Michail Asen ( bg, Михаил Асен) (c. 1322–1355) was the eldest son of

Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria Ivan Alexander ( bg, Иван Александър, transliterated ''Ivan Aleksandǎr'', ; original spelling: ІѠАНЪ АЛЄѮАНдРЪ), also sometimes Anglicized as John Alexander, ruled as Emperor (''Tsar'') of Bulgaria from 1331 to 1371, ...

from his marriage with

Theodora of Wallachia Theodora ( bg, Теодора) of Wallachia was the daughter of Basarab I of Wallachia (r. 1310–1352) and Lady Margareta. She married Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria as his first wife. This marriage produced four children — Michael Asen, Ivan Srat ...

. After his father acceded to the throne in 1331, the young prince was proclaimed co-Emperor. He was to succeed his father under the name Michael IV Asen. The heir to the throne was the pride of the royal family and was said to possess "all virtues". He married Maria, renamed Irina, the daughter of

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 = ...

. In 1354–1355 the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

invaded Bulgaria and headed towards

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

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

. It is mentioned in an anonymous

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 ...

chronicle that Michail Asen gathered the Bulgarians and engaged the Turks near Sofia. The Bulgarians were defeated and suffered heavy casualties including Michail himself. But the battle was not in vain: the Ottomans failed to capture the cities and did not attack the country up to 1370.Andreev, Bǎlgarija prez vtorata četvǎrt na XIV v., pp. 67–75. In the Bulgarian folklore is mentioned that the son of the Emperor perished with the death of the brave.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michael Asen Iv Of Bulgaria Bulgarian princes 1322 births 1355 deaths 14th-century Bulgarian people Medieval Bulgarian military personnel Sratsimir dynasty Bulgarian military personnel killed in action Sons of emperors