Belaur ( bg, Белаур) (died 1336) was a

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

noble and '' despot'' of

Vidin Vidin ( bg, Видин, ; Old Romanian: Diiu) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as o ...

and brother of the Bulgarian Emperor

Michael Shishman Michael Asen III ( bg, Михаил Асен III, ''Mihail Asen III'', commonly called Michael Shishman (Михаил Шишман, ''Mihail Šišman'')), ruled as tsar of Bulgaria from 1323 to 1330. The exact year of his birth is unknown but it w ...

(1323–1330). The son of

Shishman of Vidin Shishman ( bg, Шишман; 1270s/1280s — before 1308/1313) was a Bulgarian nobleman (boyar) who ruled a semi-independent realm based out of the Danubian fortress of Vidin in the late 13th and early 14th century. Shishman, who was bes ...

, he was among the most elaborate

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

diplomats of his time. Plamen Pavlov interprets Belaur's name as stemming from the Hungarian personal name ''Béla'' and the title ''ur'' ("prince"). It may also come from

Balaur A balaur ( pl. ''balauri'') in Romanian folklore is a type of many-headed dragon or monstrous serpent, sometimes said to be equipped with wings. The number of heads is usually around three, but they can also have seven heads or even twelve hea ...

, a mythical dragon in Vlach/ Romanian culture, the dragon was supposedly also revered in

Cuman The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...

culture, cf. Kipchak "uran, ewren". Vlach-Cuman cultural interactions are known through the Cuman origin of the

Basarab The House of Basarab (also Bazarab or Bazaraad, ro, Basarab ) was a ruling family of debated Cuman origin, Terterids and Shishmanids) and the Wallachian dynasty (Basarabids). They also played an active role in Byzantium, Hungary and Serbia, wi ...

dynasty and the Vlach identification of the Asenid dynasty, named after the founder of the dynasty, Bilgun Asen, who carries a Cuman name and title. He participated in the campaign of Michael Shishman against the

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

in the unfortunate

battle of Velbazhd The Battle of Velbazhd ( bg, битка при Велбъжд, ''bitka pri Velbazhd''; sr, Битка код Велбужда, ''Bitka kod Velbužda'') is a battle which took place between Bulgarian and Serbian armies on 28 July 1330, near the t ...

. He was in command of the reserve together with the ''despot'' of

Lovech Lovech ( bg, Ловеч, Lovech, ) is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, city in north-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The city is located about northeast f ...

Ivan Alexander and did not participate in the battle. However his troops were enough to prevent a Serbian invasion and he led the Bulgarian delegation which negotiated with the Serbian King Stefan Decanski. Belaur actively supported his nephew Ivan Stefan, son of Michael Shishman from his first wife Anna Neda to succeed the Bulgarian crown and was the prime adviser of the new Emperor. He refused to acknowledge the dethronement of Ivan Stefan in 1331 and confronted with his other nephew Ivan Alexander who was son of his sister

Keratsa Petritsa Keratsa Petritsa ( bg, Кераца Петрица; ) was a Bulgarian noblewoman ('' bolyarka''), sister of tsar Michael Shishman of Bulgaria. Her eldest son Ivan Alexander rose to the Bulgarian throne after vicissitudes of politics. Keratsa de ...

. In 1332 he detached the Vidin Province from the central government in

Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

and caused serious troubles for Ivan Alexander who had to fight against the Byzantines in

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...

. After he defeated the Byzantines at Rusokastro in 1332 Ivan Alexander concentrated on his uncle. The war between the two waged for 5 years. In 1336 the Emperor sent 10,000 soldiers who defeated Belaur in a battle near the river Vit and finally restored his authority over Vidin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belaur Medieval Bulgarian nobility 13th-century births 1336 deaths 13th-century Bulgarian people 14th-century Bulgarian people Medieval Bulgarian military personnel Bulgarian princes Shishman dynasty Despots of the Second Bulgarian Empire Tsardom of Vidin People from Vidin