Nomads against Knights Cumans and Latins in the Military Campaigns in the Balkans (1205–1225)

Absztrakt

The paper considers the clash between Cuman and Western Latin troops in the Balkans in the first two decades of the 13th century by focusing on the following questions. What was the role of the Cumans in the Bulgarian–Latin conflict of 1205–13? What was the real extent of nomadic involvement in the different stages of the war? Can we analyse this military conflict as a clash between the nomadic and Western, knightly warfare? Next, the study focuses on the Teutonic–Cuman conflict of 1211–25 in the Burzenland region of Eastern Transylvania. The paper analyses this war, drawing parallels with the Cuman–Latin clashes in the Bulgarian– Latin wars of 1205–13. In conclusion, the author presents a balanced assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of Cumans and Latins in the Balkans in the first decades of the 13th century.