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Shield of the Tsar's Watch in Tarnovo, end of 14th century
Second Bulgarian Empire under Ivan Asen II
Capital
Tarnovo (1185–1393) Nikopol (1393–1395) Vidin (1356/1386 as capital of the Tsardom of Vidin)
Common languages
Middle Bulgarian, Balkan Latin, Medieval Greek, Cuman, Albanian
Religion
Bulgarian Orthodoxy (official, 1204–1235 in the union with Rome) Bogomilism (banned)
Demonym(s)
Bulgarian
Government
Monarchy
Tsar (Emperor)
• 1185–1197
Peter IV (first)
• 1397-1422
Constantine II of Bulgaria (last)
Historical era
Middle Ages
• Reestablishment
1185
• Fall under Ottoman rule
1396
Area
1230[1]
293,000 km2 (113,000 sq mi)
Preceded by
Succeeded by
First Bulgarian Empire
Bulgaria (theme)
Ottoman Bulgaria
Tsardom of Vidin
Despotate of Dobruja
Despotate of Lovech
Principality of Wallachia
The Second Bulgarian Empire (Middle Bulgarian: Ц(а)рьство бл(ъ)гарское;[2][3] Modern Bulgarian: Второ българско царство, romanized: Vtorо Balgarskо Tsarstvo) was a medieval Bulgarian[4][5][ambiguous] state that existed between 1185 and 1396.[6] A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire,[7][8][9][10] it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before gradually being conquered by the Ottomans in the early 15th century.
Until 1256, the Second Bulgarian Empire was the dominant power in the Balkans, defeating the Byzantine Empire in several major battles. In 1205, Emperor Kaloyan defeated the newly established Latin Empire in the Battle of Adrianople. His nephew Ivan Asen II defeated the Despotate of Epiros and made Bulgaria a regional power again. During his reign, Bulgaria spread from the Adriatic to the Black Sea and the economy flourished. In the late 13th century, however, the Empire declined under constant invasions by Mongols, Byzantines, Hungarians, and Serbs, as well as internal unrest and revolts. The 14th century saw a temporary recovery and stability, but also the peak of Balkan feudalism as central authorities gradually lost power in many regions. Bulgaria was divided into three parts on the eve of the Ottoman invasion.
Despite strong Byzantine influence, Bulgarian artists and architects created their own distinctive style. In the 14th century, during the period known as the Second Golden Age of Bulgarian culture, literature, art and architecture flourished.[11] The capital city Tarnovo, which was considered a "New Constantinople", became the country's main cultural hub and the centre of the Eastern Orthodox world for contemporary Bulgarians.[12] After the Ottoman conquest, many Bulgarian clerics and scholars emigrated to Serbia, Wallachia, Moldavia, and Russian principalities, where they introduced Bulgarian culture, books, and hesychastic ideas.[13]
^Matanov, Hristo (2014). В търсене на средновековното време. Неравният път на българите (VII–XV в.)(in Bulgarian), pp. 168–169 "Balkans in 1230". IK Gutenberg. ISBN 9786191760183.
^S. Kempgen, Remarks on the Patron’s Inscription of the Boyana Church, its Reproductions and Unicode-based Wikipedia Representation. (2010) Scripta & eScripta, vol. 8-9, Sofia, 2010, 27–36.
^Polyvyannyy, D. (2019). Dynasticity in the Second Bulgarian Tsardom and its Manifestations in Medieval History Writing. Studia Ceranea. Journal of the Waldemar Ceran Research Centre for the History and Culture of the Mediterranean Area and South-East Europe, 9, 351-365. https://doi.org/10.18778/2084-140X.09.19 .
^Fine 1987, p. 13
^Kazhdan 1991, p. 334
^Fine 1987, p. 425
^Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1393) 1185 Successful uprising of Peter and Asen (called Belgun by the cumans) against the Byzantines results in the restoration of Bulgarian statehood between the Danube and the Balkan range. The renewed Bulgarian state rapidly restored and regained its former strength. For more: The A to Z of Bulgaria, Issue 223 of A to Z Guides, Raymond Detrez, Edition 2, Scarecrow Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0810872028, p. XXX.
^R. J. Crampton, A Concise History of Bulgaria, Cambridge University Press, 2005, ISBN 1139448234, p. 24.
^″State and Church in the XIII century, Emil Dimitrov (general editor). Synodik of tsar Boril″, (Translated from Old Bulgarian by Anna Maria Totomanova) [1]
^″State and church in the XIII century, Emil Dimitrov (general editor), CORRESPONDENCE OF THE BULGARIANS WITH POPE INOCENTIUS III.″ (Translated from Latin by Mikhail Voynov, Ivan Duychev) [2]
^Kǎnev, Petǎr (2002). "Religion in Bulgaria after 1989". South-East Europe Review (1): 81.
^Obolensky 1971, p. 246.
^Kazhdan 1991, pp. 334, 337
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