July 26, 811: Bulgars ambush Byzantine emperor

On this day in 811, the Khan Krum of Bulgaria ambushed and killed the Byzantine emperor, who had just plundered the Bulgar capital.

The khan had a great title: Krum the Fearsome. Under his reign, which nearly paralleled that of Charlemagne (800-814), the Bulgar empire doubled in size.

Krum appeared to bite off more than he chewed when he captured Serdica, now called Sofia, in 809; in response, Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I placed reinforcements along the frontier between the two nations.

In 811, Nikephoros attacked – and he refused to entertain any diplomatic pleas from Krum. On July 20, he entered the capital, Pliska, and raided the treasury. Nikephoros was particularly brutal; according to a 12th century chronicler, Nikephoros “ordered [the residents] to bring their small children, got them tied down on earth and made thresh grain stones to smash them.”

Krum armed everyone he could – peasants and women included – and set a trap for Nikephoros along the emperor’s route back to Constantinople. On July 26, the Bulgars annihilated the cornered Byzantines at Varbica Pass; Krum allegedly had the skull of Nikephoros lined with silver for use as a drinking cup.

Wounded in the battle was the successor to Nikephoros, Staurakios, who died in 812; his successor, Michael I Rangabe, lost so badly to Krum in 813 that he took the vows and became a monk, making Krum responsible for the loss of three emperors in three years.

Image: Krum celebrates his victory (14th century). At right, the servant brings the skull of Nikephoros.