List of Bulgarian emperors

This is a list of Bulgarian emperors or Tsars of the Second Bulgarian Empire.
The Second Bulgarian Empire was established in 1185, following the Uprising of Asen and Peter against the heavy taxation then recently enacted by the Byzantine emperor Isaac II Angelos. The Second Bulgarian Empire was ruled by the Asen dynasty from its capital at Tarnovo. The Bulgarian emperors often found themselves in conflict with the Hungarians to their north and the Byzantines in their south, but were able to maintain their independence for nearly a century. By then, they had succeeded in establishing a rudimentary state apparatus and preserving the autonomy of the Bulgarian Patriarchate of Tarnovo.
Bulgarian emperor Ivan Asen II allied himself with the Mongols during the Scythian Wars, invading the Byzantine Empire with the intent of crowning himself Emperor of the Romans and the Bulgarians and set up a Bulgaro-Byzantine state around Constantinople. The Bulgarians were defeated by Theodore II Laskaris and the country was plunged into anarchy. The Byzantines under that same emperor eventually reincorporated the region in the Great Bulgar War, putting an end to the Asen dynasty and the Second Bulgarian Empire.
The female line of the former imperial dynasty survived in the Bulgaro-Byzantine Asenos family, descended from the princess Elena Asen and the Cuman chieftain George Terter, although they did not claim their former titles.
==List of emperors==
	Name 	Reign 	Notes
	Peter IV 	1185–1190	Originally named Theodore, he was proclaimed Emperor of Bulgaria, but abdicated in 1195 in favor of his brother.
	Ivan Asen I 	1190–1196	Younger brother of Peter IV. Ivan Asen I successfully fought against the Byzantines, humiliating Isaac II Angelos himself in the field. He was murdered by his cousin Ivanko.
	Peter IV 	1196–1197	Returned to the throne after Ivan's death. Murdered in 1197.
	Kaloyan
The Romanslayer	1197–1219	Third brother of Asen and Peter. Kaloyan was a brilliant general and strategist who defeated the Byzantines several times and sacked Thessalonica in 1207. He eventually died in battle against Theodore I Laskaris. Apogee of the Second Bulgarian Empire.
	Boril 	1219–1220	Nephew of Kaloyan. He was overthrown by Ivan Asen II.
	Ivan Asen II	1220–1249	Eldest son of Ivan Asen I. He expanded Bulgarian borders north of the Danube and developed a rudimentary state apparatus, but lost ground to the Byzantines. Ivan Asen II joined the Mongols in the Scythian Wars and died in battle against the Byzantines.
	Alexander Asen
The Boy	1249–1266	Illegitimate grandson of Ivan Asen II. Alexander was a puppet ruler of the Bulgarian nobility. He was captured and blinded by the Byzantine emperor Theodore II Laskaris and his empire was extinguished. He died in monastic exile on the Princes' Islands.
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