George Terter II ( bg, Георги Тертер II) reigned as

tsar of Bulgaria The monarchs of Bulgaria ruled the country during three periods of Bulgaria's history as an independent country: from the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681 to the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria in 1018; from the Uprising of Asen ...

between 1322 and 1323. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he was born not long before 1307.

History

George Terter II was the son of

Theodore Svetoslav Theodore Svetoslav ( bg, Тодор Светослав, ''Todor Svetoslav'' and also Теодор Светослав, ''Teodor Svetoslav'') ruled as emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 1300 to 1322. The date of his birth is unknown. He expanded the ter ...

and

Euphrosyne Euphrosyne (; grc, Εὐφροσύνη), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, was one of the Charites, known in ancient Rome as the ''Gratiae'' (Graces). She was sometimes called Euthymia (Εὐθυμία) or Eutychia (Εὐτυχία). Fa ...

, and was named after his paternal grandfather

George Terter I George Terter I ( bg, Георги Тертер I), of the Terter dynasty ruled as tsar of Bulgaria 1280–1292. He was born in Cherven. The date of his birth is unknown, and he died in 1308/1309. Early life The antecedents of George Terter I ar ...

. It is possible that he was associated as co-emperor by his father in 1321, but the sources are unclear. After his father's death in 1322, he became actively involved in the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

in the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, in which the throne was being contested between

Andronikos II Palaiologos , image = Andronikos II Palaiologos2.jpg , caption = Miniature from the manuscript of George Pachymeres' ''Historia'' , succession = Byzantine emperor , reign = 11 December 1282 –24 May 1328 , coronation = 8 Novembe ...

and his grandson

Andronikos III Palaiologos , image = Andronikos_III_Palaiologos.jpg , caption = 14th-century miniature. Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek. , succession = Byzantine emperor , reign = 24 May 1328 – 15 June 1341 , coronation = ...

. Taking advantage of the situation, George Terter II invaded Byzantine

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 ...

and, encountering little, if any, resistance, conquered the major city of Philippopolis (

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

) and part of the surrounding area in 1322. A Bulgarian garrison was installed under the command of a general named

Ivan the Russian Ivan the Russian ( bg, Иван Русина, ''Ivan Rusina''; hu, Orosz Iván) (floruit, fl. 1288/1323–1332) was a 14th-century Bulgarian military leader of Russians, Russian origin who served List of Bulgarian monarchs, Bulgarian tsars Micha ...

, and a court scribe praised George Terter II as a "possessor of the Bulgarian and the Greek sceptre". A new campaign later the same year brought the subjugation of several fortresses around

Adrianople Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...

, but the Bulgarians were now turned back and defeated by Andronikos III. The Byzantine emperor was preparing for an invasion of Bulgaria, when he heard the news that George Terter II had died, apparently of natural causes. George Terter II died as a young man and did not have any known offspring. He was succeeded by his distant cousin Michael Asen III, now commonly called Michael Shishman.

References

External links

Detailed List of Bulgarian Rulers
{{DEFAULTSORT:George 02 Of Bulgaria 1300s births 1323 deaths 14th-century Bulgarian emperors Eastern Orthodox monarchs Terter dynasty Bulgarian people of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars Sons of emperors