The Treaty of Chernomen ( bg, Черноменски договор) was a treaty between the
Bulgarian Empire and 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 ...
signed on 13 May 1327 by
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 ...
and
Andronikos III Palaiologos. The treaty was followed by several other agreements.
Background
In the beginning of 1327 Bulgaria became involved in the third and final stage of the
Byzantine civil war of 1321–1328 between
Andronikos II and his grandson Andronikos III.
[Andreev, p. 258] Despite the inconsistent Serbian policy in his assistance, the old emperor managed to negotiate the support of the Serbian king
Stephen Dečanski which urged Andronikos III to tighten his relations with the Emperor of Bulgaria. Michael Shishman, who fought against Andronikos III three years earlier, was interested to help because he was in strained relations with Serbia after his divorce with
Anna Neda and was disturbed by the marriage of Stephen Dečanski to the cousin of the old emperor Maria Palaiologina.
[Bozhilov, Gyuzelev, p. 565]
Treaty
Michael Shishman and Andronikos III met at
Chernomen on the Byzantine–Bulgarian border in May 1327. Since the negotiations were supposed to be secret, they used for pretext the desire of the Byzantine empress
Rita of Armenia
Rita of Armenia (10/11 January 1278 – July 1333) was an Armenian Byzantine Empress consort.
She was the daughter of King Levon II of Armenia and Queen Keran. She was the wife of Byzantine co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos, making her a jun ...
to meet her daughter
Maria Palaiologina
Maria Palaiologina ( el, Μαρία Παλαιολογίνα) was the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos () who became the wife of the Mongol ruler Abaqa Khan, and an influential Christian leader among the Mongols. After A ...
, whom she had not seen for 23 years and Andronikos III was allegedly anxious to see his sister as well.
[Andreev, p. 259] John Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Ángelos Palaiológos Kantakouzēnós''; la, Johannes Cantacuzenus; – 15 June 1383) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under And ...
, who was present during the negotiations, intentionally concealed their real purpose and described them as a private meeting between relatives and only writes about eight days of rejoicing and feasts.
[Bozhilov, Gyuzelev, p. 566]
However, during these eight days the emperors met several times in private or officially with their delegations. Eventually they reached an agreement for mutual help against their enemies. Michael Shishman had to provide assistance against Andronikos II, while the young emperor was obliged to help Michael Shishman against the King of Serbia.
It was also agreed that in case Andronikos III became sole emperor, he was to cede to Bulgaria several border territories and a large amount of money as dowry.
The treaty was signed without major obstacles as both sides had clear interest of the alliance — Michael Shishman wanted a reconquest of
Macedonia, while Andronikos III was preparing for the final confrontation with his grandfather.
Aftermath
Backed on the treaty, when hostilities were resumed in the autumn of 1327, Andronikos III was able to quickly submit Macedonia and in January 1328 captured
Salonika
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
, the second most important city in the Byzantine Empire.
[Fine, p. 252] Surprised by the quick victory of his ally, Michael Shishman offered help to Andronikos II in return of the surrender of all border lands and money. He sent 3,000 horsemen under the command of
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 ...
to guard him, but his real intention was to capture the old emperor and
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
. After the interference of Andronikos III, however, the plot failed and the Bulgarian detachment returned home.
After several showdown campaigns without field battles and mutual accusations for not respecting the Treaty of Chernomen, Michael Shishman and Andronikos III renegotiated peace in October 1328. The Bulgarians agreed not to take territory and were awarded large amount of money. As the relations between Bulgaria and Serbia were deteriorating and the two countries were on the course of war,
Michael Shishman and Andronikos III organised a final meeting at Krimni between
Sozopol
Sozopol ( bg, Созопол , el, Σωζόπολη, translit=Sozopoli) is an ancient seaside town located 35 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Today it is one of the major seaside resorts in the country, known for th ...
and
Anchialos in the beginning of 1329 and agreed to a "lasting peace and eternal alliance". They agreed to attack Serbia, but the Bulgarian army was defeated in the
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 ...
on 28 July 1330 and Michael Shishman was mortally wounded and died. When the news of the disaster reached Andronikos III, he abandoned the campaign against Serbia and turned on Bulgaria, but suffered a defeat
at Rusokastro.
[Andreev, p. 269]
Footnotes
Notes
Citations
Sources
References
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External links
* {{in lang, bg}
Treaty of Chernomen
Treaties of the Second Bulgarian Empire
Treaties of the Byzantine Empire
14th century in Bulgaria
1320s in the Byzantine Empire
Chernomen