page_title: Battle of Velbazhd
section_title: Later developments and consequences
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Velbazhd / Later developments and consequences
caption_attribution_description: English: Тhe Balkans in 1355. Bulgaria and Serbia Български: Балканският полуостров през 1355 година.България и Сърбия.
context_page_description: The Battle of Velbazhd is a battle which took place between Bulgarian and Serbian armies on 28 July 1330, near the town of Velbazhd.
  The growing power of the Serbian Kingdom from the late 13th century raised serious concerns in the traditional Balkan powers Bulgaria and Byzantine Empire which agreed for joint military actions against Serbia in 1327. Three years later the bulk of the Bulgarian and Serbian armies clashed at Velbazhd and the Bulgarians were caught by surprise. Serbian victory shaped the balance of power in Balkans for the next two decades. The Bulgarians did not lose territory after the battle but were unable to stop the Serbian advance towards Macedonia. Serbia managed to conquer Macedonia and parts of Thessaly and Epirus reaching its greatest territorial extent ever. Their new King Stefan Dušan was crowned Emperor with Bulgarian help in 1346.
  However, decades after Dušan's death in 1355 his Empire disintegrated as did Bulgaria after the death of Ivan Alexander in 1371 and both states were subsequently destroyed by the Ottoman Turks.
context_section_description: Hearing the news of his ally's death, Andronikos decided to abandon the war with Serbia and headed to take advantage of the Bulgarian weakness. However, in 1332 the Bulgarians defeated the Byzantines in the battle of Rusokastro and regained many territories in Thrace. King Stefan reached Macedonia and regained the towns that were taken by Byzantines at the beginning of the campaign.  After a successful end of the war Stefan returned to building the Visoki Dečani monastery, his grand edifice in the region of Metohija, which he bestowed with many villages in a charter issued at the end of the year.
  In the beginning of the year 1331 young king Stefan Dušan rebelled against his father, possibly on the course of further actions against the Byzantine Empire. In stark contrast with his pious father, juvenile Dušan was aggressive and was supported by those Serbian nobles who desired wider exploits of the victory by Velebuzhd. During the rebellion (January to April), Bulgarian nobles dethroned Ivan Stefan and brought to rule Ivan Alexander (1331–1371) cousin of Michael.
  In the long run Velbuzhd opened a period of around 20 years in which Serbia rose to be the strongest state in South-Eastern Europe. When Dušan succeeded in taking over of the throne later in 1331 he launched attacks on Byzantine possessions, securing northern Macedonia in 1333–1334. Later, he exploited the Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347 to expand his control over all of Macedonia, Albania, Epirus, and Thessaly. Bulgaria and Serbia kept friendly relations and in 1346 Stefan Dušan was crowned Emperor with the help of Ivan Alexander, founding the Serbian Empire.
caption: Map of the Balkans in 1355. Serbia had reached its greatest expansion ever following the battle of Velbazhd.
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