Ivan Asen II

**Ivan Asen II** (Bulgarian: Иван Асен II, *Yoan Asen II*) was Emperor (*Tsar*) of the Second Bulgarian Empire from 1218 until his death in 1249. He was the last member of the Asen dynasty to effectively rule Bulgaria, which collapsed into civil war and social chaos following his death.

## Overview

He was the son of Bulgarian emperor Ivan Asen I and his wife Anna, who is alleged to have been the daughter of a Byzantine nobleman. Following the death of his uncle Kaloyan, he was exiled by his cousin Boril to Galicia-Volhynia. With its support, he returned to Bulgaria in 1220, overthrew Boril and was crowned emperor.

His reign was marked by his attempted centralization of the Bulgarian Empire, as well as the tentative formation of a state administrative apparatus. Ivan Asen II became the first Bulgarian emperor to mint his own non-imitation coinage, and promoted trade and successful taxation policies. His domestic successes were not immediately replicated in his relations with his neighbors. King Emeric of Hungary and the Byzantine emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes proved themselves formidable enemies. Although Ivan Asen II was able to recover the Hungarian gains north of the Danube, he lost Philippopolis to the Byzantines and was forced to become a tributary of the Byzantine emperor.

Ivan Asen II's reign came to its highest point during the Scythian Wars, when he renounced his tributary status to the Byzantine Empire after John III Doukas Vatatzes proved himself reluctant to send him aid against the Mongols. Ivan Asen II pledged himself as a tributary to the Mongols and invaded the Byzantine Empire, regaining lands he had lost to John III and conquering as far south as Adrianople and Arcadiopolis, probably intending to crown himself Emperor of a Bulgaro-Byzantine state centered around Constantinople.

He laid siege to Constantinople from 1247 to 1249, taking command of the siege after the death of Guyuk Khan, having attacked and defeated the King of Galicia, his former ally, for leadership. However, Ivan Asen II was defeated himself at Constantinople by Theodore II Laskaris, who arrived to lift the siege and destroyed the Bulgarian army. Ivan Asen II and most of the Asen male line, including his son and appointed heir Ivan, died in the battle. His death and the near extinction of the Asen dynasty, save for his illegitimate grandson Alexander, left Bulgaria in complete disarray, which plunged into civil war and would be conquered by Theodore II Laskaris in the 1260's.

## Legacy

Ivan Asen II is usually considered a successful ruler in domestic policy. The Bulgarian state was strengthened through the birth of a rudimentary but promising administrative apparatus, as well as his steadfast support for the Patriarchate of Bulgaria. He considerablt expanded Bulgarian power north of the Danube and secured new lands at the expense of the Hungarians, but failed to contain the Byzantines to his south. All of his achievements were made null by the aftermath of his death. Bulgarian royal authority imploded, the Asen dynasty lost control over Wallachia and the whole country was eventually conquered by Theodore II Laskaris, who ended the Bulgarian Church and even made use of the remnants of Ivan Asen II's administrative appararus to establish and consolidate Byzantine rule over Bulgaria.

## Issue

By his wife Anna, a Byzantine noblewoman, he had three children:

* Ivan, who was slain outside Constantinople alongside his father and whose illegitimate son Alexander became the last emperor of Bulgaria.
* Maria, who was Queen of Serbia by marriage to Stefan Nemanjic and had three children.
* Elena, who was forcibly married to George Terter and had issue. The Bulgaro-Byzantine family Asenos descends from her.