Battle of Pegae

The Battle of Pegae (the Spring) was a major engagement between Bulgarians and Byzantines near Constantinople, at the locality called “the Spring”, immediately outside the Selymbria Gate in the city walls. Fought between 11 and 18 March 921, it ended in a major Bulgarian victory. Following his earlier military successes, Simeon I had ambitions for the Byzantine throne, while Byzantium was troubled by internal conflict. Tsar Simeon I planned to become ruler of Byzantium, initially governing indirectly as regent for the underage emperor Constantine VII. In 920, however, Romanos Lekapenos forestalled Simeon and proclaimed himself co-emperor. This closed the diplomatic route by which Simeon might have taken the throne in Constantinople. With diplomacy no longer an option, Simeon resorted to force. That same year, he declared war on Byzantium.

The Bulgarian attack was irresistible, and the Byzantines fled in an attempt to reach their ships. Most of the Roman army was destroyed or captured. The Bulgarians burnt the palaces at Pegae, ravaged the Golden Horn and returned triumphantly to Preslav. By 924, Bulgaria had taken almost all Byzantine lands in the Balkans.