Siege of Braničevo (1154)

Siege of Braničevo
	Part of the Komnenian restoration of the Byzantine Empire
Date	Late 1154
Location	Braničevo, Byzantine Empire; (now Serbia)
Result	Abandoned siege, Hungarian retreat
Belligerents
Hungary	Byzantine Empire
Commanders and leaders
	Géza II; Ban Borić
Units involved
	Cuman unit; Bohemian unit; Foreign mercenaries

The Siege of Braničevo was laid by Hungarian king Géza II against Byzantine-held Braničevo in late 1154.

Background

Emperor Manuel's cousin, Andronikos Komnenos, who administered Belgrade, Braničevo, and Niš sent a letter to Géza II in 1154, offering to hand over those towns to him in exchange for his support against the emperor.[1] Géza II sent his envoys to Sicily to sign a new alliance with William I of Sicily around the end of the year, but William I was fighting with his rebellious subjects.[2]

Siege

Although Andronikos' plot was discovered and he was captured, Géza II invaded the Byzantine Empire and laid siege to Braničevo fortress in late 1154.[3][4] Géza II was aided by Cumans, who had been raiding the Danube at the time.[5] As a Hungarian vassal, Borić, the ban of Bosnia took part in the attack, alongside a Bohemian detachment.[6][7] Braničevo was besieged and the surroundings were ravaged.[7] After hearing of the imprisonment of Andronikos, Géza II abandoned the siege and returned for Hungary.[2]

Aftermath

Manuel answered by dispatching troops towards the battlefield.[8] Through Serdica (Sofia) and Niš, Manuel arrived in the Smilis province near Paraćin where he set up camp.[8] The Hungarian Army retreated towards Belgrade.[8] The pursuing Byzantine troops,[8] under general Basil Tzintzilukes, entered into battle with them, but the Byzantines were annihilated before the Hungarians returned to Hungary.[2][9]

In early 1155, the Byzantine and Hungarian envoys signed a new peace treaty.[2] In the same year, a Byzantine army expelled Géza II's ally, Desa, from Rascia and restored Uroš II who had promised that he would not enter into an alliance with Hungary.[10]

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References

Makk 1989, p. 60.
Makk 1989, p. 61.
Stephenson 2000, p. 231.
Makk 1989, pp. 60-62.
Alexandru Madgearu (13 June 2013). Byzantine Military Organization on the Danube, 10th-12th Centuries. BRILL. p. 155. ISBN 978-90-04-25249-3.
Vladimir Ćorović (13 January 2014). Istorija srpskog naroda. eBook Portal. p. 139. GGKEY:XPENWQLDTZF.
Михаило Ј Динић; Сима М Ћирковић (1978). Српске земље у средњем веку: историјско-географске студије. Српска књижевна задруга. зантијског престола. Започело је опет ратовање на Дунаву. Краљ Гејза II опколио је Браничево и опустошио његову околину. Као угарски вазал, у овом нападу суделовао је бо- сански бан Борић, и један одред Чеха. Чар Манојло ...
Dragoslav Srejović; Slavko Gavrilović; Sima M. Ćirković (1892). Istorija srpskog naroda: knj. Od najstarijih vremena do Maričke bitke (1371). Srpska književna zadruga. Уследио је силовит угарски напад на Браничево 1154. године. Цар Манојло је одмах одговорио брзим покретом трупа према бојишту. Преко Сердике и Ниша стигао је у област Смилиса (недалеко од данашњег села Смиловца, код Параћина), где се улогорио. Угарска војска је убрзо натерана на повлачење према Београду. Гониоци су се недалеко од Београда упустили у борбу с противницима, али су поражени. Тада се сазнало и за антивизантијску заверу у Београду.
Stephenson 2000, pp. 233-234.
Fine 1991, p. 238.

Sources

Fine, John V. A (1991). The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth century. The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08149-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
Makk, Ferenc (1989). The Árpáds and the Comneni: Political Relations between Hungary and Byzantium in the 12th century. Translated by György Novák. Akadémiai Kiadó. ISBN 963-05-5268-X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
Stephenson, Paul (2000). Byzantium's Balkan Frontier: A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900–1204. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-02756-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)