The First Battle of Thessaloniki

After the victory at the Gates of Trajan and the ensuing Byzantine civil war, the Bulgarian tsar Samuel exploited his position and began a series of attacks on Byzantine fortresses and towns in the Balkans. In 995, after successfully conquering much of the northern Balkans, he decided to turn south.

Samuel won the Battle of Thessaloniki, capturing Ashot, son of the city's doux, Gregory Taronites. Ashot subsequently married Samuel's daughter Miroslava and was sent to govern Dyrrachium. After the successful campaign, Bulgarian forces penetrated southern Greece and reached the Peloponnese. On their return, however, they were defeated near the Spercheios River, close to Thermopylae, by the new doux of Thessaloniki, Nikephoros Ouranos.