Bulgarian–Serbian wars of 917–924

Bulgarian–Serbian wars of 917–924
Part of the Bulgarian–Serbian wars
Date 917–924 Location Balkan Peninsula Result Decisive Bulgarian victory Serbia is annexed by Bulgaria
Belligerents
Bulgarian Empire	Principality of Serbia Byzantine Empire
Commanders and leaders
Simeon I the Great Theodore Sigritsa Marmais	Petar Gojniković Pavle Branović Zaharija Pribisavljević
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

Decisive Bulgarian victory

The Bulgarian–Serbian wars of 917–924 (Bulgarian: Българо–сръбски войни от 917–924) were a series of conflicts fought between the Bulgarian Empire and the Principality of Serbia as a part of the greater Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 913–927. After the Byzantine army was annihilated by the Bulgarians in the battle of Achelous, the Byzantine diplomacy incited the Principality of Serbia to attack Bulgaria from the west. The Bulgarians easily dealt with that threat and replaced the Serbian prince with a protégé of their own. In the following years the two empires competed for control over Serbia. In 924 the Serbs rose again, ambushed and defeated a small Bulgarian army. That turn of events provoked a major retaliatory campaign that ended with the annexation of Serbia in the end of the same year.

Soon after Simeon I (r. 893–927) ascended to the throne, he successfully defended Bulgaria's commercial interests, acquired territory between the Black Sea and the Strandzha mountains, and imposed an annual tribute on the Byzantine Empire as a result of the Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 894–896. The outcome of the war confirmed the Bulgarian domination on the Balkans but also exposed the country's vulnerability to foreign intervention under the influence of the Byzantine diplomacy. As soon as the peace with Byzantium had been signed, Simeon I sought to secure the Bulgarian positions in the western Balkans. After the death of prince Mutimir (r. 850–891), several members of the ruling dynasty fought for the throne of the Principality of Serbia. In 892 Petar Gojniković established himself as a prince. In 897 Simeon I agreed to recognize Petar and put him under his protection, resulting in a twenty-year period of peace and stability to the west. However, Petar was not content with his subordinate position and sought ways to achieve independence.

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