Atlas of Battles

battle, major, medieval

Battle of Velbazhd

Battle of Velbazhd was a battle fought in 1330 in what is now Bulgaria. Its exact site is not recorded; the atlas places it at its recorded location. It was part of the Bulgarian–Serbian Wars. The recorded result: Serbian victory.

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Fought1330
WhereBulgaria42.280N, 22.687E, placed at the location, approximate
OutcomeSerbian victory
BelligerentsBulgarian Empire; Supported by: Wallachia; Andronikos III Palaiologos (Byzantine Empire)againstKingdom of Serbia; Supported by: Andronikos II Palaiologos (Byzantine Empire) and the Catalan Company
Casualties and lossesHeavyandLight
Part ofBulgarian–Serbian Wars

Record

Date1330 (year precision)
PlaceBulgaria
42.280N, 22.687E
KindBattle, medieval
Strength15,000; 12,000 Bulgarians, 3,000 mercenaries (Vlachs, Jasz people, Cumans, Tatars)15,000–18,000: 15,000 Serbs, 1,000–2,000 Catalan mercenaries, mainly Italians from the Kingdom of Naples and 1,000? German mercenaries
Casualties and lossesHeavyLight
Commanders
  • Michael III of Bulgaria
  • Belaur
  • Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
  • Basarab I of Wallachia
  • Stefan Dečanski
  • Stefan Dušan
  • Jovan Oliver
Battle of VelbazhdBattle of VelbazhdBattle of KalimanciBattle of Kresna GorgeSiege of Serdica (809)Siege of SofiaBattle of SlivnitsaBattle of KalimanciBattle of Kresna GorgeSiege of Serdica (809)Siege of SofiaBattle of SlivnitsaSkopjePristinaNišPlevenSeresXanthiPrizrenTetovo100 km42.280N, 22.687E
Placed at its recorded location; the exact site is not recorded. 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 Velbazhd
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 50 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Velbazhd today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-10-30. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 528 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 466 to 1,360 m, 894 m of relief, steep country and today it is 34% tree cover, 24% built-up, 22% grassland.

tree cover: 34%built-up: 24%grassland: 22%cropland: 19%tree cover 34%built-up 24%grassland 22%cropland 19%
west to east, 10.0 km485 to 702 mnorth to south, 10.0 km509 to 944 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

Elsewhere in 1330

Battle of Velbazhd is one of 566 engagements of the 14th century in the atlas and one of 118 in present-day Bulgaria.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1400440, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Velbazhd, revision 1370592298, 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.