Pechenegs' raid A significant number of Pecheneg troops, who were settled in the border along the
Danube in order to protect the borderland, crossed the river Sava at the Byzantine fort of Belgrade and pillaged the region
Syrmia, located in southern Hungary, in the spring of 1071. They plundered the fields of Buziás in Syrmia, taking many prisoners and spoils of war. There,
Vid Gutkeled, one of the most influential advisors of King Solomon, possessed extensive landholdings. Some historians identified the aforementioned landholding with Buziás (also called Fulbertfalva) in
Valkó County or with
Bežanija, present-day an
urban neighborhood of Belgrade in
Serbia, or a now uninhabited settlement located in present-day
Ugrinovci in
Zemun (also in Belgrade). Since a protracted war was not a common response to the everyday border conflicts typical of the era, it is possible that the Pechenegs penetrated deeper into the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary than before. '' of
Sirmium and the Byzantine–Hungarian borderland in the mid-11th century Hungarian historian János B. Szabó argued that there is no trace from this period of Pecheneg settlements directly near the Hungarian border, thus the raiders came either from the province of
Paristrion east of
Vidin, on the southern bank of the Danube, where at that time there was a very mixed population of
Bulgarians,
Vlachs, Pechenegs, and
Ouzes, or from the area between
Naissos (Niš) and
Serdica (in
Sofia) in the
theme of
Bulgaria, where groups of Pechenegs were settled after
their failed revolt two decades earlier. According to Slovak historian Marek Meško, it is conceivable that the Pechenegs living north of the Danube, who had already
invaded Hungary in 1068, were also responsible for the 1071 attack. Based on the data of the Russian Primary Chronicle, which narrates that
Cumans crossed
Dnieper and laid siege to the towns Rastovets and Neyatin in 1071, Hungarian historian Attila Kovács considered that Pechenegs (and Ouzes) fleeing the western expansion of the Cumans crossed
Lower Danube and settled along the Byzantine border. In order to obtain the booty that ensured the existence of their political confederation, they pillaged southern Hungary, which their relatives, the Pechenegs who guarded the border, did not prevent. The Hungarian king and his cousins suspected that the soldiers of the Byzantine garrison at Belgrade incited the marauders against Hungary. The Pechenegs were hired as mercenaries by the Byzantine Empire since 1048. Therefore, this attack provided the reason for Solomon and the dukes to launch a campaign against the Byzantine Empire. It is also possible that the military difficulties of the empire that occurred during the reign of
Romanos IV Diogenes, mostly the
Siege of Bari, which resulted the dissolution of the
Catepanate of Italy, and the
Battle of Manzikert, which resulted in the mobilization of significant forces from the north to the southern and eastern borders of the Byzantine Empire, provided an opportunity for Solomon to adopt an expansionist policy towards the south. The raids of Pechenegs into Hungary provided the pretext and legal basis for this. Kovács emphasized that it was not in the least interest of the Byzantines to anger the Hungarians and thus enable an attack on the empire at the worst possible time. In this context, the Hungarian invasion was a "backstabbing", which made the emperor's situation more difficult and can ultimately be considered one of the reasons for his downfall. The Hungarian royal court was obviously aware that the bulk of the
Byzantine army had been in
Asia Minor since early 1071 due to the imperial expedition against
Alp Arslan. It is also conceivable that the Hungarians wanted to create a buffer zone to prevent or mitigate further Pecheneg incursions into their kingdom.
Hungarian counter-attack Shortly after the Pechenegs' raid, Solomon declared a war against the Byzantine Empire. The Hungarian army – based on the
county military organization and the system of
castle warriors – gathered at the Hungarian border near the fortified city of
Zalánkemén (present-day Stari Slankamen, Serbia). Solomon and his cousin Géza jointly launched their campaign against the empire; they were considered experienced and well-acquainted military leaders through the campaigns of previous years (their joint campaign against the
Carantanians or
Venetians in
Dalmatia in 1066, the retaliatory campaign into
Bohemia in 1067 and the fight against the invading Cumans in 1068). Based on the narration of the Illuminated Chronicle, the entire Hungarian military organization was mobilized, including the forces of the duchy under the command of the king's cousins, Géza and Ladislaus. , depicted by the 12th-century
Madrid Skylitzes The Hungarians' war goal is unclear: Bulgarian historian
Vasil Zlatarski considered that Solomon intended to submit whole Syrmia, occupying its parts south of the Danube. Hungarian historian Henrik Marczali claimed that the Hungarians aimed to conquer the
Balkan Peninsula. In contrast, Ferenc Makk argued that the objectives of gaining hegemony over the Balkans were first felt in Hungarian foreign policy under
Béla II. Raimund Kerbl considered that the launch of the Hungarian campaign is connected with the fall of Romanos Diogenes who was deposed in October 1071 after his disastrous defeat and captivity at Manzikert. Accordingly, the Hungarians and Romanos were considered allies during that time and Solomon also sent auxiliary troops to assist the emperor against the
Seljuks. Kerbl argued the Hungarian military campaign took place in late October 1071 as a retaliatory campaign against the "usurper"
Michael VII Doukas. However, Kerbl incorrectly identified the "Sauromatians", who fought on the side of Romanos at Manzikert according to Michael Attaleiates, with the Hungarians; they were, in fact,
Frankish,
Norman, and German mercenaries. On the other hand, as Ferenc Makk emphasized, the date of the Hungarian campaign is uncertain: due to the winter conditions of medieval warfare, it is more likely that the attack was launched at the end of August at the latest, during the reign of Romanos Diogenes. Makk argued that the aim of the campaign, beyond retaliation and plunder, was limited territorial expansion along the southern border. Following preparations, the Hungarian army began crossing Sava, which the Byzantine river fleet tried to prevent upon the order of
dux Niketas, the military commander of
Belgrade Fortress. The boats of the "Byzantines and Bulgarians", which formed the defensive line along the Danube, used the
incendiary weapon of
Greek fire to set several attacking ships on fire. However, the crossing Hungarian army was significantly outnumbered, so they successfully broke through the Byzantine river blockade, sinking the imperial ships. The Hungarians then landed on the south side of the river, occupying the border areas.
Siege of Belgrade '' The Hungarians soon surrounded the city of Belgrade and laid siege to the fortress. Due to the dire situation, Niketas sent a secret message to the Pechenegs who were performing border duties, asking them to provide assistance in relieving the castle. Kovács argued that these Pechenegs were not the same as those who had raided southern Hungary a few months earlier, sparking the war. The Byzantine commander asked for their help with the deliberate distortion that the city was besieged by only a smaller unit of Vid Gutkeled, as part of an ordinary border conflict to take revenge for the earlier Pecheneg raid. The arriving Pecheneg relief army, led by their chieftain Kazar, was swept away by a single column, the detachment from
Sopron County under the command of their
ispán Jan. Most of the Pechenegs were slaughtered, only few of them – including Kazar – were able to flee. To deter the castle defenders, the prisoners of war and the bodies of the killed Pechenegs were put on public display. Despite the fact that the Hungarians built siege works (
towers,
catapults) and partially demolished the castle wall, the defenders held out heroically for months. Niketas constantly sent out units of "
Saracen" (i.e. Muslim) warriors to attack the positions of the besieging Hungarians. Clashes between the Hungarians and the Saracens regularly took place along the walls. The Hungarians were unable to breach the walls for two months, so not only the fortress, but also the city remained untouched. Niketas and his garrison resisted bravely despite the
starvation tactics. The fateful day came in the third month, when "a Hungarian girl who had long before been brought there into captivity set fire to the city". Thanks to the raging fire, the Hungarians broke through the defensive wall and stormed the city, while the garrison fled to the citadel. The Hungarian troops massacred a significant part of the population and began looting, searching every cellar and hiding place for valuables. Since the empire's situation made it impossible to send help, surrender negotiations soon began between the Byzantine garrison and the Hungarian generals. With the capture of Belgrade, the Hungarians conquered all the region Sirmium and also seized its namesake capital
Sirmium (present-day
Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia) under unclear circumstances. The Hungarian army also occupied the nearby fort
Taurunum, present-day Zemun. The region was integrated into the Hungarian administration and the medieval
Syrmia County () was gradually developed from the original status of border ispánate (or
march) following the 1071–1072 war. The region Syrmia became contested between the Byzantines and Hungarians over the century thereafter.
The collapse of Hungarian political unity incites
Solomon against the duke (left), as depicted by the
Illuminated Chronicle The Byzantine garrison sent a message to Solomon, Géza and Ladislaus that they were willing to give up the citadel in exchange for sparing their lives. In response, the Hungarian monarch and the dukes guaranteed that in exchange for surrender the defenders would not be harmed. However, when most of the garrison, along with Niketas, surrendered to Géza, instead of the king, caused confusion and conflict among the Hungarians, in addition to the fact that in the sharing of the spoils that a quarrel arose between the king and the duke, which took place in Buziás, the estate of Vid. There, Solomon – on the counsel of Vid and his allies, Bishop
Franco,
Rodowan and his son-in-law Ilia, who all participated in the military campaign – granted only a quarter of the booty to Géza, who claimed its third part. Géza was greatly annoyed by this act. Thereafter the duke negotiated with the Byzantine envoys and set all the Byzantine captives – including Niketas – free without the king's consent. Géza entered into negotiations with the representatives of the Byzantine emperor – either Romanos IV Diogenes or Michael VII Doukas – excluding the king, behind his back, in order to conclude a peace treaty between them, which was achieved. Faced with this situation, Solomon was forced to acknowledge that the duke and the emperor had concluded an agreement through their envoys, bypassing his authority. Although the
Illuminated Chronicle clearly identified Count Vid as the instigator of the internal war – thus, several scholars, including
Bálint Hóman saw the moral failings of Solomon and Vid behind the roots of the conflict –, but historian Ferenc Makk argued that Géza insulted the royal majesty with his act, when he agreed that the defenders would surrender before him and thereby he exceeded his authority. Regarding the Byzantines' surrender specifically before Géza, perhaps the main reason for this special attention was that, according to Raimund Kerbl, the duke had already married
a prominent Byzantine lady from the
Synadenos family in the mid-1060s, who was the niece of the distinguished leader and later emperor of the empire,
Nikephoros III Botaneiates, and for this reason he may have had good relations with the empire long before. In contrast, most of the Hungarian historians put the date of their marriage in the mid-1070s, when Géza I already ascended the Hungarian throne.
The 1072 campaign and
Géza receive gifts from the burghers of
Naissos (Niš), as depicted by the
Illuminated Chronicle As the
Illuminated Chronicle narrates, Vid's "poisonous words filled the king with hate and rancor", but he practiced dissimulation for tactical reasons, and in pretended friendship he sent the duke away to his duchy. As a result, despite the intrigues and opposites, Solomon and Géza jointly participated in the continuation of the campaign against the Byzantine Empire in 1072, but Géza's brother, Ladislaus remained with half of their troops in the
Nyírség to protect the area from possible royal attack. The
Annales Posonienses claims that the Byzantines recaptured the fort of Belgrade through a stratagem in 1072. If this is reliable data, maybe this was the reason for the Hungarians' second campaign, which now clearly took place during the reign of Michael Doukas. The Byzantines' success was short-lived, as the Hungarians retook the fortress within short time during a campaign that year that reached as far as Naissos. This punitive expedition took place in the first half of 1072, in October at the latest. The Hungarian light cavalry reached the birthplace of
Constantine the Great in seven to eight days. Along their route, they sacked several towns and took many prisoners enslaving the settlements along the Danube. The citizens of Naissos did not engage in battle and tried to prevent the Hungarians from plundering the city with gifts. The Hungarians, cracking open the untouched coffin, also took the relics (right arm) of Saint
Procopius of Scythopolis and presented to the Greek monastery dedicated to Saint
Demetrius of Thessaloniki () near Sirmium. As the 12th-century Byzantine historian
John Kinnamos formulates that when the Hungarians reached Naissos they, "finding the martyr's holy coffin, they judged it inhumane, I think, to carry off the entire body, yet after they had cut off the arm they departed. Reaching Sirmion, they deposited it there in the church of the martyr Demetrius". After the plundering campaign ended, Géza and his troops separated from the royal army at the mouth of the
Morava near the castle of
Keve (today Kovin, Serbia), and returned to his duchy in order to prepare his resistance against Solomon. ==Aftermath==