page_title: Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria
section_title: Culture and religion
hierarchical_section_title: Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria / Biography / Culture and religion
caption_attribution_description: English: Icon of Saint Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria
context_page_description: Ivan Shishman ruled as emperor of Bulgaria in Tarnovo from 1371 to 3 June 1395. The authority of Ivan Shishman was limited to the central parts of the Bulgarian Empire.
  In the wake of the death of Ivan Alexander, the Bulgarian Empire was subdivided into three kingdoms among his sons, with Ivan Shishman taking the Tаrnovo Kingdom situated in central Bulgaria and his half brother Ivan Sratsimir holding the Vidin Tsardom. Although his struggle to repel the Ottomans differentiated him from the other rulers on the Balkans like the Serbian despot Stephan Lazarevic who became a loyal vassal to the Ottomans and paid annual tribute and participated in all of the Ottoman campaigns subsequent to the battle of Kosovo, contributing a 5,000 strong contingent of christian knights. Although Ivan Shishman has been categorized as indecisive and inconsistent in his policy in the past, this was done with little regard for an understanding of the context of the conditions and limited resources that this ruler had at his disposal. It is notable that Ivan Shishman is the only Balkan ruler for whom there is no evidence of tribute paid to the Ottoman empire or any military aid provided.
context_section_description: The cultural revival that made the historians call the reign of Ivan Alexander a "Second Golden Age of Bulgarian culture" continued under his son. The most prominent figure in that field during the last quarter of the 14th century was Patriarch Evtimiy of Tarnovo (r. 1375–1393), a disciple of Theodosius of Tarnovo. In 1371 he established the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, a few kilometres to the north of Tarnovo, and turned it into an important cultural center and a major hub of the Tarnovo Literary School. Evtimiy wrote a number of religious works, including hagiographies, praises and letters, but is most famous with the orthographic reform and the standardization of the Bulgarian language, which had an impact in Serbia, Wallachia and the Russian principalities. Evtimiy thought that many of the scholars were not sufficiently prepared, and that the translations of Greek texts in local dialects and peculiarities could lead to misinterpretation of the original and eventually to heretism. The texts regarding the reform did not survive, although its character has been partly recreated by the historians and linguists by analyzing the works of Evtimiy himself and his disciples. The orthography was inspired by the original Old Church Slavonic during the heyday of the First Bulgarian Empire; the reform also included syntax changes and enrichment of the lexicon with a number of synonyms to avoid repetition. To ensure the success of the reform, all texts had to receive approval before publishing, a move that was supported by Ivan Shishman in his edicts. The capital Tarnovo was the main cultural center at that time. Patriarch Evtimiy wrote about it:
  Радва се днес славният град Търнов
  
  и призовава царуващия над градовете, като казва:
  
  Радвай се с мен, майко на градовете,
  
  защото ония, които ти отгледа,
  
  с тях се славя сега аз,
  
  че ги придобих за помощници и застъпници.
  
  Наистина блажен съм аз сред градовете,
  
  защото добри съкровища събрах -
  
  честитите мощи на светците,
  
  чието застъпничество като притежавам,
  
  от всякакви злини се избавям.
  The glorious city of Tarnovo is rejoicing today
  And invokes the reigning over the cities, saying:
  Rejoice with me, mother of the cities,
  Because with those that you raised,
  I am lauding now,
  For I acquired them for aides and advocates.
  I am truly blissful among the cities,
  Because I gathered good treasures –
  The wonderful relics of the saints,
  Whose advocacy when I have,
  I get rid of all evil.
   
  Hesychasm remained the main movement in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church during the reign of Ivan Shishman and the Patriarch was its supporter. Bulgaria was a major center of hesychast ideas along with the Byzantine Empire. Evtimiy was an active opponent to heresies, but it appears that since the mid 14th century the influence of the Bogomils, the most prominent heretic movement in the Balkans at the time, had been greatly reduced in Bulgaria and no document mentions them after 1360. Other sects, such as the Barlaamites, were also persecuted and repressed. Evtimiy had strict views on moral and took firm positions against divorce and third or fourth marriages for widowers and widows. After the collapse of the Bulgarian Empire, many scholars emigrated to Serbia, Wallachia, Moldavia and the Russian principalities; they brought Bulgarian cultural achievements, books, and hesychastic ideas to these lands. The Bulgarian influence was so great that is often referred to as a "Second South Slavic influence on Russia". Some of the most prominent Bulgarian émigrés included Constantine of Kostenets, who worked in Serbia, and Cyprian and Gregory Tsamblak in the Russian lands. The economy was in decline since the loss of the major ports of Messembria and Anchialus to the Savoyard crusade a few years before Ivan Shishman was crowned. After the death of Ivan Alexander and the breakaway of Dobrotitsa's Principality of Karvuna, Tarnovo also lost its most important port Varna, leading to a reduction in commerce and tax revenues. The persistent Ottoman raids brought devastation, hunger and depopulation which led to a sharp decline
caption: Icon of Saint Ivan Shishman
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