Atlas of Battles

battle, major, medieval

Battle of Achelous

Battle of Achelous was a battle fought on 20 August AD 917 at Pomorie, in what is now Bulgaria. It was part of the Byzantine–Bulgarian War of 913–927, which ran from AD 913 to AD 927. The recorded result: Bulgarian victory. Recorded strength: 15,000 against 30,000.

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Battle of Achelous
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought20 August AD 917
WherePomorie, Bulgaria42.643N, 27.637E
OutcomeBulgarian victory
BelligerentsBulgarian Empire; HungariansagainstByzantine Empire
Casualties and lossesUnknownandUnknown (heavy)
Part ofByzantine–Bulgarian War of 913–927AD 913 to AD 927

Where it sits in the Byzantine–Bulgarian War of 913–927

Battle of Katasyrtai, AD 917Battle of Achelous, AD 917Battle of Pegae, AD 921Battle of Constantinople, AD 922AD 917AD 922Battle of Achelous, AD 917
4 placed engagements of the Byzantine–Bulgarian War of 913–927 in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date20 August AD 917
PlacePomorie, Bulgaria
42.643N, 27.637E
KindBattle, medieval
Strength15,00030,000
Casualties and lossesUnknownUnknown (heavy)
Commanders
  • Simeon I of Bulgaria
  • Leo Phokas the Elder
Battle of AchelousBattle of AchelousBattle of AnchialusBattle of AnchialusAction of 6 December 1941Battle of SkafidaSiege of DebeltosAction of 6 December 1941Battle of SkafidaSiege of DebeltosVarnaRuseEdirneDobrichKhaskovoTurnovoSlivenShumen100 km42.643N, 27.637E
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 Achelous
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 Achelous today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-06-25. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 8 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -1 to 281 m, 282 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 54% cropland, 21% water, 15% grassland.

cropland: 54%water: 21%grassland: 15%built-up: 5%tree cover: 3%wetland: 2%cropland 54%water 21%grassland 15%built-up 5%tree cover 3%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 80 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 87 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 AD 917

Battle of Achelous is one of 186 engagements of the 10th century in the atlas and one of 126 in present-day Bulgaria.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q658731, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Achelous (917), revision 1370430905, 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.