Venetian Doge Enrico Dandolo, a man in his 90’s and completely blind, considered to be wise due to his age, advised caution against the numerically superior Bulgarian army.

 Louis I, Count of Blois, regarded as one of the best military commanders in the Latin camp, urged for action next time the enemy is sighted, arguing that the deadly frontal charge of heavily armored Crusader knights and men-at-arms can break the Bulgarians, despite their large numbers.

 It was decided that the Venetians and a small force under Geoffrey de Villehardouin would guard the camp and maintain the siege of Adrianople, while the Crusader army would form up in front of the camp to confront Kaloyan.

 Early next morning, Louis' contingent was already arrayed for battle.

 Just as Baldwin was forming the second line the Cumans appeared from behind a gentle hill to the north of their position, riding towards the Latin camp just as they did the previous day.

 The Latins planned to wait until the steppe horsemen came close enough and then launch a frontal charge that would lock the Cumans in close-quarter fighting where the Crusader knights could do most damage.

 But when showers of arrows began stinging Louis’ troops, he charged the enemy!

 The Cumans clashed with the Crusaders, but after a brief skirmish they broke off and seemingly began fleeing towards the Taza river.

 Completely ignoring the previous night’s agreement to form his line and wait for orders, Louis set off in hot pursuit of the steppe riders, urging Baldwin to follow suit.

 Forced to support the initial charge, the Latin Emperor hastily assembled his troops and joined the pursuit of the fleeing army.

 The ravine of the river Taza formed a natural barrier to the west and together with the densely forested hills to the east it formed a natural corridor of undulating land that was conducive to cavalry maneuvers, boasting rolling, lightly forested hills, dotted with occasional boggy areas that could trap the unsuspecting riders.

 As they made their way north, the Latins spotted smoke rising in the distance.

 Louis thought this must be where Kaloyan encamped with his army and assumed that the Cumans intend to flee to the safety of the palisades.

 The excitement of the pursuit invigorated Louis’ men.

 But after harrying the pagan riders for a few kilometers they began losing formation and their horses began to tire.

 Suddenly, the Cumans turned on the retreat and hurtled back towards the westerners, screaming and firing their arrows.

 Meanwhile, Baldwin managed to catch up and found himself close to Louis’ division.

 In the vortex of the battle he found the Count wounded by two arrows and knocked from his horse as the Crusaders pushed back the lightly armored steppe horsemen.

 The Cumans could not withstand the charge of the heavy cavalry and they retreated once again, this time at full gallop, towards the swamp up ahead.

 Seeing Louis on the ground amidst the churning frenzy of the conflict, Latin knights plunged towards the stricken noble, raised him to his feet and begged him to go back to camp because of the severity of his injuries.

 But he refused to abandon the pursuit.

 As they reached the swamps, it seemed that the steppe horsemen ran out of space to maneuver and they apparently tried to hide in the dense marsh.

 But just as the Latins closed-in on the swamp they ran into a field of coated pits, dug by the Bulgarians to trap the heavily armored horses.

 The momentum of the Latin onslaught was diluted by the pit traps and their formation completely broke.

 As Baldwin’s division followed up from behind, disaster struck.

 Out from the thick undergrowth came the Bulgarians and the Vlachs!

 Kaloyan’s infantry stormed down the slopes of the hills to the east, poised to get to grips with the enemy, and cavalry moved to close the pocket from the Taza river in the west, while the Cumans launched another attack from the swamp.

 Shocked, some in the Latin army began to panic and the cohesion in their line rapidly started to disintegrate.

 Still, Baldwin urged his men on, swearing he will fight alongside them to the last.

 But this show of bravery and knightly prowess would not be enough this time.

 Any semblance of order within the Latin army was replaced by utter chaos.

 As the Bulgarians slowly ground down the Latin troops, the desperation of Baldwin’s men became apparent, because they knew that their valiant last stand would only delay the inevitable.

 During the fighting, the badly injured Count Louis either succumbed to his injuries or was killed.

 Emperor Baldwin was wounded twice, falling off his horse that was slain under him, and finally captured.

 There is no historical record of how many Latin troops made it out alive from the pocket, but it’s safe to say that, in one devastating engagement, a large part of the Crusader elite was ripped away...

 The few who managed to escape rushed back towards the camp Where Villehardouin found himself the senior surviving French noble, as the general retreat commenced.

 Due to the glory of the knight army, who had taken Constantinople itself despite its’ walls considered to be unbreakable, their total defeat at Adrianople sent shockwaves across the Catholic world.

 Over the next two years, Emperor Kaloyan set out to raid and burn other Latin cities, in what became a bloody expansion of Bulgarian territory.

 Byzantian historian George Akropolites explained Kaloyan’s deeds in his writings: "Emperor Kaloyan was exacting revenge for the evil which Basil II did against the Bulgarians; and as Basil dubbed himself the Bulgarian-slayer, he named himself the Roman-slayer..."