Byzantine–Hungarian War (1071–1072)

Byzantine–Hungarian War

15th-century depiction of the war in Johannes de Thurocz's Chronica Hungarorum
Date1071–1072
Location
Byzantine–Hungarian border along the Lower Danube and Sava, Byzantine themes Sirmium and Bulgaria
Result Hungarian victory
Territorial
changes
Hungary seizes Belgrade and Syrmia
Belligerents
Kingdom of Hungary Byzantine Empire
Pechenegs
Commanders and leaders
King Solomon
Duke Géza
Duke Ladislaus (1071 only)
Vid Gutkeled
Jan
Duke Niketas (POW)
Kazar
Units involved
  • Units from Bács and Sopron counties
  • Hungarian river fleet
  • Forces of the "Duchy"
  • Bulgarians, Saracens
  • Danube river fleet
  • The Byzantine–Hungarian War (1071–1072) was the first of the series of wars between the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. When Pechenegs crossed the Sava and stormed into Hungary, Solomon, King of Hungary and Duke Géza suspected that the soldiers of the Byzantine garrison at Belgrade incited the marauders against the kingdom. The Hungarians laid siege to Belgrade. In the next year, their army reached as far as Niš, taking advantage of the difficult political situation within the Byzantine Empire. Division of the war-booty caused a new conflict between Solomon and his cousins, Géza and Ladislaus, which made further war against the empire impossible.