Battle of Arcadiopolis

The Battle of Arcadiopolis took place in 1194 near present-day Lüleburgaz in Turkey, between Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire. Following their major success at the Tryavna Pass in 1190, the Bulgarian troops frequently attacked Thrace and Macedonia with the aim of liberating all their lands. The Byzantines could not cope with the speed of the Bulgarian cavalry, which attacked from different directions across a wide area. Around 1194, Ivan Asen I captured the important city of Sofia and its surroundings, as well as the upper Struma valley, from which his armies penetrated deep into Macedonia. The Byzantines assembled their eastern army under Alexios Gidos and their western army under the domestic Basil Vatatzes to halt the Bulgarian advance. They encountered the Bulgarian army near Arcadiopolis in Eastern Thrace.

After a fierce battle, the Byzantine armies were destroyed. Most of Gidos's soldiers died, and he himself had to flee for his life. The western army was killed to a man, and its commander-in-chief died on the battlefield. After the defeat, Isaac II Angelos had to appeal to King Béla III of Hungary for help. Byzantium was to attack from the south and the Kingdom of Hungary from the northwest, with the aim of capturing Belgrade, Braničevo and possibly Vidin, but the plan failed. In March 1195, Isaac II managed to organise a campaign against Bulgaria, but he was overthrown by his brother Alexios III Angelos, and that campaign also failed. The following year, the Byzantines were defeated at the Battle of Serres.