Battle of Philippopolis (1208) - The Battle

The Battle

In the spring of 1208 Boril considered that the internal situation in Bulgaria had calmed down and turned his attention to the foreign-political affairs. It seems that he supported the policy of his predecessor and continued the war against the Latin Empire. The Bulgarian army invaded Thrace and defeated the Crusaders near Stara Zagora. Inspired, Boril marched southward and on 30 June 1208 he encountered the main Latin army. The Bulgarian army outnumbered its enemy - Boril had 33,000 soldiers while Henry had 2,000 knights and several thousand soldiers. Boril tried to apply the same tactics which Kaloyan used at Adrianople - the light cavalry tried to harass the Crusaders, to stretch their line and to lead them towards the main Bulgarian forces. The knights, however, had learned the bitter lesson from Adrianople and did not repeat the same mistake. Instead, they organized a trap and attacked the detachment which was personally commanded by the Tsar. Boril had 1,600 men and could not withstand the enemy assault and fled after which the whole Bulgarian army pulled back.

The Bulgarians knew that the enemy would not chase them in the mountains so they retreated towards one of the eastern passes of the Balkan mountains, Turia. The Crusaders who followed the Bulgarian army were attacked in a hilly country near the contemporary village of Zelenikovo by the Bulgarian rear guard and after a bitter fight they were defeated. However, they did not collapse as the main Latin forces arrived. The battle continued for a very long time and finally the Bulgarians retreated to the north when the bulk of their army had safely passed through the mountains. The Crusaders also retreated to Plovdiv.