Despotate of Lovech | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1330–1446 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms (14th century) | |||||||||
| Status | Despotate | ||||||||
| Capital and largest city | Lovech 43°08′05″N24°43′02″E / 43.13472°N 24.71722°E /43.13472; 24.71722 | ||||||||
| Common languages | Middle Bulgarian | ||||||||
| Religion | Bulgarian Orthodoxy | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Despot | |||||||||
• 1330–1371*1402-1446 | Ivan AlexanderFruzhin of Bulgaria | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Appointment ofIvan Alexander | 1330 | ||||||||
• Conquest by theOttomans | 1446 | ||||||||
| Currency | Various coins | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Bulgaria | ||||||||
Part ofa series on the |
|---|
| History ofBulgaria |
 |
|
Main category Bulgaria portal |
TheDespotate of Lovech (Bulgarian:Деспотство Ловеч,romanized: Despotstvo Lovech), was a Bulgarian state, covering parts of the territory of what is nowLovech Province, formed in 1330 afterIvan Alexander was appointed to governLovech, the capital of the despotate, and the nearby area around the town. It was dissolved after the fall of theLovech Fortress in 1446 to theOttomans.
The state was the last independent Bulgarian state after 1396, before its conquest by the Ottoman Empire. It was ruled by theSratsimir dynasty.
The despotate was formed after Ivan Alexander became the despot, most likely being appointed due to Lovech being a major town that controlled commercial passage through theStara Planina passes, and the migration of intellectuals toMoldavia andWallachia, due toOttoman conquests.[1][2][3]
The area was the center for many Bulgarian rulers. In the 14th century, the commercial, administrative, and spiritual centers were at their peak. The despot also made a great contribution towards stopping theSerbian advance, although Bulgaria still lost theBattle of Velbazhd. Ivan marriedPrincess Theodora of Wallachia.[4] He gradually won trust to become the electedTsar of Bulgaria in 1331, afterIvan Stefan was driven out by acoup d'état, and the conspirators placed him on the throne.[5]
Ivan Alexander died on 17 February 1371. Despite his early years of success, his later decisions, such as splitting the empire among his sons in 1356, left the Bulgarian states to face outside powers politically divided and weakened, contributing to the fall of the despotate. TheOttoman invasions of Bulgaria in the 14th century did not directly result in the fall of the despotate. The Turkish travellerKâtip Çelebi testified the late conquest of Lovech. He mentioned that the city was conquered in 1446, This was confirmed by the Armenian travel writer Hugaz Indzedzyan according to whom"Lovech had been conquered in 1446 by SultanFatih Mehmed."[6]
