Despotate of Dobruja | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1356–1411 | |||||||||
 Flag around 1350 mentioned by Spanish Franciscan friar probably belongs to Dobruja[A]  Coat of arms ofTerter dynasty (ruling despots) | |||||||||
![The successors of the Second Bulgarian Empire after the death of Ivan Alexander[1]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aVidin_14_eng.jpg) The successors of the Second Bulgarian Empire after the death of Ivan Alexander[1] | |||||||||
| Status | Principality Despotate | ||||||||
| Capital | Karvuna (Balchik) | ||||||||
| Common languages | Middle Bulgarian | ||||||||
| Religion | Eastern Orthodox | ||||||||
| Government | Hereditary monarchy | ||||||||
| Despot /Prince | |||||||||
• 1340s-1347 | Balik | ||||||||
• 1356-1386 | Dobrotitsa | ||||||||
• 1385-1389, 1393-1399 | Ivanko | ||||||||
| Historical era | Late Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Established | 1340s | ||||||||
• Conquest and incorporation into theOttoman Empire | 1411 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of |  Bulgaria Romania Ukraine | ||||||||
TheDespotate of Dobruja orPrincipality of Karvuna (Bulgarian:Добруджанско деспотство orКарвунско княжество;Romanian:Despotatul Dobrogei orȚara Cărvunei) was a 14th-century quasi-independent Bulgarian polity in the region of modernDobruja, that split off from theSecond Bulgarian Empire under the influence of theByzantine Empire. The Despotate of Dobruja existed from 1356 to 1411.
The principality's name is derived from the fortress of Karvuna (present-dayBalchik, not to be confused with Karnava/Kavarna), mentioned in Bulgarian and Byzantine documents and Italianportolans of the 14th century as its first capital,[citation needed] and located betweenVarna andCape Kaliakra.
The principality was spun off from theSecond Bulgarian Empire (followed by other frontier regions of Bulgaria such as Vidin and Velbuzhd) in the 1340s underBalik (member of the Bulgarian-Cuman dynasty ofTerter according to some authors[2]) and placed itself ecclesiastically under thePatriarchate of Constantinople. A "Metropolitan of Varna and Dobrich" was mentioned in 1325. Under Balik's sonDobrotitsa (1347–1386; ruling with the title of "despot" after 1357) the principality came to its greatest power and extension and the capital was moved toKaliakra.
In 1346 or 1347, the principality was plagued by theBlack Death, transmitted by Genoese boats fromCaffa before they finally brought it to Sicily, Genoa and the whole of Western Europe. The principality had its own navy, which also engaged in piracy forcing the Genoese to complain, and possibly took part in an operation offTrebizond. In 1453, the Ottoman navy at the siege of Constantinople was initially led by one admiral Baltoglu, a Bulgarian convert from the former principality.
In 1366,Ivan Alexander refused to give conduct to theJohn V Palaiologos who was returning home from Hungary. To force the Bulgarians to comply, John V ordered his relative CountAmadeus VI of Savoy to attack the Bulgarian coastal towns. In the autumn of the same year, Amadeus' navy tookPomorie,Nessebar, Emona, and Kozyak, and on 25 October besieged the strong fortress of Varna, where it was repulsed. As a result, Ivan Alexander gave the Byzantines safe conduct across Bulgaria and they kept the conqueredNessebar;[3] Varna, Emona, and Kozyak were ceded to Dobrotitsa for his help against Amadeus.
As a traditional breadbasket, Dobruja supplied wheat to Constantinople mostly via the major ports of Varna and Kaliakra frequented by the Genoese and Venetian fleets. The republics held their consulates at Varna and kept trading colonies at Castritsi and Galata outside that city.[citation needed]
Between 1370 and 1375, allied withVenice, Dobrotitsa challengedGenoese power in the Black Sea. In 1373, he tried to impose his son-in-law,Michael, as Emperor ofTrebizond, but achieved no success. Dobrotitsa supported John V Palaiologos against his sonAndronikos IV Palaiologos. In 1379, theBulgarian fleet[4] participated in the blockade ofConstantinople, fighting with the Genoese fleet. Venetian sources from the late 14th century refer to Dobrotitsa as a "despot of the Bulgarians" (DESPOTUM BULGARORUM DOBROTICAM) and to his realm as "parts of Zagora (Bulgaria) subordinate to Dobrotitsa" (PARTES ZAGORAE (BULGARIAE) SUBDITAS DOBROTICAE).[5]
In 1386, Dobrotitsa died and was succeeded byIvanko, who in the same year made peace withMurad I, moved his capital from Kaliakra to Varna, and in 1387 signed a commercial treaty with Genoa atPera. This same year,Ivan Shishman attacked him[citation needed], defeating and killing his former vassalDan I of Wallachia, an ally[citation needed] of Ivanko's, but didn't manage to bring Dobruja back under his rule. Varna fell to theOttomans in 1389, Ivanko himself dying in battle[citation needed] in 1388. From 1406 to 1411, most of Dobruja, with Drastar fortress (modern Silistra), was put under the rule ofMircea cel Bătrân of Wallachia.[6] In 1411, the Ottoman Turks invaded and incorporated Dobruja into theOttoman Empire. In 1413, Varna was turned over toManuel II Palaiologos[citation needed]. In 1414, the area was devastated byTatars. In 1444 theOttomans secured it after theBattle of Varna.
At the very end of the 14th century,German travellerJohann Schiltberger described the lands of the former Bulgarian Empire as follows:[7]
I was in three regions, and all three were called Bulgaria. The first Bulgaria extends there, where you pass fromHungary through theIron Gate. Its capital is calledVidin. The other Bulgaria lies oppositeWallachia, and its capital is calledTarnovo.The third Bulgaria is there, where theDanube flows intothe sea. Its capital is called Kaliakra.
However, today, someGagauz people andTurkish scholars claim the Despotate of Dobruja, or as how they call it, the "Uzi Eyalet" or "Uzi State" (Romanian:Uziăilet;Turkish:Uzi Eyaleti orUz Eyaleti), was the first Gagauz state in history.[8][9]
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balik (around 1320–47) | Theodore | Dobrotitsa (1347–85) | Unknown* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ivanko (1385–95) | Terter | Unknown daughter | Michael Palaiologos** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes:
* Daughter of Alexios Apokaukos, Byzantine military commander
** Son of Michael Palaiologos, Despot of Zagora
{{isbn}}: ignored ISBN errors (link).
