Theodore Balina ( bg, Теодор Балина/Teodor Balina) was an Ottoman Bulgarian nobleman and leader in the

Sanjak of Nicopolis The Sanjak of Nicopolis ( bg, Никополски санджак, links=no ''Nikopolski sandzhak'', tr, Niğbolu Sancağı, links=no) was a sanjak in the Ottoman Empire, with Nikopol in modern Bulgaria as its administrative centre. It was estab ...

who led the First Tarnovo Uprising against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in 1598.

Life

To him the local merchant from Ragusa Pavel Đorđević writes: Except Theodore, the uprising was organized by religious leaders, as well as public figures and merchants. These included the Archbishop of Tarnovo Dionysus Rali, Pavle Đorđević and the Sorkočević brothers, with the bishops Theophanes of

Lovech Lovech ( bg, Ловеч, Lovech, ) is a 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 from the capital city of Sofia. Near ...

, Jeremiah of

Rousse Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; bg, Русе ) is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, approximately south of ...

, Spyridon of Shumen and Methodius of

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 ...

and other high-ranking religious figures also taking part in the organization. The invasion of Wallachian forces under

Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( ro, Mihai Viteazul or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593 – 1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Transylvania (1599 – 1600). ...

in the northern Bulgarian lands in the autumn of 1598 provided good conditions for the uprising, as the fellow Christian army would support the insurrection according to the plan. At the time the Ottomans were engaged in the Long War with the Habsburg monarchy. One descendant (may be Theodore Balina) of the medieval Shishman dynasty was proclaimed

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 As ...

(as Ivan Shishman II) and Tarnovo was briefly liberated, with about 12,000 people gathering. As a consequence, about 16,000 Bulgarians fled centrally-governed Ottoman territory and crossed the

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 , p ...

to settle in autonomous neighbouring Wallachia, where they established a Bulgarian community. The leader of the Uprising emigrated to Russia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balina, Theodore People from Veliko Tarnovo Bulgarian revolutionaries 17th-century Bulgarian people Rebels from the Ottoman Empire People from Nikopol, Bulgaria 16th-century Bulgarian people