Atlas of Battles

battle, major, medieval

Battle of Pelagonia

Battle of Pelagonia was a battle fought in August 1259 at Pelagonia, in what is now Greece. It was part of the Nicaean–Latin wars, which ran from 1204 to 1261. The recorded result: Nicaean victory.

See it on the globe Read the article

Michael VIII Palaiologos. Miniature from the manuscript of Pachymeres' Historia, 14th century. Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek.
Michael VIII Palaiologos. Miniature from the manuscript of Pachymeres' Historia, 14th century. Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek.. unknown Byzantine illuminator., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
FoughtAugust 1259
WherePelagonia, Greece40.817N, 21.567E
OutcomeNicaean victory
BelligerentsEmpire of NicaeaagainstDespotate of Epirus; Principality of Achaea; Duchy of Athens; Duchy of the Archipelago; Triarchy of Negroponte; Kingdom of Sicily
Part ofNicaean–Latin wars1204 to 1261

Where it sits in the Nicaean–Latin wars

Battle of Adramyttium, 1205Battle of the Rhyndacus, 1211Battle of Poimanenon, 1224Battle of Pelagonia, 125912051259Battle of Pelagonia, 1259
4 placed engagements of the Nicaean–Latin wars in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

DateAugust 1259 (month precision)
PlacePelagonia, Greece
40.817N, 21.567E
KindBattle, medieval
Territorial changeCollapse of the Epiroto-Latin League
Commanders
  • John Palaiologos (brother of Michael VIII)
  • Alexios Strategopoulos
  • John I Doukas of Thessaly
  • Michael II Komnenos Doukas
  • William of Villehardouin
  • Geoffrey of Briel
  • Angelo Sanudo
Battle of PelagoniaBattle of PelagoniaBattle of SetinaBattle of Malka NidzheBattle of FlorinaBattle of LerinBattle of SorovichBattle of SetinaBattle of FlorinaBattle of SorovichTiranaSkopjeLarissaIoaninaSeresKateriniKerkiraElbasan100 km40.817N, 21.567E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Pelagonia
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Pelagonia today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-07-22. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 651 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 602 to 903 m, 301 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 70% cropland, 22% grassland, 5% built-up.

cropland: 70%grassland: 22%built-up: 5%tree cover: 4%cropland 70%grassland 22%built-up 5%tree cover 4%
west to east, 10.0 km608 to 799 mnorth to south, 10.0 km646 to 730 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1259

Battle of Pelagonia is one of 590 engagements of the 13th century in the atlas and one of 493 in present-day Greece.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q763428, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Pelagonia, revision 1370271697, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.