Battle of Pliska, 811 AD ⚔️ Trapped in the Balkan Mountains ⚔️ DOCUMENTARY 

🚩 Thanks Morning Brew for my daily news briefing - sign up for free here: morningbrewdaily.com/historymarche - trying out Morning Brew also helps our channel. 🚩 In this video we're heading back to the 9th century. The Battle of Pliska in 811 AD marked the first time since the death of Emperor Valens in 378 AD, that a Roman emperor fell in battle.

Hello Guys, Welcome to “Romans get Surrounded and Destroyed” Part 18.

Not all cups are "Made in China" Bulgaria also makes cups , but only for special occasions.

Khan Krum: I'm not trapped in here with you, *YOU'RE* trapped in here with me!

The lenghts people go to just to get a slightly better cup

I'd heard of this battle. You could say this is almost the Byzantine version of the Teutoberg forest disaster the Roman's suffered many centuries before this battle. Minus the traitor in the ranks. Great video.

It is shame that Eastern European history is so underrated and underrepresented in the West. Poland-Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Serbia and Bulgaria have so many great stories yet most people barely know about them. Props to HistoryMarche channel for giving them the dedication they deserve

The Balkans - real game of thrones..☦🇧🇬

Is there a badder history line than, “If you don’t want the Pax, You will have my Axe”? Cold.

16:04 "If you don't want want the pax (peace), you will have my axe" makes me laughing so hard....

Fun fact: Krum is also famous in Bulgaria for destroying all vineyards some years before this battle. After the battle He abolished the ban on the vineyards.

Bulgaria and France with common border. Very nice.

Interesting fact: The polish name for skull is czaszka. In bulgarian the word чаша (tschascha or czasza) means cup, like a cup of tea, something to drink of. So the question is: Did the polish name got its meaning from this design idea for an emperors skull?

Brother, You are 100 times more thorough and better than kings and generals

I think it's worth noting several things about this battle and Krum's era (and what an era, btw - the times of Charles the Great/Charlemagne, of Krum the Terrifying [not the quidditch player], and of Harun al Rashid of 1001 Nights fame): - Krum's reinforcements didn't only include local Slavs, but also Avar mercenaries and even women who "were armed like men". Some even believe that it's precisely the female militia that captured Nikephoros in his tent. - Krum, known in modern Bulgaria with the nickname Strashni (the Fearsome/Terrifying), might appear like just some skull-drinking barbarian to those unfamiliar with his reign, but here he's also known as the Lawgiver and the ruler whose laws and administrative reforms began the centralization of the state (setting it on the path from a tribal union to an actual empire) and the unification of his Slavs and Bulgars into a common Bulgarian nation. - Furthermore, he was quite active in recruiting new talents - f.e. he is known to have recruited a Christian Arab engineer in Byzantine service, as well as another Byzantine engineer named Eumathios, who helped him expand his siege park significantly (and just a year after this battle, in 812, he captured Messembria on the Black Sea coast, along with some 30+ syphons for Greek fire). From his inscriptions, we also see a number of Greek/Christian names placed as high-ranking strategoi in his "sarakt" (state or army). In fact, his own sister was married to a certain Constantine Patzikos, so Krum's brother-in-law was himself a Byzantine. - Krum offered peace several times, not only before the battle of Pliska/Varbitsa, but even after it. And the Byzantines kept refusing, even after this defeat. In 813 he routed the next emperor, Michael Rangabe, near Versinikia, which led to the latter's abdication. And when he then besieged Constantinople and Leo V finally offered negotiations before the walls of the City, the Byzantines actually ambushed him and tried to assassinate him (though the hidden archers managed only to wound him), succeeding only in capturing his brother-in-law (the aforementioned Patzikos) and nephew (the son of Patzikos and Krum's sister). Needless to say, that led to a great devastation of Thrace, the capture of Adrianople, and the deportation of its people to the Bulgarian lands north of the Danube (including, according to the story, the future emperor Basil I who was still a child and to whom Krum supposedly gave an apple). A century later, when Tsar Simeon was again invited to similar negotiations before the walls of Constantinople, his men thoroughly searched the area before signaling for the tsar to arrive. - Interestingly enough, Krum died in somewhat mysterious circumstances while amassing a massive siege park for a final siege of the City. Likewise, a bit over a century later, Tsar Simeon died in similar circumstances as well, with one Byzantine legend linking it to a magic ritual suggested to the Byzantine emperor by his astrologer, where one statue in Constantinople that supposedly looked like Simeon was beheaded by the emperor's men during the night and Simeon supposedly died of a heart attack at that same instant. Both Krum and Simeon were then succeeded by their sons who signed "eternal peace" (of 30 years) with Byzantium and were recognized as emperors in return.

By 811 Krum had already won like 50 sieges including Serdica, which is now the capital of Bulgaria (and is called Sofia).

Fantastic as always ! Hope to see HistoryMarche’s version of the battle of Ongal eventually between the Roman’s and the Bulgars

So happy that you are covering Bulgarian history more and more 😀

Me being Bulgarian I can say this is a very well structured and presented depiction of the battle and the reasons behind it, from a westerner pov. I also like that you didn't skip the colorful story of the skull-cup reward.

I'm impressed by how well you pronounced Staurakios!

Deep thank you, as a Bulgarian your film made me relive one of the most important days in our history 🙏❤

That Krum sounds like a total badass!!

A well designed, composed and consistent video, congrats! I hope you'll make more videos about Bulgarian history, it's full of very interesting moments!

Khan Krum was such a badass. Also the incompetence on the Roman’s part here was staggering. They could SEE the Bulgarians getting into position, and that they were trapped in a narrow mountain pass. And yet seemingly did nothing to prepare?

Finally, the best history channel makes a video about the most epic victory of my country! Thank you!

Not to detract from the quality of research and visuals in the least, but I particularly like the narrator for no definable reason. Excellent video, as always.

Your the only channel whos not got into global propaganda, thank you, HistoryMarche.

Great video, as always! And finally we're getting more content on parts of history which is usually not well know to people. Good stuff!

I m getting goosebumps every time I watch one of your clips. You are the best.

I think that to fully understand the nature and the reasons for this conflict one needs to be aware of the geopolilical situation at that time. As the Avar khaganate declined it left a void, so to speak, that had to be filled. Franks and Bulgarians showed eagerness to participate in the distribution of the Avar legacy. It would be very naive to assume that the Byzantine empire wouldn't intervene in that contest and try to reclaim its long lost provinces in that region - Sirmium, Singidunum (Belgrade). That's why Serdica was a key city cause it opened the door to Panonia. All that gold that Krum captured, it wasn't just salaries for the border garnisons, it was most likely meant to finance a campaign to fight for the Avar legacy. So for Bulgaria to cut off the Romans from participating in the resolution of the Avar matter was seen as outragious and very offensive in Constantinople. That is at the core of this 811 war. Most likely the battle didn't take place in the Varbitsa pass but somewhere west of Pliska (probably in Tarnovo region). There are accounts from surviving romans who state that they were ambushed en route to Serdica ( which makes sense from geopolitical standpoint for abovementioned reasons) which means they were moving west, not back south through the Balkans mountain.

16:06 quote of the century

Not a regional power, but a great power. During the 9th and the first quarter ot the 10th century, Bulgaria was one of the top three European powers along with Frankish Empire and Eastern Roman Empire. Khan Krum's successor, Khan Omurtag, even defeated the Franks in a border conflict two decades later. Bulgaria still exists to this day and with the same name, a feat none of the Medieval great powers can claim.

These are awesome and informative bits of military and political history. Great job

Love the video. I've studied this at the officer academy in Bulgaria and this does it justice.

Always an amazing job with the narrative and the build up!

This battle is one of the most shameful defeats of the Romans. We already know that it is very rare for a Roman emperor to die in battle, especially when a cup is made from his skull…

Although I already saw the battle of bliska on Kings and generals I can't resist this one

Good video, Thank you. I knew very little of the Bulgarian Empire.

Thanks! The video is very good! I hope that you will make up more videos about Bulgarian history, it is a rich and interest source.

The Narrator Always win my heart. Thank you HistoryMarche

Please continue the series about Krum and his dynasty. It is fascinating! :)

Salut fratilor nostri de la sud de Dunare!!💪😎🇧🇬🇷🇴

argh, this video gave me goosebumps 😎. Great channel, thank you for your hard work of making all those videos.

Always love your videos. Keep up the good work.

Excellent as always!

Good work as usual 👏 thank you.

Loved this video! Superb story telling.

Excellent work as always

Krum the chad. Beheads a Roman emperor then quips a one liner that evern rhymes. He's like an 80's action hero.

This was a campaign without planning to encounter any resistance and planning for supply lines/ retreat by small passes. Small passes are even without an ambush and only blockaded disastrous in case of a retreat. I do not know much about the education level of this time, but I think this was already part of the warfare 101 for many strategists.

Thank you very much for this video.I really appreciated it As a Bulgarian I had learned when I was a little for this battle in the history lessons in school. If you don't want peace your are going to get axe.

This channel really deserves to be more popular

a wonderful history coverage video //allot thanks history marche channel

Поправка! Крум не е влизал в битка при Маркели лично. Единствено при Плиска Крум оставя гарнизон от 12000 като той не е в столицата, а чака аварско подкрепление. Иначе браво. Труда трябва да се оцени. 🙂 Видеото е супер

Ok. Just subbed! It baffles me how many campaigns in history, armies would forgo the basics such as scouting or get caught in stretched out lines.

Amazing as usual!

Great channel thank you for sharing 🍀☀️🌺

Mountain pass ambush was probably the first thing Bulgarian military leaders learned in this era. Eastern Romans and Crusaders aside, they pulled one off against the Mongols too.

Thank you for uploading

That was a well-prepared most excellent Ambush never learned of that particular one before thank you

When one talks about the military history of the Romans, one is impressed by the number of battles and wars won, which led them to be the largest empire of the time; however, when talking about the Byzantines, it is incredible the number of defeats they had and still managing to maintain their existence until the end of the Middle Ages. So one realizes that the Romans' ability to win wars pales in comparison to the Byzantines' ability to save their state through diplomacy. XD

Few things to add. Telerig seeked protection in the emperors court a while after he killed the Byzantine spies. Krum is one of the biggest figures in Bulgarian history. He was both a good general and administrator. Except this battle he is known for the first written legal codex Bulgaria ever had. The legend says that he was shocked by how a mighty state such as the Avar khaganate could fell into pieces and after speaking with an Avar captive, he learned that the root-cause was the erosion of the Avar society. For the Varbitsa/Varbishki pass he was in a dire situation. He didn't have enough time to gather a significant power, the resources of Bulgaria, although being an empire, were small, compared to the Byzantines, so he had to use every person that was capable of fighting. And amongst his soliders there were women. After the battle he did lots of campaigns in Thrace. It is even said that the reason for his sudden death is a Byzantine plot.

thanks for the video (благодаря за видеото!)

What a terrific video!⚔🙏

I beg you please make a video about Tervel (bulgarian ruler) who stopped the arabian conquest of Eastern Roman Empire. Please.

Love these. We can learn a lot.

Wow. Always outstanding.

HistoryMarche, You did a great job with this story! Although many have accepted this whole "khan" thing for Bulgarian rulers, it is a 20th century invention. There is no primary historical mention or any historical document or artifact mentioning "Khan" for any Bulgaria ruler! BULGARIAN EMPIRE MAPPING should have known better and advised you correctly. The only title in the records associated with Krum is Archon. I don't know why this still persists. I know wikipedia promotes it, but there is no basis in fact.

I would rank this defeat just a tier below those of Manzikert, Adrianople and Yarmouk for the worst Eastern Roman defeats, the reason I cut off a tier is due to the fact that the catastrophe of Pliska would eventually be reversed

Amazing video!!

Fantastic video keep it up your doing amazing job

Byzantines: We have imperial armies. Bulgarians: We have mountain passes.

Did the Eastern Romans have a cloning facility or something? The amount of battles and manpower they kept loosing is insane...how they've managed to survive for as long as they did is beyond me...kinda impressive.

great video, thanks

THANK U FOR UR WORK

Considering all the Northern incursions by Huns, Avars, Bulgars, Pechenegs, Cumans, we can savely assume that the Danube had the worst offers of invaders for the Eastern Roman empire

Krum's army was evolved in today's territories of Hungary, after his campaign, he had to wait for around a month for his bulgarian and avars army to arrive! That was wath Nickiphoros was missing!

Great content thank you

Great Stuff !!!

Top quality video

Basil the Second: hold my beer

Keep up the good work!

Love the way you explain you are a great man

Krum: "I WENT FOR THE HEAD"

Being Bulgarian, thank you for the video. It's very informative and correctly presented

Great vid 💙

Brilliant as always HM.

It's pretty curious the amount of roman emperors who died in battle in a pretty miserable way. For example, Valerian was captured and skinned, Valens was burned alive and Nikephoros I had his skull turned into a drinking-coup

I also enjoy Krum's laws. Thats why i named my son after him.

Wow! And he also was a great and famous quidditch player too, impressive!

I love the map improvement.

Everyone talking about "the song of Roland this, chivalry of Roland that"....such an honorable man that would participate in sacking the Basque lands and killing its people. Thet got their revenge and humiliated Charlemagnes army. Francophiles gushing over Roland's sacrifice ignoring a heroic story of justice. The Franks were lucky the Basques didn't bring a full force to bear, or they would have been annihilated!

There was no battle near Pliska.Pliska was abandoned by purpose so Eastern Romans get demoralized by looting treasure and drinking the wine left there . Batlle happened at VARBITZA PASS some 93 km away from Pliska. And it is known as battle at Varbitza pass by real historians. A pseudo-historian in YT called it battle at Pliska by mistake and the rest repeat that with moronic stubbornness. Krum annexed 80% of Avar khaganate territory as it is visible on the map but OK . We can accept he took '' a little bit of land left under Avar control '' 6:05

Fabulous !

Awesome!

Another week another amazing collab!

Благодарим ви!

love these

Love it!

Nikephoros was such a good and bad emperor at the same time, love his financial reforms and how he managed to recover much of modern day Greece, but he sure as hell made a lot of enemies not least of which the church, and of course, he kinda lost pliska lol