Frontier town · Contested ground · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Belgrade

Belgrade (Greek Belegrada; Hungarian Nándorfehérvár) stands on the ridge above the meeting of the Sava and the Danube, facing the Hungarian castle of Zimony (Zemun) across the Sava (hpl).

Manuel I rebuilt it in 1154 with stones taken from Zimony (Belgrade timeline). The Hungarians sacked it in 1182; it was not part of the dowry of 1185 and was Byzantine again when Barbarossa's crusade crossed the Sava there in 1189, finding it in ruins. Its bishop sat under the archbishop of Ohrid. Who holds it on 1 January 1200 is not recorded: Madgearu's list of Kaloyan's conquests of 1199 does not include it, but when Emeric of Hungary took it in 1202 Kaloyan counted the districts he lost as his own and retook Belgrade in 1203 (Fine, as cited in the Emeric article).

Drawn contested.

Who holds it

Name
not pinned (an imperial commander, or Kaloyan's men)
Title
Lord
Since
not pinned
Born
not pinned
Family
not pinned
Confidence
low

Timeline of Belgrade; History of Belgrade; Emeric of Hungary; Second Bulgarian Empire (English Wikipedia); hpl research.

Lord in 1200

Not pinned: Byzantine in 1189, Hungarian from 1202, Bulgarian from 1203; between 1189 and 1202 no holder is recorded.

How things stand that morning

Not pinned; a ruined frontier post claimed by the emperor and within Kaloyan's reach since Braničevo fell.

Communities

Not recorded for 1200.

Fairs and markets

Not recorded for 1200.

Militia

Not recorded.

Walls and castle

The upper town on the ridge, rebuilt by Manuel I and in ruins in 1189.

Trade and crafts

Danube and Sava crossing; nothing recorded for 1200.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. 1202 (later)Seized by the Hungarians; retaken by Kaloyan in 1203.Depends on: Emeric's war. Stopped by: A strong garrison.

Where the sources disagree

  • The Belgrade timeline says Byzantium lost the town to Bulgaria soon after 1185, but it was Byzantine in 1189 (Barbarossa); the timeline is uncited.

Evidence: No source names a holder between 1189 and 1202.

Sources and studies

  1. Timeline of Belgrade (English Wikipedia; uncited for this period)
  2. Emeric, King of Hungary (English Wikipedia), citing Fine 1994 p. 55 and Curta 2006 p. 383
  3. Second Bulgarian Empire (English Wikipedia)
  4. History of Belgrade (English Wikipedia)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.