Siege of Plovdiv

Taking advantage of the truce with his reigning grandfather, the Byzantine emperor Andronikos III and the forces of Despot Voysil surrounded Plovdiv, beginning a four-month siege of its Bulgarian garrison. Under Ivan Rusina's command, the garrison withstood the prolonged siege despite heavy pressure. German craftsmen built a special machine for attacking with crossbows, described as a new weapon at the time, but the assaults still failed. The emperor was forced to acknowledge his failure, lift the siege and withdraw.