The battle of Serres (Bulgarian: Битка при Сяр) took place in June 1205 in the town of Serres in Greece, where the Bulgarian Empire seized control of the city from the Latin Empire.
In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, the Latin Empire struggled to assert control over the former Byzantine territories, facing resistance from the Greek population and the expansionist Bulgarian Tsar Kaloyan. In 1205, after capturing Emperor Baldwin I at Adrianople, Kaloyan turned his forces westward, defeating the Crusaders at Serres and punishing its defenders. The destruction of Serres and later Philippopolis, led the Greek towns to switch their allegiance to the Latin Empire, weakening the Bulgarian influence in the region.
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