All Battles 
Emperors 
Battle of Skopje(Battle of Axios river) |
year: 1004 |
| Victory over the Bulgarians after an unexpected crossing of Axios river | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ |
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enemy: Bulgarians
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location: Out of the city of Skopje, on the west bank of the Vardar river
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accuracy:
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battle type: Surprise attack |
war: Conquest of Bulgaria |
modern country:
North Macedonia |
| ▼ The Byzantines(emperor: Basil II Bulgaroktonos) | ▼ The Enemies | |
| Commander: | Emperor Basil II | Tsar Samouil |
| Forces: | ||
| Losses: |
| Background story: |
| At the beginning of the second millennium, emperor Basil II decided to focus on the war with the Bulgarians. In the year 1000 Nikephoros Xifias occupied the old Bulgarian capital of Greater Preslav (in present-day NE Bulgaria) and the following year Byzantine control was restored in the areas southeast of the Danube, but also in areas of Macedonia, where Servia, Vodena, Veria and other fortresses were captured.
In 1003, the emperor besieged Vidin, a strong castle at the northwestern tip of Bulgaria, which was Samuil's base before becoming a tsar. Vidin finally fell after an 8-month siege after the betrayal of the local bishop. Thus the end of 1003 found the Byzantines controlling the entire Danube Bulgaria. The Bulgarians were confined to territories in present-day southwestern Bulgaria, Albania, North Macedonia, and some towns and castles in western Macedonia (Kastoria, etc.). Meanwhile, Tsar Samuil, in an attempt to react and create a distraction, organized a daring operation. He moved against Adrianople (Edirne), in the opposite direction from Vidin, and attacked the city on the 15th of August. Taking advantage of the festivities, he took the guard by surprise and was able to capture the city and plunder it. Then he left before emperor Basil, who was still in the north, managed to react. |
The Battle: |
 Tsar Samouil (statue at the center of Sofia) Basil II after the capture of Vidin slowly headed south, occupying and destroying some more castles along the way. Eventually he arrived in Skopje, where he found Samuil's camp on the opposite bank of the Axios. Here the events of the battle of Sperchios in 997 were repeated. Axios was flooded and the Bulgarians assumed that the Byzantines could not pass. So they did not take special precautions. But the Byzantines found a way and crossed the river, surprising the Bulgarians. Samuil managed to escape but the spoils from Adrianople, the Tsar's tent and the “whole camp” fell into the hands of the Byzantines. Basil seized the opportunity and captured Skopje which was surrendered by the governor Roman (or Romanos), son of the old tsar Peter I. Basil welcomed Romanos, gave him the titles of praipositus and patrician and made him governor (strategos) of the thema of Abydos, a small border region in the east. |
Aftermath: |
| The battle nullified the gains of the success in Adrianople and brought further territorial losses to the Bulgarians and gains to the Byzantines. Over the next decade, hostilities continued but not with the intensity of the previous years. This, until the great battle at Kleidion. |
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