The Battle of Edirne

The Battle of Adrianople in 1205 was associated with the Eighth Crusade, which began in 1202 and ended in 1204. The expedition was organised to liberate Jerusalem from Muslim rule. During their passage through the Balkans, the crusaders encountered Bulgarians who resisted their expansion. At Adrianople, modern Edirne in Turkey, Tsar Kaloyan exploited the terrain and successfully repelled the Latin crusaders' attack. The Bulgarians captured enemy banners and won a victory of considerable importance for the region's subsequent history.

The battle strengthened Kaloyan's rule in Thrace and brought substantial territorial gains, stabilising the Bulgarians' position and restoring their independence there. The Byzantine emperor Baldwin was imprisoned in a palace tower, now known as Baldwin's Tower, for the rest of his life, until he was thrown from the so-called Execution Rock into the ravine at Tsarevets. After the battle, the Latin conquerors remained confined to limited areas of the Balkans, while most of the territory stayed under Bulgarian control.