Page 574 [574]
572
Violeta Periklieva, Ivaylo Markov
Although unsuccessful, the most famous battle is the Battle of Kleidion (also
known as the Battle of Belasitsa),” which took place on July 29, 1014, between the
Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Kingdom. It was the culmination of the near¬
ly half-century struggle between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Kingdom
in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries. The result was a decisive Byzantine
victory.
The battle took place in the valley between the mountains of Belasitsa and
Ograzhden near the modern Bulgarian village of Klyuch in the region of Petrich.
‘The decisive encounter occurred on July 29 with an attack in the rear by a force
under the command of Byzantine general Nikephoros Xiphias, who had infiltrated
the Bulgarian positions. The ensuing battle was a major defeat for the Bulgarians.
The Bulgarian soldiers were captured and reputedly blinded by order of Emperor
Basil II, who would subsequently be known as the “Bulgar-Slayer”. King Samuel
survived the battle but died two months later from a heart attack, reportedly
brought on by the sight of his blind soldiers. The heirs of Samuel could not
subsequently hold off the Byzantine advance and in 1018 the Bulgarian Kingdom
was finally destroyed by Basil II.
Cultural Memory
Today, King Samuel and the Battle of Kleidion exist in the memory of the popula¬
tion of the region of Petrich mainly in the form of toponyms and related legends
told by the local people. However, except for the villages of Samuilovo (possessive
form of Samuel) and Samuilova krepost (Samuel’s fortress), which have borne these
names for a relatively short period of time, there is no other toponym in the region
of Petrich that refers directly to King Samuel and the Battle of Kleidion. In fact,
each toponym could be associated with any other tragic and bloody event—for
example from the Ottoman period. In confirmation of this assertion is the example
of the etymology of the name of the village of Skrat. Today, there are two legends
related to the origin of the name. According to the most widespread, the name
Skrat derives from the Bulgarian word skrab (grief, sorrow); that is it is associated
with the grief over Samuel's soldiers having been blinded and killed in the Battle
of Kleidion. In fact, the first registrations of the legend on the field were made
after Bogdan Filov’ scientifically introduced the etymology in 1915 (Filov 1993:
80). The second legend, which is rarely registered, refers to the older form of the
village name (Iskrit) and to the Bulgarian word skrit (hidden)—that is the hidden
Byzantine forces that attacked the Bulgarians from the rear. The latter legend has
: The battle is referred to by two names. The first one, the Battle of Kleidion, derives from the Greek
name of the gorge where the battle took place. In Bulgarian kleidion is translated as “klyuch” meaning
a key. One of the villages near the scene of the battle is also named Klyuch. The second name, the Battle
of Belasitsa, is related to the name of the mountain at whose foot the battle took place.
> Bogdan Filov was a Bulgarian archaeologist, art historian, and politician. He was prime minister of
Bulgaria during World War II.