Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria refers to a conflict beginning in 967/968 and ending in 971, carried out in the eastern Balkans and involving the Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, and the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines instigated the Rus' ruler Sviatoslav to attack Bulgaria, leading to the collapse of the Bulgarian state and the occupation of much of the country by the Rus'. The ensuing direct military confrontation between the Rus' and Byzantium ended ...
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Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria refers to a conflict beginning in 967/968 and ending in 971, carried out in the eastern Balkans and involving the Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, and the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines instigated the Rus' ruler Sviatoslav to attack Bulgaria, leading to the collapse of the Bulgarian state and the occupation of much of the country by the Rus'. The ensuing direct military confrontation between the Rus' and Byzantium ended with a Byzantine victory. The Rus' withdrew and eastern Bulgaria was incorporated into the Byzantine Empire.
In 927, a peace treaty was signed between Bulgaria and Byzantium that ended many years of warfare and began forty years of peace. Both states prospered during this interlude, but the balance of power gradually shifted in favour of the Byzantines, who made great territorial gains against the Abbasid Caliphate in the East and succeeded in establishing a web of alliances that surrounded Bulgaria. By 965/966, the warlike new Byzantine...
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