| Battle of Litosoria | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theByzantine–Bulgarian wars | |||||||
 Leo III the Isaurian, with Constantine V, AV Solidus. Constantinople mint. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Bulgarian Kingdom | Byzantine Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Telerig of Bulgaria | Constantine V | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 12,000[1] | 60,000[1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Heavy | Heavy | ||||||
TheBattle of Litosoria[2] orLithosoria[3] (Bulgarian:Битка при Литосория)[4] occurred between the Byzantines and Bulgars in the fall of 774 at an unknown place named Litosoria. It was located in the border area between both states,[5] in the region ofZagore,[6] probably north of the lineKirklareli -Vize in modernTurkey.[7] The result was aByzantine victory.
After an unsuccessful campaign of the Byzantine EmperorConstantine V earlier that year, theBulgar KhanTelerig decided to strike back to the southwest and sent a small raiding army of 12,000 to captureBerzitia.
The Byzantine emperor was informed of the raid in due time by his spies inPliska and gathered an enormous force. The Byzantines surprised the Bulgarian army, and after a long fight they managed to defeat them due to their greater superiority in the number of soldiers.
Constantine V was eager to follow up his success and led another campaign against the Bulgars, but once again it failed. However, Telerig learned during this event that all his plans were known to Constantine through a network of spies within his government. He decided to eliminate them once and for all and sent a message to Constantine, stating that he was going to flee inexile toConstantinople. In exchange, Telerig asked the emperor to reveal the spies to his associates in Pliska for their own safety. As Telerig was not the first ruler to flee to Constantinople, Constantine revealed his information and sent the Bulgarian government the list of spies; however, Telerig deceived him and did not travel to Constantinople. When Telerig learned of their names, he executed them all and eliminated the Byzantine spy network within his government.[8]