page_title: Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 913–927
section_title: Crisis of 904
hierarchical_section_title: Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 913–927 / Prelude / Crisis of 904
caption_attribution_description: English: Illustration of the sack of Thessalonica by the Arab fleet in 904, from the Madrid Skylitzes, fol. 111v, detail. Ελληνικά: Απεικόνιση της άλωσης της Θεσσαλονίκης από τους Σαρακηνούς το 904, από το Χρονικό του Ιωάννη Σκυλίτζη.
context_page_description: The Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 913–927 was fought between the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire for more than a decade. Although the war was provoked by the Byzantine emperor Alexander's decision to discontinue paying an annual tribute to Bulgaria, the military and ideological initiative was held by Simeon I of Bulgaria, who demanded to be recognized as Tsar and made it clear that he aimed to conquer not only Constantinople but the rest of the Byzantine Empire, as well.
  In 917, the Bulgarian army dealt a crushing defeat to the Byzantines at the Battle of Achelous, resulting in Bulgaria's total military supremacy in the Balkans. The Bulgarians again defeated the Byzantines at Katasyrtai in 917, Pegae in 921 and Constantinople in 922. The Bulgarians also captured the important city of Adrianople in Thrace and seized the capital of the Theme of Hellas, Thebes, deep in southern Greece. Following the disaster at Achelous, Byzantine diplomacy incited the Principality of Serbia to attack Bulgaria from the west, but this assault was easily contained.
context_section_description: At the beginning of the 10th century, the Arabs completed the conquest of Sicily and from 902 began attacking Byzantine shipping and towns in the Aegean Sea. In 904, they sacked the empire's second-largest city, Thessalonica, taking 22,000 captives and leaving the city virtually empty. Simeon I decided to exploit that opportunity, and the Bulgarian army appeared in the vicinity of the deserted city. By securing and settling Thessalonica, the Bulgarians would have gained an important port on the Aegean Sea and would have cemented their hold on the western Balkans, creating a permanent threat to Constantinople. Aware of the danger, the Byzantines sent the experienced diplomat Leo Choirosphaktes to negotiate a solution. The course of the negotiations is unknown – in a surviving letter to emperor Leo VI the Wise, Choirosphaktes boasted that he had "convinced" the Bulgarians not to take the city but did not mention more details. However, an inscription found near the village of Narash testifies that since 904 the border between the two countries ran only 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the north of Thessalonica. As a result of the negotiations, Bulgaria secured the territorial gains acquired in Macedonia during the reign of Khan Presian I (r. 836–852) and expanded its territory further south, taking possession of most of the region. The western section of the Byzantine–Bulgarian border ran from the Falakro mountain through the town of Serres, which lay on the Byzantine side, then turned south-west to Narash, crossed the Vardar river at the modern village of Axiohori, ran through Mount Paiko, passed east of Edessa through the Vermio and Askio mountains, crossed the river Haliacmon south of the town of Kostur, which lay in Bulgaria, ran through the Gramos mountains, then followed the river Aoös until its confluence with the river Drino, and finally turned west, reaching the Adriatic Sea at the town of Himarë.
caption: The Sack of Thessalonica by the Arabs, Madrid Skylitzes
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