Ivan II ( bg, Иван II, or Йоан II, ''Ioan II'', also styled inconsistently ''Ivan IV'' or ''Ioan IV''), reigned as

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 ...

from 1298 to 1299. The date of his birth is unknown, but probably not much earlier than c. 1290. He died as a monk in exile before 1330. Ivan II succeeded his father Smilets as emperor in Tărnovo in 1298. The new ruler was a child, and the government was in the hands of his mother, the unnamed daughter of '' sebastocrator''

Constantine Palaiologos Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos or Dragaš Palaeologus ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Δραγάσης Παλαιολόγος, ''Kōnstantînos Dragásēs Palaiológos''; 8 February 1405 – 29 May 1453) was the last Roman (Byzantine) e ...

and niece of

Michael VIII Palaiologos Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Μιχαὴλ Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος, Mikhaēl Doukas Angelos Komnēnos Palaiologos; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as the co-emperor of the Empire ...

called simply " Smiltsena" ("wife of Smilets"). The widowed empress defeated Smilets' brothers Radoslav and Voysil (Vojsil), who sought refuge in 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 ...

and entered into Byzantine service. To meet this threat and the invasion of the

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

prince Chaka, Ivan II's mother sought an alliance with

Aldimir Aldimir ( bg, Алдимир) or EltimirWhile Aldimir is mentioned in Medieval Greek sources solely as Ἐλτιμηρῆς, ''Eltimiris'', his original name ''Aldimir'' has been established thanks to the discovery of his son Ivan Dragushin's epi ...

(Eltimir), the brother of the former ruler George Terter I. Aldimir was accordingly married to Smilets' daughter

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or ...

(Marija) and, if this had not happened earlier, was given the title of despotēs and invested with an extensive landholding around Krăn. In 1299 the Bulgarian government attempted unsuccessfully to ally with

Serbian King 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 Knyaz ...

Stefan Milutin Stefan Uroš II Milutin ( sr-cyr, Стефан Урош II Милутин, Stefan Uroš II Milutin; 1253 – 29 October 1321), known as Stefan Milutin ( sr-cyr, Стефан Милутин, Stefan Milutin), was the King of Serbia between 1282&nd ...

to the exclusion of the latter's projected alignment with the

Byzantine Emperor 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 ...

Andronikos II Palaiologos , image = Andronikos II Palaiologos2.jpg , caption = Miniature from the manuscript of George Pachymeres' ''Historia'' , succession = Byzantine emperor , reign = 11 December 1282 –24 May 1328 , coronation = 8 Novemb ...

. The regents of Ivan II were unable to strengthen their position, and abandoned Tărnovo to Chaka, who installed himself as emperor in 1299. Ivan II and his retinue settled in the possessions of Aldimir, where they may have remained even after the accession of Aldimir's nephew

Theodore Svetoslav Theodore Svetoslav ( bg, Тодор Светослав, ''Todor Svetoslav'' and also Теодор Светослав, ''Teodor Svetoslav'') ruled as emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 1300 to 1322. The date of his birth is unknown. He expanded the ter ...

to the throne in 1300. In 1305 Ivan II's mother was negotiating with the Byzantine government in

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 (" ...

on behalf of either Aldimir or her son, but with Aldimir's subjugation by Theodore Svetoslav in the same year, the family disappears into obscurity. Ivan II spent the remainder of his life as an exile in Byzantium, under the name Iōannēs Komnēnos Doukas Angelos Branas Palaiologos, and shortly before his death he became a monk under the name Joasaph. He died before 1330.

Sources

* John V. A. Fine, Jr., ''The Late Medieval Balkans'', Ann Arbor, 1987.

External links

Detailed list of Bulgarian rulers

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivan 02 Of Bulgaria 13th-century births 14th-century deaths 13th-century Bulgarian monarchs 14th-century Bulgarian monarchs Smilets dynasty Rulers deposed as children Medieval child rulers Sons of emperors