Ivan Asen ( bg, Иван Асен), also known as Ivan Asen IV was a Bulgarian Prince, third son of Emperor Ivan Alexander from his first wife

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 ...

. He was born c. 1326. Little is known about him. In the eighteenth year of the reign of Ivan Alexander - i. e. 1349 - he and his troops faced a 20,000-strong Ottoman army under the command of

Murad I Murad I ( ota, مراد اول; tr, I. Murad, Murad-ı Hüdavendigâr (nicknamed ''Hüdavendigâr'', from fa, خداوندگار, translit=Khodāvandgār, lit=the devotee of God – meaning "sovereign" in this context); 29 June 1326 – 15 Jun ...

's elder brother Syuleiman. The fierce battle between Bulgarians and Turks took place in the area around

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 ...

. According to the Anonymous Bulgarian chronicle, "the Turks killed Asen and a great number of Bulgarians"; according to Ottoman chronicles "many

janissaries A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...

perished" in the battle. That shows that the battle claims many casualties from both sides and Ivan Asen perished fighting bravely for his country.Andreev, Bǎlgarija prez vtorata četvǎrt na XIV v., pp. 67–75. It seems that despite the great losses the Bulgarians had repulsed the enemy as the next recorded Ottoman invasion occurred 6 years later, in 1355, when in the

battle of Ihtiman The Battle of Ihtiman occurred in 1355 between Bulgarians and Ottomans and resulted in an Ottoman victory. The exact location is not known, but in an anonymous Bulgarian chronicle, it is mentioned that the armies of Michail Asen engaged the inva ...

the Ottoman Turks killed Asen's eldest brother, Michael Asen. Ivan Asen IV married a

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

n Princess from the

Basarab The House of Basarab (also Bazarab or Bazaraad, ro, Basarab ) was a ruling family of debated Cuman origin, Terterids and Shishmanids) and the Wallachian dynasty (Basarabids). They also played an active role in Byzantium, Hungary and Serbia, wi ...

a dynasty and had two daughters.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ivan Asen 04 Of Bulgaria Bulgarian princes 1326 births 1349 deaths 14th-century Bulgarian people Medieval Bulgarian military personnel Sratsimir dynasty 14th-century soldiers Sons of emperors