Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology and the Institute for Historical Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences organize an international conference "Balkan Gambit: Southeastern Europe between East and West (1185–1285)". It is dedicated to the 820th anniversary of the Battle of Edirne (April 14, 1205) between the armies of the Bulgarian Tsar Kaloyan and the Latin Emperor Baldwin I of Flanders. The scholarly forum will be held on April 14 and 15, 2025 at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and online via Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81843259329)
The aim of the international conference is to present new perspectives and contributions to the study of the dynamic events and processes that marked the Balkan Peninsula in the turbulent century from the third Norman invasion of the Byzantine lands and the restoration of the Bulgarian state to the end of confrontation between the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos and the Sicilian King Charles I of Anjou. The conference will focus on the meeting, clash and mutual influences between East and West in the European Southeast and their impact on Balkan societies in this period.