Adrianople > Edirne Edirne Turkey

The long-lasting peace with the Empire established by Simeon's father is about to end.

A conflict arises when Emperor Leo VI the Wise, allegedly acting under pressure from his mistress Zoe Zaoutzaina and her father Stylianos Zaoutzes, moves the marketplace for Bulgarian goods from Constantinople to Thessaloniki, where the Bulgarian merchants are heavily taxed.

The Bulgarians seek the protection of Simeon, who in turn complains to Leo.

However, the emperor ignores his embassy.

Forced to take action, Simeon invades the Empire from the north in the autumn of 894, meeting with little opposition due to the concentration of most imperial forces in eastern Anatolia to counter Arab invasions.

Informed of the Bulgarian offensive, the surprised Leo sends an army consisting of guardsmen and other military units from the capital to halt Simeon, but his troops are routed somewhere in the theme of Macedonia.

The Bulgarians take most of the Khazar mercenary guardsmen prisoners and kill many archons, including the army's commander.

However, instead of continuing his advance to the capital, Simeon quickly withdraws his troops to face a Magyar invasion from the north.

Bulgarian historians will later call these events "the first trade war in medieval Europe.”

A struggle for power had commenced between King Solomon and his cousins (sons of the late Béla I) during the 1070s.

The King's forces had been decisively defeated by his cousins and their allies, the Dukes of Poland and Bohemia at the Battle of Mogyoród on March 14, 1074.

Solomon’s wife, Judith of Swabia, had fled to Germany while Solomon continues his fight for the Hungarian throne; in 1077, he had accepted the rule of his cousin King László I, who gave him in exchange extensive landholdings after his formal abdication in 1081.

Despite this, Solomon had never given up his pretensions and began to plot against King László I; however, his plans had been discovered and he was imprisoned by the King in the Tower of Visegrád until August 15, 1083, when on the occasion of the canonization of István I, the first King of Hungary, Solomon had been released.

Judith had meanwhile remained in Germany and settled in her residence in Regensburg (with short breaks) from May or July 1074.

After his release, Solomon had gone to Germany and tried to reunite with his wife, but she had refused to receive him.

After a long wandering, Solomon had made an alliance with Kuteshk, the leader of a Pecheneg tribe settled in the later principality of Moldavia.

Between 1084-1085, he married Kuteshk’s daughter, committing bigamy with this act.

Solomon has promised to hand over parts of the kingdom of Hungary in exchange for his new father-in-law's military assistance.

Solomon had led the Pecheneg troops against Hungary in 1085, but King László I had defeated them.

Two years later, Solomon takes part in the Pechenegs' campaign against Constantinople and is killed in a battle near Hadrianopolis in 1087.

Serbia’s proposed alliance with the German Crusaders is not concluded, because Frederick concludes the Treaty of Adrianople with Isaac in February 1190.

Matters are complicated by a secret alliance between the Emperor of Constantinople and Saladin, warning of which is supplied by a note from Sibylla, ex-Queen of Jerusalem, but Isaac is soon forced to assist Frederick, whose avowed intention, at least at one time, was to conquer Constantinople.

Murad I (r. 1360-89) annexes most of Thrace (called Rumelia, or "Roman land," by the Turks), encircling Constantinople, and moves the seat of Ottoman government to Adrianople (Edirne) in Europe.

The Ottoman ghazis defeat the Serbs in 1389 at the Battle of Kosovo, although at the cost of Murad's life.

The seeds of some of the basic Ottoman imperial institutions are sown under Murad.

The administrative military offices of kaziasker (military judge), beylerbeyi (commander in chief), and grand vizier (chief minister) crystallize and are granted to persons outside the family of Osman, founder of the dynasty.

The origins of the Janissary (Yeniçeri; “New Force”) corps and the devshirme (child-levy) system through which the Janissaries are recruited are also traceable to Murad's reign.

The Kapikulu Corps, founded by Grand Vizier Chandarli Kara Halil and Kara Rüstem of Karaman during Murad's reign, are the Ottoman version of the Seljuq Ghulam Guards, founded by the Abbasids and in use since the eighth century.

“Kapi”, originally used as Kapu, means “The Gate” in Turkish but represents the Palace, while “Kapikulu” means “Palace Guard”.