Battle of Arcadiopolis

Overview

The Battle of Arcadiopolis was fought in 970 between a Byzantine army under Bardas Skleros and a Rus' army, the latter also including allied Bulgarian, Pecheneg, and Hungarian (Magyar) contingents. In the preceding years, the Rus' ruler Sviatoslav had conquered northern Bulgaria, and was now menacing Byzantium as well. The Rus' force had been advancing through Thrace towards Constantinople when it was met by Skleros' force. Having fewer men than the Rus', Skleros prepared an ambush and attacked the Rus' army with a portion of his force. The Byzantines then feigned retreat, and succeeded in drawing off the Pecheneg contingent into the ambush, routing it. The remainder of the Rus' army then suffered heavy casualties from the pursuing Byzantines. The battle was important as it bought time for the Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes to settle his internal problems and assemble a large expedition, which eventually defeated Sviatoslav the next year.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Arcadiopolis, fought in March 970, was an engagement between Byzantine forces under Bardas Skleros and a Rus'-led coalition during Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria. The Byzantine force, numbering between 10,000 and 12,000, faced an opposing force estimated at up to 30,000. Beyond the disparity in force sizes and the identities of the commanders, the primary sources do not provide sufficient detail to characterize the battle's operational or strategic consequences with confidence.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)