| Ivan Alexander | |
|---|---|
 Portrait, miniature from theGospels of Tsar Ivan Alexander (1355–1356) | |
| Tsar of Bulgaria | |
| Reign | 1331 – 17 February 1371 |
| Predecessor | Ivan Stephen |
| Successor | Ivan Shishman Ivan Sratsimir |
| Died | (1371-02-17)17 February 1371 |
| Spouse | Theodora of Wallachia Sarah (Theodora) |
| Issue | see below |
| Dynasty | Sratsimir |
| Father | Sratsimir |
| Mother | Keratsa Petritsa |
| Religion | Eastern Orthodox |
Ivan Alexander (Bulgarian:Иван Александър, transliteratedIvan Aleksandǎr,[1]pronounced[iˈvanɐlɛkˈsandɐr]; original spelling:ІѠАНЪ АЛЄѮАНдРЪ),[2] also sometimesanglicized asJohn Alexander,[3] ruled asEmperor (Tsar) ofBulgaria from 1331 to 1371,[4] during theSecond Bulgarian Empire. The date of his birth is unknown. He died on 17 February 1371.[5]
The long reign of Ivan Alexander is considered a transitional period in Bulgarian medieval history. Ivan Alexander began his rule by dealing with internal problems and external threats from Bulgaria's neighbours, theByzantine Empire andSerbia, as well as leading his empire into a period of economic recovery and cultural and religious renaissance.[5]
However, the emperor was later unable to cope with the mounting incursions ofOttoman forces,Hungarian invasions from the northwest and theBlack Death.[4] In an ill-fated attempt to combat these problems, he divided the country between his two sons,[6][7] thus forcing it to face the imminent Ottoman conquest weakened and divided.[4][7]
Ivan Alexander was the son of theDespot Sracimir ofKran byPetrica, a sister ofMichael Asen III of Bulgaria.[8] Therefore, Ivan Alexander was a nephew of Michael Asen III.[5][6] Paternally, Ivan Alexander descended from theAsen dynasty.[5][6] By 1330 Ivan Alexander wasa despot and governed the city ofLovech. Together with his father and his father-in-lawBasarab ofWallachia, Ivan Alexander fought in theBattle of Velbazhd against the Serbs at modern-dayKyustendil in 1330, in which Bulgaria suffered a defeat. The defeat, combined with the worsening relations with the Byzantine Empire, precipitated an internal crisis, which was exacerbated by an invasion of the Byzantines. Acoup d'état droveIvan Stefan out of the capitalTarnovo in 1331, and the conspirators placed Ivan Alexander on the throne.[9]
The new ruler set about consolidating his position by regaining territories recently lost to the Byzantine Empire. In 1331 Ivan Alexander campaigned aroundAdrianople and reconquered northeasternThrace.[5][6] Meanwhile,Stefan Uroš IV Dušan deposed his fatherStefan Uroš III Dečanski and becameSerbian king in 1331. This helped normalize the previously tense relations between the two countries. Ivan Alexander and Stefan Uroš IV Dušan concluded an alliance, which was cemented by the marriage of the Serbian king toHelena of Bulgaria, a sister of Ivan Alexander, onEaster 1332.[5][6][10]
At about the same time,Belaur, a brother of Michael Asen III, rebelled inVidin, probably in support of his deposed nephew Ivan Stefan's claim to the throne. The advance of the Byzantine EmperorAndronikos III Palaiologos against Bulgaria in the summer of 1332 protracted military operations against the rebels. The Byzantines overran Bulgarian-controlled northeastern Thrace, but Ivan Alexander rushed southward with a small army and swiftly caught up with Andronikos III at Rusokastro.[10]
Nobody of our first tsars seems to us like this great tsar Ivan Alexander, in his military power he looks to us like a second ancientAlexander the Great, in faith and piety he is a secondSaint Constantine; he captured thus all his enemies, put them under his knees and established firm peace in the Universe.[11]
— Praise to Ivan Alexander[12] by an anonymous contemporary of the tsar
After giving the impression that he wished to negotiate, Ivan Alexander, reinforced byMongol cavalry, overwhelmed the smaller but better organized Byzantine army in theBattle of Rusokastro.[6] The contested cities surrendered to Ivan Alexander, while Andronikos III sought refuge within the walls of Rusokastro. The war ended with Ivan Alexander meeting Andronikos and agreeing a peace based on thestatus quo.[6][13]
To seal the alliance, he betrothed his eldest son, Michael Asen IV, to Andronikos's daughter Maria (Eirene), the marriage taking place in 1339.[6][14] The Bulgarian emperor was now free to turn his attentions to Belaur, but it was not until 1336 or 1337 that the rebellion in the northwest was put down.[15]
In about 1332, Ivan Alexander had crowned his eldest son Michael Asen IV co-emperor, perhaps to safeguard possession of the throne by his own family. He followed up this traditional association with the coronation of his younger sonsIvan Sracimir and Ivan Asen IV in 1337. Ivan Alexander may have intended the creation of two younger co-emperors to establish immediate control over important cities and regions, as Ivan Sracimir was eventually based in Vidin, and Ivan Asen IV perhaps inPreslav. Nevertheless, this was a marked departure from Byzantine practice, in which younger sons of the sovereign were made despots, whether they were charged with a territorial administration or not.[16]
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In the early 1340s relations with the Byzantine Empire temporarily deteriorated. Ivan Alexander demanded the extradition of his cousinŠišman, one of the sons of Michael Asen III, threatening the Byzantine government with war. Ivan Alexander's show of force backfired, as the Byzantines managed to see through his intentions and sent against him the fleet of their ally, the Turkishemir of SmyrnaUmur Beg.[18]
Landing in theDanube Delta, they pillaged the countryside and attacked nearby Bulgarian cities. Forced to restrain his demands, Ivan Alexander invaded the Byzantine Empire again at the end of 1341, claiming that he was summoned by the people of Adrianople.[19] Ivan Alexander's troops were defeated twice by Turkish allies of the Byzantines near the city.[20]
In 1341–1347, the Byzantine Empire was plunged intoa protracted civil war between the regency for EmperorJohn V Palaiologos underAnna of Savoy and his intended guardianJohn VI Kantakouzenos. The neighbours of the Byzantines took advantage of the civil war, and while Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia sided with John VI Kantakouzenos, Ivan Alexander backed John V Palaiologos and his regency.[6] Although the two Balkan rulers picked opposite sides in the Byzantine civil war, they maintained their alliance with each other. As the price for Ivan Alexander's support, the regency for John V Palaiologos ceded him the city of Philippopolis (Plovdiv) and nine important fortresses in theRhodope Mountains in 1344.[4][21] This peaceful turnover constituted the last major success of Ivan Alexander's foreign policy.[citation needed]
During the same period, the Serbian king took advantage of the Byzantine civil war to take possession of what is nowMacedonia, and of most ofAlbania and northernGreece. In 1345, he began to call himself "Emperor of Serbs and Greeks", and in 1346 he was crowned as such by the newly createdSerbian Patriarch.[6] These actions, which the Byzantines received with indignation, appear to have been supported by Bulgaria, as thePatriarch of Bulgaria Simeon had participated in both the creation of aSerbian Patriarchate of Peć and the imperial coronation of Stefan Uroš IV Dušan.[22]
By the second half of the 1340s, little remained of Ivan Alexander's initial successes. John VI Kantakouzenos' Turkish allies pillaged parts of Bulgarian Thrace in 1346, 1347, 1349, 1352 and 1354, to which were added the ravages of the Black Death.[23] The Bulgarians' attempts to repel the invaders met with repeated failure, and Ivan Alexander's third son and co-emperor, Ivan Asen IV, was killed in battle against the Turks in 1349, as was his older brotherMichael Asen IV in 1355 or a little earlier.[24]
By 1351 the Byzantine civil war was over, and John VI Kantakouzenos had realized the threat posed by the Ottomans to theBalkan Peninsula. He appealed to the rulers of Serbia and Bulgaria for a united effort against the Turks and asked Ivan Alexander for money to construct warships,[6][25] but his appeals fell on deaf ears as his neighbours distrusted his intentions.[26] A new attempt for cooperation between Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire followed in 1355,[27] after John VI Kantakouzenos had been forced to abdicate and John V Palaiologos had been established as supreme emperor. To cement the treaty, Ivan Alexander's daughterKeraca Marija[28] was married off to the future Byzantine EmperorAndronikos IV Palaiologos,[4] but the alliance failed to produce concrete results.[29]
At home Ivan Alexander compromised the internal stability of his realm by divorcing his first wifeTheodora of Wallachia (in about 1349) and marrying a convertedJew, also namedTheodora.[6] The new marriage produced new sons, whom Ivan Alexander proceeded to crown co-emperors,Ivan Šišman in about 1356 andIvan Asen V by 1359. Ivan Alexander's last surviving son from his first marriage, the co-emperor Ivan Sracimir, became effectively independent around 1356;[6] and Ivan Alexander's control over other powerful vassals, such as the rulers ofWallachia andDobruja, who pursued their own foreign policies, was hardly stronger.[30]
From the middle of the 14th century, Bulgaria fell prey to the aspirations of theAngevin kingLouis I of Hungary, who annexedMoldavia in 1352 and established a vassal principality there, beforeconquering Vidin in 1365,[6][25] and taking Ivan Sratsimir and his family into captivity.[6][30]
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In the meantime Bulgarians and Byzantines had clashed again in 1364. In 1366, when EmperorJohn V Palaiologos was returning from his trip to the west, the Bulgarians refused to let him pass through Bulgaria. This stance backfired, as another Byzantine ally, CountAmadeus VI of Savoy, leading theSavoyard crusade, captured several Bulgarian maritime cities in retaliation, including Ankhialos (Pomorie) and Mesembria (Nesebǎr), though he failed to takeVarna. Outmanoeuvred, Ivan Alexander was forced to make peace.[31]
The captured cities were turned over to the Byzantine Empire, while Emperor John V Palaiologos paid the sum of 180,000florins to Ivan Alexander.[6] The Bulgarian emperor used this sum and territorial concessions to induce his at leastde jure vassalsDobrotica of Dobruja[32] andVladislav I of Wallachia[33][34] to reconquer Vidin from the Hungarians.[35] The war was successful, and Ivan Sracimir was reinstalled in Vidin in 1369, although the Hungarian king forced him to acknowledge his overlordship.[36]
The relatively successful resolution of the crisis in the northwest did nothing to help recover the losses in the southeast. To make matters worse, in 1369 (the date is disputed), the Ottoman Turks underMurad I conquered Adrianople (in 1363) and made it the effective capital of their expanding state. At the same time, they also captured the Bulgarian cities of Philippopolis and Boruj (Stara Zagora).[37] As Bulgaria and the Serbianfeudal lords in Macedonia asKonstantin Dragas andPrince Marko prepared for united action against the Turks, Ivan Alexander died on 17 February 1371.[38] He was succeeded by his sons Ivan Sracimir in Vidin[25] and Ivan Shishman in Tarnovo,[25] while the rulers of Dobruja and Wallachia achieved further independence.[citation needed]
During Ivan Alexander's rule, the Second Bulgarian Empire entered a period of cultural renaissance, which is sometimes referred to as the "Second Golden Age of Bulgarian culture",[39][verification needed] the original one being the rule ofSimeon the Great.[40] A large number of Bulgarian monasteries and churches were constructed or renovated on the order of Ivan Alexander.[4][41] Muralportraits of him as a donor can be seen in theBachkovo Monastery's ossuary and in theRock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo.[citation needed]
Donor's deeds of Ivan Alexander prove that the monasteries of the Holy Mother of God Eleoussa and St Nicholas in Nesebǎr were reconstructed during that period,[6][verification needed] as was theSt Nicholas monastery nearPernik, according to aHilandar monastery deed.[citation needed] In addition, the tsar also initiated the construction of theDragalevci andKilifarevo monasteries.[6]
Literary activity also flourished during the reign of Ivan Alexander. Several important literary works were created in the period, such as theMiddle Bulgarian translation of theManasses Chronicle (1344–1345), currently preserved in theVatican Secret Archives inRome,[6][42] the richly illustratedTetraevangelia of Ivan Alexander (1355–1356), now exhibited in theBritish Library,[43] theTomić Psalter (1360), today inMoscow,[6] and theSofia Psalter (1337).[44]
Ivan Alexander's rule was also marked by efforts to strengthen the position of theBulgarian Orthodox Church by pursuingheretics and Jews.[citation needed] He organized two anti-heretical church councils, in 1350 and 1359–1360,[citation needed] that condemned various sects[6][verification needed] such as theBogomils, theAdamites and theJudaizers.[6][45]
The spiritual practice ofhesychasm, a form of incantatory prayer, deeply influenced certain areas of theEastern Orthodox world of the 14th century. A notable Bulgarian representative of the movement during Ivan Alexander's reign wasTheodosius of Tǎrnovo.[citation needed]
During this time, the Bulgarian Empire had trade relations with theMediterranean maritime powersVenice,Genoa andRagusa.[46] In 1353, Ivan Alexander issued a charter allowing Venetian merchants to buy and sell goods throughout Bulgaria afterDogeAndrea Dandolo assured him they would observe the prior treaties between the two countries.[47]
In modern times, the rule of Ivan Alexander inspired Bulgarian national writerIvan Vazov to write thenoveletteIvan-Aleksandǎr[citation needed] and thedramaKǎm propast (Towards an Abyss), in both of which the tsar is the main character.[citation needed]
A piece of a garment signed by Ivan Alexander and interwoven with gold was discovered in a noble's grave nearPirot in the 1970s; today it is preserved in theNational Museum of Serbia inBelgrade. It is the first find of its kind, demonstrating a medieval tradition attested in writing according to which Orthodox rulers would present their most eminent dignitaries with a piece of a garment they had worn.[48]
Ivan Alexander Point onNelson Island in theSouth Shetland Islands,Antarctica is named after Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria.[49]
With his first wifeTheodora of Wallachia (nun Teofana), a daughter ofBasarab I, he had:
With his second wifeSarah-Theodora, Ivan Alexander had several other children:
| Sracimir of Krǎn | Petrica | ||||||||
| 1 | 2 | ||||||||
| Theodora of Wallachia | Ivan Alexander (d. 1371, ruled 1331–1371) | Sarah (Theodora) | |||||||
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| Michael Asen IV | Thamar (Kera Tamara) | Ivan Šišman (b. 1350–1351, d. 1395, ruled 1371–1395) | Ivan Asen V | Vasilisa | |||||
| Ivan Asen IV | Ivan Sracimir (b. c. 1324, d. c. 1397, ruled 1356–1397) | Keraca Marija (b. 1348, d. 1390) | Desislava | ||||||
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
| Preceded by | Emperor of Bulgaria 1331–1371 | Succeeded by |
