Ivan Asen II, also known as John Asen II ( bg, Иван Асен II, ; 1190s – May/June 1241), was Emperor (

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

) of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

from 1218 to 1241. He was still a child when his father

Ivan Asen I Ivan Asen I, also known as Asen I or John Asen I ( bg, Иван Асен I; died in 1196), was emperor or tsar of Bulgaria from 1187/1188 to 1196 as co-ruler with his elder brother, Peter II. Hailing from the Byzantine theme of Paristrion, his ...

one of the founders of the

Second Bulgarian Empire The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1396. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...

was killed in 1196. His supporters tried to secure the throne for him after his uncle,

Kaloyan Kaloyan or Kalojan, also known as Ioannitsa or Johannitsa ( bg, Калоян, Йоаница; 1170 – October 1207), was emperor or tsar of Second Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria from 1196 to 1207. He was the younger brother of Peter II of Bulgari ...

, was murdered in 1207, but Kaloyan's other nephew, Boril, overcame them. Ivan Asen fled from Bulgaria and settled in the Rus' principalities. Boril could never strengthen his rule which enabled Ivan Asen to muster an army and return to Bulgaria. He captured

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 blinded Boril in 1218. Initially, he supported the

full communion Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but ...

of the

Bulgarian Church The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgarsk ...

with the

Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

and concluded alliances with the neighboring Catholic powers,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

and the

Latin Empire of Constantinople The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzanti ...

. He tried to achieve the regency for the 11-year-old Latin Emperor, Baldwin II, after 1228, but the Latin aristocrats did not support Ivan Asen. He inflicted a crushing defeat on

Theodore Komnenos Doukas Theodore Komnenos Doukas ( el, Θεόδωρος Κομνηνὸς Δούκας, ''Theodōros Komnēnos Doukas'', latinisation of names, Latinized as Theodore Comnenus Ducas, died 1253) was ruler of Despotate of Epirus, Epirus and Thessaly#Late M ...

of the

Empire of Thessalonica The Empire of Thessalonica is a historiographic term used by some modern scholarse.g. ,, , . to refer to the short-lived Byzantine Greek state centred on the city of Thessalonica between 1224 and 1246 (''sensu stricto'' until 1242) and ruled by th ...

, in the

Battle of Klokotnitsa The Battle of Klokotnitsa ( bg, Битката при Клокотница, ''Bitkata pri Klokotnitsa'') occurred on 9 March 1230 near the village of Klokotnitsa (today in Haskovo Province, Bulgaria) between Second Bulgarian Empire and Empire ...

in 1230. Theodore's empire soon collapsed and Ivan Asen conquered large territories in Macedonia, Thessaly and Thrace. The control of the trade on the

Via Egnatia The Via Egnatia was a road constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It crossed Illyricum, Macedonia, and Thracia, running through territory that is now part of modern Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . of ...

enabled Ivan Asen to implement an ambitious building program in Tarnovo and struck gold coins in his new mint in

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...

. He started negotiations about the return of the Bulgarian Church to Orthodoxy after the barons of the Latin Empire had elected

John of Brienne John of Brienne ( 1170 – 19–23 March 1237), also known as John I, was King of Jerusalem from 1210 to 1225 and Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1229 to 1237. He was the youngest son of Erard II of Brienne, a wealthy nobleman in Champag ...

regent for Baldwin II in 1229. Ivan Asen and the

Emperor of Nicaea This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

John III Vatatzes John III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes ( el, Ιωάννης Δούκας Βατάτζης, ''Iōannēs Doukas Vatatzēs'', c. 1192 – 3 November 1254), was Emperor of Nicaea from 1221 to 1254. He was succeeded by his son, known ...

, concluded an alliance against the Latin Empire at their meeting in 1235. During the same conference, the rank of

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

was granted to the head of the Bulgarian Church in token of its

autocephaly Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern O ...

(independence). Ivan Asen and Vatatzes joined their forces in attacking Constantinople, but the former realized that Vatatzes could primarily take advantage of the fall of the Latin Empire and broke off his alliance with Nicaea in 1237. After the Mongols invaded the Pontic steppes, several Cuman groups fled to Bulgaria.

Early life

Ivan Asen's father,

, was one of the two leaders of the great uprising of the Bulgarians and Vlachs against 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 1185. The nomadic

Cumans 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 ...

, who dwelled in the

Pontic steppes Pontic, from the Greek ''pontos'' (, ), or "sea", may refer to: The Black Sea Places * The Pontic colonies, on its northern shores * Pontus (region), a region on its southern shores * The Pontic–Caspian steppe, steppelands stretching from nor ...

, supported the rebels, aiding them in the foundation of the

. The nation initially encompassed the

Balkan Mountains The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border betw ...

and the plains to the north of the mountains as far as the

Lower Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

. Ivan Asen I was styled "

basileus ''Basileus'' ( el, ) is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean "monarch", referring to either a "king" or an "emperor" and al ...

" (or emperor) of the Bulgarians from around 1187. His son and namesake was born between 1192 and 1196. The child's mother was called

Elena Elena may refer to: People * Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician * Francine Elena (born 1986), British poet Geography * Elena (town), a town in Veliko ...

, "the new and pious tsarina" (or empress), in the '' Synodikon of Tzar Boril''. A

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...

(or noble),

Ivanko Ivanko is a Slavic given name and a surname, a diminutive from the given name Ivan, a Slavic variant of the name "John". It may be a transliteration from Иванко or Иванько. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Ivank ...

, killed Ivan Asen I in 1196. The murdered emperor was succeeded by his younger brother,

. He entered into correspondence with

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...

and offered to acknowledge the popes' primacy in order to secure the support of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

. The Pope denied the request to elevate the head of the

to the rank of

, but he granted the inferior title of

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

to the Bulgarian prelate. The Pope did not acknowledge Kaloyan's claim to the title of emperor, but a

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

crowned Kaloyan king in

on 8 November 1204. Kaloyan took advantage of the disintegration of the Byzantine Empire after the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

and expanded his authority over significant territories. He was murdered while besieging

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

in October 1207. The teenager Ivan Asen had a strong claim to succeed his uncle, but Kaloyan's Cuman widow married Borilthe son of one of Kaloyan's sisterswho was proclaimed emperor. The exact circumstances of Boril's ascension to the throne are unknown. The 13th-century historian,

George Akropolites George Akropolites ( Latinized as Acropolites or Acropolita; el, , ''Georgios Akropolites''; 1217 or 1220 – 1282) was a Byzantine Greek historian and statesman born at Constantinople. Life In his sixteenth year he was sent by his father, the ...

, recorded that Ivan Asen soon fled from Bulgaria and settled in the "lands of the Russians" (in the

Principality of Halych The Principality of Halych ( uk, Галицьке князівство, translit=Halytske kniazivstvo; rus, Галицкое княжество; orv, Галицкоє кънѧжьство; ro, Cnezatul Galiția), or Principality of Halychian Ru ...

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

). According to a later source,

Ephrem the Monk Ephrem is a masculine given name, a variant spelling of Ephraim (also spelled ''Efrem'', ''Ephraem''). It is the name of biblical Ephraim, a son of Joseph and ancestor of the Tribe of Ephraim. People First name Pre-Modern * Saint Ephrem, one o ...

, Ivan Asen and his brother, Alexander, were taken to the Cumans by their tutor before they moved to the Rus' principalities.

Florin Curta Florin Curta (born January 15, 1965) is a Romanian-born American archaeologist and historian who is a Professor of Medieval History and Archaeology at the University of Florida. Biography Curta works in the field of the Balkan history and is ...

and John V. A. Fine write that a group of boyars had tried to secure the throne to Ivan Asen after Kaloyan's death, but they were overcome by Boril's supporters, and Ivan Asen had to leave Bulgaria. Historian Alexandru Madgearu proposes that primarily boyars who opposed the Cumans' growing influence had supported Ivan Asen. Boril's rule was always insecure. His own relatives,

Strez Strez ( Bulgarian and mk, Стрез; original spelling: Стрѣзъ) (fl. 1207–1214) was a medieval, semi-independent Bulgarian ''sebastokrator''. He was a member of the Asen dynasty and a cousin or a brother of Boril of Bulgaria. A major ...

and

Alexius Slav Alexius Slav ( bg, Алексий Слав, el, ; 1208–28) was a Second Bulgarian Empire, Bulgarian nobleman (''boyar, bolyarin''), a member of the Asen dynasty, and a nephew of the first three Asen brothers. He was first probably the govern ...

, denied to obey to him and he had to face frequent uprisings. Ivan Asen stayed in Rus' "a considerable time", according to Akropolites, before he gathered about him "a certain of the Russian rabble" and returned to Bulgaria. Madgearu says, Ivan Asen could hire soldiers most probably because Boril's opponents had sent money to him. Historian István Vásáry associates Ivan Asen's "Russian rabble" with the semi-nomadic

Brodnici The Brodnici (russian: Бродники, ukr, Бродники) were a tribe of disputed origin. Etymology In some opinions, the name, as used by foreign chronicles, means a person in charge of a ford (water crossing) in Slavic language (cf. Sla ...

. He defeated Boril and seized "not a little land" (that Madgearu tentatively associates with

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

). Curta and Fine write that Ivan Asen returned to Bulgaria after Boril's ally,

Andrew II of Hungary Andrew II ( hu, II. András, hr, Andrija II., sk, Ondrej II., uk, Андрій II; 117721 September 1235), also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1205 and 1235. He ruled the Principality of Halych from 1188 ...

, had departed for the

Fifth Crusade The Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by al-Adil, brother of Sala ...

in 1217. Boril withdrew to Tarnovo after his defeat, but Ivan Asen laid siege to the town. Akropolites claimed that the siege lasted for seven years. Most modern historians agree that Akropolites confused months for years, but Genoveva Cankova-Petkova accepts Akropolites' chronology. She says that the three Cuman chieftains whom Andrew II's military commander, Joachim,

Count of Hermannstadt The Count of Hermannstadt, also Count of Sibiu or Count of Szeben ( hu, szebeni ispán), was the head of the Transylvanian Saxons living in the wider region of Hermannstadt (now Sibiu in Romania) in the 13th and early 14th centuries. The counts were ...

, defeated near

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 ...

around 1210 had been hired by Ivan Asen, because he wanted to prevent Joachim from supporting Boril against the rebels who had seized the town. Vásáry states that her theory is "far-fetched", lacking any solid evidence. The townspeople of Tarnovo surrendered to Ivan Asen after the long siege. He captured and blinded Boril, and "gained control of all the territory of the Bulgarians", according to Acropolites.

Reign

Consolidation

The first decade of Ivan Asen's rule is poorly documented. Andrew II of Hungary reached Bulgaria during his return from the Fifth Crusade in late 1218. Ivan Asen did not allow the king to cross the country until Andrew promised to give his daughter,

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, in marriage to him. Maria's dowry included the region of Belgrade and Braničevo, the possession of which had been disputed by the Hungarian and Bulgarian rulers for decades. When

Robert of Courtenay Robert I, also Robert of Courtenay (died 1228), Latin Emperor of Constantinople, was a younger son of the emperor Peter II of Courtenay, and Yolanda of Flanders. When it became known in France that Peter of Courtenay was dead, his eldest son, Phil ...

, the newly elected

Latin Emperor The Latin Emperor was the ruler of the Latin Empire, the historiographical convention for the Crusader realm, established in Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade (1204) and lasting until the city was recovered by the Byzantine Greeks in 1261 ...

, was marching from France towards Constantinople in 1221, Ivan Asen accompanied him across Bulgaria. He also supplied the emperor's retinue with food and fodder. The relationship between Bulgaria and the Latin Empire remained peaceful during the reign of Robert. Ivan Asen also made peace with the ruler of Epirus,

, who was one of the principal enemies of the Latin Empire. Theodore's brother,

Manuel Doukas Manuel Komnenos Doukas, Latinized as Ducas ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός Δούκας, ''Manouēl Komnēnos Doukas''; c. 1187 – c. 1241), commonly simply Manuel Doukas (Μανουήλ Δούκας) and rarely also called Manuel Angelos ...

, married Ivan Asen's illegitimate daughter, Mary, in 1225. Theodore who regarded himself the lawful successor of the Byzantine emperors was crowned

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

around 1226. The Latin Emperor Robert was succeeded by his 11-year-old brother, Baldwin II, in January 1228. Ivan Asen proposed to marry off his daughter,

Helen Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...

, to the young emperor, because he wanted to lay claim to the regency. He also promised to unite his troops with the Latins to reconquer the territories that they had lost to Theodore Komnenos Doukas. Although the Latin lords did not want to accept his offer, they started negotiations about it, because they tried to avoid a military conflict with him. Simultaneously, they offered the regency to the former

king of Jerusalem The King of Jerusalem was the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a Crusader states, Crusader state founded in Jerusalem by the Latin Church, Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade, when the city was Siege of Jerusalem (1099), conqu ...

, who agreed to leave Italy for Constantinople, but they kept their agreement in secret for years. Only Venetian authors who compiled their chronicles decades after the events Marino Sanudo,

Andrea Dandolo Andrea Dandolo (13067 September 1354) was elected the 54th doge of Venice in 1343, replacing Bartolomeo Gradenigo who died in late 1342. Early life Trained in historiography and law, Andrea Dandolo studied at the University of Padua, where ...

and

Lorenzo de Monacis Lorenzo de Monacis was a diplomat serving the Republic of Venice. He was also an influential historian whose chronicles were relied upon by Flavio Biondo and Marcantonio Sabellico. Diplomatic career In 1386 Lorenzo de Monacis accompanied Vene ...

recorded Ivan Asen's offer to the Latins, but the reliability of their report is widely accepted by modern historians. Relationship between Bulgaria and Hungary deteriorated in the late 1220s. Shortly after the Mongols inflicted a serious defeat on the united armies of the Rus' princes and Cuman chieftains in the

Battle of the Kalka River The Battle of the Kalka River (russian: Битва на реке Калке; uk, Битва на річці Калка) was fought between the Mongol Empire, whose armies were led by Jebe and Subutai, and a coalition of several Rus' principalit ...

in 1223, a leader of a western Cuman tribe, Boricius, converted to Catholicism in the presence of Andrew II's heir and co-ruler,

Béla IV Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá, derived from ''bílá'' (''whit ...

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

stated in a letter that those who had attacked the converted Cumans were also the enemies of the Roman Catholic Church, possibly in reference to a previous attack by Ivan Asen, according to Madgearu. Hungarian troops may have tried to capture Vidin already in 1228, but the dating of the siege is uncertain, and it may have occurred only in 1232.

Expansion

Theodore Komnenos Doukas unexpectedly invaded Bulgaria along the river

Maritsa Maritsa or Maritza ( bg, Марица ), also known as Meriç ( tr, Meriç ) and Evros ( ell, Έβρος ), is a river that runs through the Balkans in Southeast Europe. With a length of ,clashed at Klokotnitsa in March or April. Ivan Asen personally commanded the reserve troops, including 1,000 Cuman mounted archers. He held a copy of his peace treaty with Theodore high in the air while marching into battle as a reference to his opponents' betrayal. Their sudden attack against the Epirotes secured his victory. The Bulgarians captured Theodore and his principal officials and seized much booty, but Ivan Asen released the common soldiers. After Theodore tried to hatch a plot against Ivan Asen, he had the captured emperor blinded. A Spanish rabbi, Jacob Arophe, was informed that Ivan Asen first ordered two

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

to blind Theodore, because he knew that the emperor had persecuted the Jews in his empire, but they refused, for which they were thrown from a cliff. Bulgaria became the dominant power of

Southeastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (al ...

after the Battle of Klokotnitsa. His troops swept into Theodore's lands and conquered dozens of Epirote towns. They captured

Prilep Prilep ( mk, Прилеп ) is the fourth-largest city in North Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 and is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko. Name The name of Prilep appear ...

and

Serres Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki. Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northe ...

in Macedonia,

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, ...

, Demotika and

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 ...

in Thrace and also occupied

Great Vlachia Great Vlachia or Great Wallachia ( rup, Vlãhia Mari; el, Μεγάλη Βλαχία, Megálē Vlachía), also simply known as Vlachia ( rup, Vlãhia, link=no; el, link=no, Βλαχία, Vlachía), was a province and region in southeastern Thessa ...

in Thessaly. Alexius Slav's realm in the

Rhodope Mountains The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...

was also annexed. Ivan Asen placed Bulgarian garrisons in the important fortresses and appointed his own men to command them and to collect the taxes, but local officials continued to administer other places in the conquered territories. He replaced the Greek bishops with Bulgarian prelates in Macedonia. He made generous grants to the monasteries on

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

during his visit there in 1230, but he could not persuade the monks to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the primate of the Bulgarian Church. His son-in-law,

, took control of the Empire of Thessaloniki. The Bulgarian troops also made a plundering raid against Serbia, because

Stefan Radoslav Stefan Radoslav ( sr-cyr, Стефан Радослав; 1192 – after 1235), also known as Stephanos Doukas ( gr, Στέφανος Δούκας), was the King of Serbia, from 1228 to 1233. Family Stefan was the eldest son of Stefan Nemanji� ...

King of Serbia This is an archontological list of Serbian monarchs, containing monarchs of the medieval principalities, to heads of state of modern Serbia. The Serbian monarchy dates back to the Early Middle Ages. The Serbian royal titles used include Knya ...

, had supported his father-in-law, Theodore, against Bulgaria. Ivan Asen's conquests secured the Bulgarian control of the

(the important trade route between Thessaloniki and Durazzo). He established a mint in Ohrid which began to strike gold coins. His growing revenues enabled him to accomplish an ambitious building program in Tarnovo. The Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs, with its facade decorated with

ceramic tile A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, ...

s and murals, commemorated his victory at Klokotnitsa. The imperial palace on the Tsaravets Hill was enlarged. A memorial inscription on one of the columns of the Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs recorded Ivan Asen's conquests. It referred to him as the "tsar of the Bulgarians, Greeks and other countries", implying that he was planning to revive the Byzantine Empire under his rule. He also styled himself emperor in his letter of grant to the

Vatopedi Monastery The Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi ( el, Βατοπέδι, ) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos, Greece. The monastery was expanded several times during its history, particularly during the Byzantine period and in the 18th an ...

and in his diploma about the privileges of the

Ragusan Ragusan may refer to: * citizen of the Republic of Ragusa hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world" , population_estimate ...

merchants. Imitating the Byzantine emperors, he sealed his charters with gold bulls. One of his seals portrayed him wearing imperial insignia, also revealing his imperial ambitions.

Conflicts with Catholic powers

News about John of Brienne's election to the regency in the Latin Empire outraged Ivan Asen. He sent envoys to the

Ecumenical Patriarch The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

Germanus II to

Nicaea Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...

to start negotiations about the position of the Bulgarian Church. Pope Gregory IX urged Andrew II of Hungary to launch a crusade against the enemies of the Latin Empire on 9 May 1231, most probably in reference to Ivan Asen's hostile actions, according to Madgearu. Béla IV of Hungary invaded Bulgaria and captured Belgrade and Braničevo in late 1231 or in 1232, but the Bulgarians reconquered the lost territories already in the early 1230s. The Hungarians seized the Bulgarian fortress at Severin (now

Drobeta-Turnu Severin Drobeta-Turnu Severin (), colloquially Severin, is a city in Mehedinți County, Oltenia, Romania, on the northern bank of the Danube, close to the Iron Gates. "Drobeta" is the name of the ancient Dacian and Roman towns at the site, and the modern ...

in Romania) to the north of the Lower Danube and established a border province, known as the

Banate of Szörény The Banate of Severin or Banate of Szörény ( hu, Szörényi bánság; ro, Banatul Severinului; la, Banatus Zewrinensis; bg, Северинско банство, ; sr, Северинска бановина, ) was a Hungarian political, mili ...

, to prevent the Bulgarians from expanding to the north. The Serbian nobles who promoted an alliance with Bulgaria revolted against Stefan Radoslav and forced him into exile in 1233. His brother and successor,

Stefan Vladislav I Stefan Vladislav ( sr-cyr, Стефан Владислав, ; – after 1264) was the King of Serbia from 1234 to 1243. He was the middle son of Stefan the First-Crowned of the Nemanjić dynasty, who ruled Serbia from 1196 to 1228. Radosla ...

, married Ivan Asen's daughter, Beloslava. Ivan Asen dismissed the

Uniate The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...

primate of the Bulgarian Church,

Basil I Basil I, called the Macedonian ( el, Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών, ''Basíleios ō Makedṓn'', 811 – 29 August 886), was a Byzantine Emperor who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a lowly peasant in the theme of Macedonia, he rose in the ...

and continued the negotiations about the return of the Bulgarian Church to Orthodoxy. The Orthodox archbishop of Ankyra, Christophoros, who visited Bulgaria in early 1233, urged Ivan Asen to send a bishop to Nicaea to be ordained by the Ecumenical Patriarch. An agreement about the marriage of

Theodore II Laskaris Theodore II Doukas Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris ( gr, Θεόδωρος Δούκας Λάσκαρις, Theodōros Doukas Laskaris; 1221/1222 – 16 August 1258) was Emperor of Nicaea from 1254 to 1258. He was the only child of Emperor John II ...

the heir to the

and Ivan Asen's daughter, Helen, was concluded in 1234.

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...

, the highly respected

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...

, died in Tarnovo on 14 January 1235. According to Madgearu, Sava had most probably been deeply involved in the negotiations between the Bulgarian Church and the Ecumenical Patriarch. Ivan Asen met with Vatatzes in

Lampsacus Lampsacus (; grc, Λάμψακος, translit=Lampsakos) was an ancient Greek city strategically located on the eastern side of the Hellespont in the northern Troad. An inhabitant of Lampsacus was called a Lampsacene. The name has been transmitt ...

in early 1235 to reach a compromise and conclude a formal alliance. Patriarch Germanus II and the new head of the Bulgarian Church, Joachim I, were also present at the meeting. After Joachim abandoned his claim to jurisdiction over Mount Athos and the

archbishops of Thessaloniki The Metropolis of Thessaloniki ( el, Ιερά Μητρόπολις Θεσσαλονίκης) is a Greek Orthodox metropolitan see based in the city of Thessaloniki in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is part of the so-called "New Lands", belonging to ...

, Germanus recognized him as patriarch, thus acknowledging the

of the Bulgarian Church. The marriage of Helen and Theodor Lascaris was also celebrated in Lampsacus. Ivan Asen and Vatatzes made an alliance against the Latin Empire. The Bulgarian troops conquered the territories to the west of the Maritsa, while the Nicean army seized the lands to the east of the river. They laid siege to Constantinople, but John of Brienne and the Venetian fleet forced them to lift the siege before the end of 1235. Early next year, they again attacked Constantinople, but the second siege ended in a new failure.

Last years

Ivan Asen realized that Vatatzes could primarily take advantage of the fall of the Latin Empire. He persuaded Vatatzes to return his daughter, Helen, to him, stating that he and his wife "wished to see" her and "give her a paternal embrace". He severed his alliance with Nicea and entered into a new correspondence with Pope Gregory IX, offering to acknowledge his primacy in early 1237. The Pope urged him to make peace with the Latin Empire. A new Mongol invasion of Europe forced thousands of Cumans to flee from the steppes in the summer of 1237. Ivan Asen who could not prevent them from crossing the Danube into Bulgaria allowed them to invade Macedonia and Thrace. The Cumans captured and pillaged the smallest fortresses and plundered the countryside. The Latins hired Cuman troops and allied with Ivan Asen who laid siege the Nicean fortress at Tzurullon. He was still besieging the fortress when news of the simultaneous deaths of his wife, son, and Patriarch Joachim I reached him. Taking these events as signs of the wrath of God for breaking his alliance with Vatatzes, Ivan Asen abandoned the siege and sent his daughter Helena back to her husband in Nicaea at the end of 1237. The widowed Ivan Asen fell in love with

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United Stat ...

who had been captured along with her father Theodore Komnenos Doukas in 1230. According to Akropolites, Ivan Asen loved his new wife "exceedingly, no less than Antony did

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

". The marriage resulted in the release of Theodore, who returned to Thessalonica, chased out his brother Manuel, and imposed his own son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

as despot. Pope Gregory IX accused Ivan Asen of protecting heretics and urged Béla IV of Hungary to launch a crusade against Bulgaria in early 1238. The Pope offered Bulgaria to Béla, but the Hungarian king did not want to wage war against Ivan Asen. Ivan Asen granted a free passage to the Latin emperor, Baldwin II, and the crusaders who accompanied him during their march from France to Constantinople in 1239, although he had not abandoned his alliance with Vatatzes. New crusader troops crossed Bulgaria with Ivan Asen's consent in early 1240. Ivan Asen sent envoys to Hungary before May 1240, most probably because he wanted to forge a defensive alliance against the Mongols. The Mongols' authority expanded as far as the Lower Danube after they captured Kiev on 6 December 1240. The Mongol expansion forced dozens of dispossessed Rus' princes and boyars to flee to Bulgaria. The Cumans who had settled in Hungary also fled to Bulgaria after their chieftain,

Köten Köten (russian: Котян, hu, Kötöny, ar, Kutan, later Jonas; 1205–1241) was a Cumania, Cuman–Kipchak chieftain (''khan'') and military commander active in the mid-13th century. He forged an important alliance with the Kievan Rus' aga ...

, was murdered in March 1241. According to a biography of the Mamluk sultan,

Baibars Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari ( ar, الملك الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس البندقداري, ''al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Dīn Baybars al-Bunduqdārī'') (1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), of Turkic Kipchak ...

, who was descended from a Cuman tribe, this tribe also sought asylum in Bulgaria after the Mongol invasion. The same source adds, that "''A.n.s.khan'', the king of Vlachia", who is associated with Ivan Asen by modern scholars, allowed the Cumans to settle in a valley, but he soon attacked and killed or enslaved them. Madgearu writes that Ivan Asen most probably attacked the Cumans because he wanted to prevent them from pillaging Bulgaria. The date of Ivan Asen's death is unknown. Vásáry says, the ''tsar'' died on 24 June 1241. However, the contemporaneous

Alberic of Trois-Fontaines Alberic of Trois-Fontaines (french: Aubri or ''Aubry de Trois-Fontaines''; la, Albericus Trium Fontium) (died 1252) was a medieval Cistercian chronicler who wrote in Latin. He was a monk of Trois-Fontaines Abbey in the diocese of Châlons-sur-M ...

recorded that Ivan Asen's successor, Kaliman I Asen, signed a truce on the feast of Saint

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

(24 June), evidencing that Ivan Asen had already died. Madgearu writes, that Ivan Asen most probably died in May or June 1241.

Family

Ivan Asen married two or three times. According to a scholarly theory, his first wife was one

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

whom he forced to enter a monastery after he engaged Maria of Hungary and Anna died as the nun Anisia. Historian Plamen Pavlov states that Anna–Anisia was actually Kaloyan's widow. Anna–Anisia may have been a concubine instead of a legitimate spouse, and she may have been the mother of his two eldest daughters: #

(?), who married Manuel of Thessalonica. # Beloslava (?), who married

Stefan Vladislav I of Serbia Stefan Vladislav ( sr-cyr, Стефан Владислав, ; – after 1264) was the King of Serbia from 1234 to 1243. He was the middle son of Stefan the First-Crowned of the Nemanjić dynasty, who ruled Serbia from 1196 to 1228. Radosl ...

. Ivan Asen married Maria of Hungary in 1221. The ''Synodikon of Tsar Boril'' and other Bulgarian primary sources referred to her as Anna, suggesting that her name was changed either after she came to Bulgaria, or after she converted to Orthodoxy in 1235. She gave birth to four children. *

, who was married to Theodore II Lascaris in 1235, was one of her daughters. Maria-Anna's other daughter, * Tamara, was promised to the future Byzantine emperor, Michael Palaiologos in 1254. Ivan Asen and Maria-Anna's elder son, * Kaliman Asen, was born in 1234, thus he was still a minor when he succeeded his father. Maria-Anna and his other son * Peter (?) died while Ivan Asen II was besieging Tzurullon in the summer of 1237. Marrying

Irene Komnene Doukaina Irene Komnene Doukaina or Eirene Komnene Doukaina ( el, Ειρήνη Κομνηνή Δούκαινα, bg, Ирина Комнина Дукина) was an Empress of Bulgaria during the Second Bulgarian Empire and Byzantine princess. She was the ...

, Ivan Asen II would have broken church canons, as his daughter from a previous marriage was married to Eirene's uncle Manuel of Thessalonica. There is moot evidence that the Bulgarian church opposed the marriage and that a patriarch (called either Spiridon or Vissarion) was deposed or executed by the irate tsar. Akropolites recorded two lists about Ivan Asen's children by his third (or second) wife, Irene Komnene Doukaina. Irene gave birth to * " Michael Asen,

Theodora Theodora is a given name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift". Theodora may also refer to: Historical figures known as Theodora Byzantine empresses * Theodora (wife of Justinian I) ( 500 – 548), saint by the Orthodox Church * Theodora o ...

and

", according to the first list, but the second list mentioned "a son, Michael, and ... daughters, Maria and Anna". The discrepancy between the two lists can most plausibly resolved through the association of Theodora with Anna, as it was proposed by historian Ivan Božilov. Michael succeeded his half-brother, Kaliman, in 1246. * One of the two daughters are supposed to have been given in marriage to ''

sebastokrator ''Sebastokrator'' ( grc-byz, Σεβαστοκράτωρ, Sevastokrátor, August Ruler, ; bg, севастократор, sevastokrator; sh, sebastokrator), was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers wh ...

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

who was mentioned as Michael II Asen's brother-in-law in 1253. Peter's wife has traditionally been associated with

Anna-Teodora Anna-Teodora ( bg, Анна-Теодора; 13th century) was a Bulgarian princess, the daughter of emperor Ivan Asen II (r. 1218–41) and Irene Komnene. She sprung from her father's third marriage, and was born between 1238 and 1241. Through her ...

, but she may have actually been identical with Maria, according to historian Ian Mladjov. Modern historians assume that

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 ...

, Ivan Alexander and their successors were descended from Peter and his wife. * Ivan Asen's second daughter by Irene was most probably the wife of the boyar Mitso. Mitso laid claim to Bulgaria after Michael II Asen died in 1256 or 1257. Historians who associates ''sebastokrator'' Peter's wife with Anna-Teodora say that Mitso married

, but Mladjov emphasizes that this identification is uncertain, and Mitso may have married Anna-Teodora. The Byzantine branch of the Asen family was descended from Mitso and his wife.

Legacy

Akropolites characterized Ivan Asen as "a man who proved to be excellent among barbarians not only with regard to his own people but also even with respect to foreigners". Historian Jean W. Sedlar described him as the "last really powerful ruler of Bulgaria". Being a successful military commander and a skillful diplomat, he conquered almost all lands that had been included in the

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Europ ...

during the reign of Simeon I. He also achieved that Hungary did not pose a major threat to Bulgaria. The boyars' fear of punishment and their hunger for booty secured their allegiance to Ivan Asen. However, these personal ties could not permanently secure the dominance of royal authority. The local boyars remained the actual rulers of the provinces, because they controlled the collection of the taxes and the raising of troops. Ivan Asen's reign "ended at a moment of complete disaster", during the Mongol invasion of Europe. The Mongols invaded Bulgaria in 1242 and forced Bulgarians to pay a yearly tribute to them. The minority of Ivan Asen's successor gave rise to the formation of boyar factions and the neighboring powers quickly conquered the peripheral territories. Ivan Asen II's seal is depicted on the

reverse Reverse or reversing may refer to: Arts and media * ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001 * ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film * ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film * ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005 * ''Reverse'' ...

of the Bulgarian 2

lev Lev may refer to: Common uses *Bulgarian lev, the currency of Bulgaria *an abbreviation for Leviticus, the third book of the Hebrew Bible and the Torah People and fictional characters *Lev (given name) *Lev (surname) Places *Lev, Azerbaijan, a ...

banknote, issued in 1999 and 2005.Bulgarian National Bank
Notes and Coins in Circulation
2 levs
(1999 issue)
2 levs
(2005 issue). – Retrieved on 26 March 2009.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Borders of Bulgaria during the reign of Ioan Asen II

Detailed List of Bulgarian Rulers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivan Asen 02 Of Bulgaria 12th-century births 1241 deaths 13th-century Bulgarian emperors Rulers in medieval Macedonia Medieval Thrace Eastern Orthodox monarchs Asen dynasty Bulgarian people of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars Sons of emperors