7 – Battle of Beroia (1122)
If the Battle of Levounion was a disaster for the Pechenegs, at least it didn’t signal the end of them as independent people. Alas, that was their fate when they faced the army of Emperor John II Komnenos in 1122 at the Battle of Beroia. In 1094, three years after Levounion, the remaining Pechenegs were defeated in battle by the Cumans.
However, there were still a number of Pechenegs living in Russia until they were expelled in 1121. The following year, the Pechenegs from the Russian steppes crossed into the Byzantine territory and launched an invasion. It posed a major threat to the empire’s rule over the northern Balkans and John wanted to drive the enemy back and eliminate them once and for all.
Once the emperor heard that the Pechenegs had invaded his territory; he wasted no time in assembling an army near Constantinople. At that point, his enemy was camped close to the city of Beroia in Thrace. Initially, at least, John had peace on his mind as he gave the Pecheneg chiefs gifts and promised them a favorable treaty. It was, of course, a trick and the Pechenegs fell into the trap.
The Byzantines attacked their enemy’s defensive wagon fort but were met by thousands of Pecheneg arrows. After John was wounded in the leg, the Byzantines forced their enemy to retreat into their wagon forts but were unable to make a decisive breakthrough. However, John personally led the Varangian Guard who hacked through the Pecheneg defenses until they were breached.
The Pechenegs were routed although survivors were given the option of joining the Byzantine army. After the Battle of Beroia, the Pechenegs were no longer an independent people. While some small communities lived in Hungary, they were eventually assimilated into Hungarian and Bulgarian culture. The victory also enabled John to focus on expansion and defense in the Holy Land and Asia Minor.