Ivan Sratsimir of Bulgaria facts for kids

Ivan Sratsimir (Bulgarian: Иван Срацимир) was an emperor, also known as a tsar, of Bulgaria. He ruled the region of Vidin from 1356 to 1396. He was born around 1324 or 1325 and likely died in or after 1397.

Even though Ivan Sratsimir was the oldest living son of Ivan Alexander, he was not chosen to inherit the throne. Instead, his younger half-brother Ivan Shishman was named the heir. Because of this, Ivan Sratsimir declared himself emperor in Vidin. When Hungarian forces attacked and took over his lands, his father helped him. Together, they managed to push the invaders out.

After his father, Ivan Alexander, died in 1371, Ivan Sratsimir cut all ties with the capital city, Tarnovo. He even placed the church in Vidin under the control of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. This was a way to show that Vidin was completely independent. Vidin was safe from the Ottomans for a while because of its location. The Ottomans were attacking other parts of the Balkans to the south. Ivan Sratsimir did not try to help Ivan Shishman fight the Ottomans.

Only after Tarnovo fell in 1393 did Ivan Sratsimir become more active. He joined a big Christian army, called a crusade, led by the Hungarian king Sigismund. However, this army lost badly at the battle of Nicopolis in 1396. After this defeat, the Ottomans marched to Vidin and captured it. Ivan Sratsimir was taken prisoner and sent to Bursa, where he was probably killed. His son, Constantine II, later claimed to be the Emperor of Bulgaria. He even controlled some parts of his father's kingdom. But historians usually see Ivan Sratsimir as the last ruler of medieval Bulgaria.

A place in Antarctica, Sratsimir Hill on Trinity Peninsula, is named after him.

Early Life of Ivan Sratsimir

Image of Ivan Sratsimir from an old Bulgarian book, the Manasses Chronicle.

Ivan Sratsimir was born in Lovech in 1324 or 1325. He was the second son of Theodora and Ivan Alexander. At the time, his father was a local ruler, or despot, of Lovech. In 1337, when Ivan Sratsimir was a teenager, his father named him a co-emperor. His older brothers, Michael Asen IV and Ivan Asen IV, were also named co-emperors. This caused problems for Bulgaria because the power of each son was not clearly defined. This led to arguments between the brothers.

After being named co-emperor, Ivan Sratsimir was given control of Vidin. This was a special region, called an apanage, that his father wanted to keep under family rule. In the 1340s, Ivan Sratsimir became more important. He married Anna of Wallachia and already had children. His oldest brother, Michael Asen, had been married for ten years but had no children.

In 1352, Ivan Alexander created a new title, junior emperor. This was meant to make sure the next ruler would take the throne smoothly. Ivan Sratsimir was given this title. However, in late 1347 or early 1348, Ivan Alexander divorced his first wife and married a Jewish woman named Sarah-Theodora. This event made relations between Ivan Sratsimir and his father worse.

The conflict grew deeper after Ivan Shishman was born to Ivan Alexander and Sarah-Theodora in 1350 or 1351. The biggest problem happened in 1355–1356. Michael Asen IV, who was supposed to be the next emperor, died fighting the Ottomans. According to the rules of succession, Ivan Sratsimir should have been next. But Ivan Shishman was "born in the purple", meaning he was born after his father became emperor. So, Ivan Alexander and Sarah-Theodora declared Ivan Shishman the next ruler.

A sign of the trouble between father and son is that Ivan Sratsimir's picture was not in the Tetraevangelia of Ivan Alexander. This book showed the whole imperial family, even Ivan Alexander's son-in-law. This might mean Ivan Sratsimir was disinherited and declared himself emperor in Vidin. Or he might have been denied the "junior emperor" title and given Vidin as a compromise.

Ivan Sratsimir: Emperor of Vidin

Early Rule and Hungarian Attack

Ivan Sratsimir declared himself emperor in Vidin in 1356. He began using the title Emperor of Bulgarians and Greeks, just like his father. To make an alliance with Wallachia, he married his cousin, Anna of Wallachia. She was the daughter of the Wallachian ruler, Nicholas Alexander of Wallachia. This marriage happened in 1356 or 1357. It was likely arranged by Ivan Sratsimir's mother, Theodora, as a reaction to his father's actions.

Ivan Sratsimir ruled with his father's quiet agreement for about ten years. Then, in 1365, the Hungarian king Louis I attacked. Louis I called himself King of Bulgaria among other titles. He demanded that Ivan Sratsimir accept him as his overlord, or suzerainty, and become his vassal. When Ivan Sratsimir refused, Louis I marched from Hungary on May 1, 1365. He captured Vidin on June 2 after a short fight. The rest of the Vidin Tsardom was taken over in the next three months.

Ivan Sratsimir and his family were captured. They were taken to a castle in Croatia. The Vidin region was then directly ruled by Hungary. A Hungarian official, called a Ban, was put in charge. Ivan Sratsimir was held captive in Hungary for four years. He and his family were forced to become Catholic. The Hungarians also sent Franciscan monks to convert the people of Vidin to Catholicism. The Hungarians claimed that 200,000 people, or one-third of the population, converted. But this caused great unhappiness among the Bulgarian people and eventually failed. This was the first time people in Bulgaria were forced to change their religion in five centuries. A monk wrote in a book at the time:

This book was written by the sinful and unintelligent Dragan together with his brother Rayko in the days when the Hungarians ruled Vidin and it was great pain for the people at that time.

At first, Ivan Alexander, who was still the rightful ruler of Vidin, did not try to get it back. But by 1369, he formed an alliance with the Wallachian ruler Vladislav I Vlaicu and the despot Dobrotitsa. This group wanted to free Vidin from Hungarian rule. Their campaign was successful. There was also a popular uprising in Vidin against the Catholic church and Hungarian rule. Because of this, Louis I had to give up his claims. He returned Ivan Sratsimir to the throne in Vidin in the autumn of 1369. Some historians believe Louis I allowed Ivan Sratsimir to return as a Hungarian vassal. This was because Ivan Sratsimir was popular, and he used Hungarian support to become independent from his father and later from his brother.

Rule After 1371

The Second Bulgarian Empire after Ivan Alexander's death. Ivan Sratsimir ruled Vidin (north-west), his brother Ivan Shishman ruled the central areas, and despot Dobrotitsa controlled the eastern coast.

After Emperor Ivan Alexander died on February 17, 1371, Ivan Sratsimir completely separated Vidin from Tarnovo. He began to rule without even pretending to recognize the rulers in Tarnovo. The Patriarchate of Constantinople even wrote to him as "Most Faithful and Allmighty ruler of Vidin the whole of Bulgaria..." This showed that Ivan Sratsimir's power was seen as equal to Ivan Shishman's. Some details even suggest he was seen as a more important ruler.

Because there isn't much information, some early historians thought Ivan Sratsimir and Ivan Shishman fought over Sofia. But most modern historians disagree. Even with their rivalry, the brothers kept in touch until 1381. Ivan Sratsimir was even considered a possible successor by Ivan Shishman. However, some historians believe that right after his father died, Ivan Sratsimir tried to take control of all Bulgaria. He might have even captured Sofia for a year or two. This would have caused lasting bad feelings between the brothers. It also ruined any chance for them to unite against the Ottomans.

The relationship between the two Bulgarian states got worse in 1381. Ivan Sratsimir broke ties with the Bulgarian Patriarchate in Tarnovo. Instead, he placed the church in Vidin under the control of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. This decision showed Vidin's independence from Tarnovo. But it did not lead to open war between the two. The bad feelings between Ivan Sratsimir and Ivan Shishman remained as the Ottoman invasion began.

Most historians agree that in the 1370s and early 1380s, Vidin was still far from the Ottoman attacks. It was not in danger. During and after the big Ottoman invasion in north-eastern Bulgaria in 1388, sources suggest the brothers' relationship was difficult. Because the Ottomans were so successful in 1388, Ivan Sratsimir had to become an Ottoman vassal. He also had to accept an Ottoman army in Vidin.

Ivan Sratsimir did nothing while the Ottomans destroyed the rest of the Tarnovo Tsardom. Tarnovo fell in 1393, and Ivan Shishman was killed in 1395. In 1396, Ivan Sratsimir joined a Christian crusade. This crusade was organized by the Hungarian king Sigismund. When the crusader army reached Vidin, the Bulgarian ruler opened the city gates. He surrendered the Ottoman soldiers stationed there. The Ottoman soldiers in Oryahovo tried to fight back, but the local Bulgarians managed to capture them.

However, the Christian army suffered a huge defeat on September 25 at the battle of Nicopolis. The winning Ottoman sultan Bayezid I immediately marched to Vidin. He captured it by the end of 1396 or early 1397. Ivan Sratsimir was captured and imprisoned in the Ottoman capital, Bursa. He was probably killed there.

Culture, Economy, and Religion

The Brasov Charter, a document signed by Tsar Ivan Stratsimir.

During Ivan Sratsimir's rule, Vidin became an important center for writing and learning. It was greatly influenced by the Tarnovo Literary School. Some writings from this time still exist today. These include the Tetraevangelia of the Metropolitan Danail and the Vidin collection from 1360. Empress Anna ordered the Vidin collection, which tells the life stories of thirteen Orthodox saints. It also describes holy places in Jerusalem.

Joasaph of Bdin, who became the Archbishop of Vidin in 1392, wrote a special letter. It was called Praising epistle for the movement of St Philotea relics from Tarnovo to Vidin. This letter showed all the features of the Tarnovo Literary School. Joasaph also showed great respect for Patriarch Evtimiy of Tarnovo. Evtimiy was a very important person in Bulgarian culture and literature in the late 1300s.

In the late 1360s, the Vidin region resisted being forced to become Catholic by the Hungarian rulers. The people remained Orthodox. When Vidin came under the control of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1381, it caused a conflict with the Patriarchate of Tarnovo. But after Tarnovo fell and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was dissolved, Ivan Sratsimir tried to talk with the Ottomans. He wanted some of the former church regions of Tarnovo to be under his control. In 1395, he sent a group led by his son Constantine and Joasaph of Bdin. Their goal was to bring the holy items of Saint Philotea to Vidin. According to Joasaph, they succeeded, and the items stayed in Vidin for the next two centuries. However, he did not mention the results of any diplomatic talks.

Ivan Sratsimir started making his own coins as early as the 1360s. This was to show that he was a rightful ruler. Many coin treasures found in the Vidin Tsardom show how wealthy the region was. They also show that trade was very active in the late 1300s. The Brașov Charter is the only surviving document made by Ivan Sratsimir. It allowed merchants from the Transylvanian town of Brașov to trade freely in his kingdom.

Family Life

We don't know much about Ivan Sratsimir's first wife or children, only that they existed. Ivan Sratsimir married a second time to his cousin, Anna of Wallachia. She was the daughter of his uncle, Nicholas Alexander of Wallachia. They had at least three children:

• Princess Dorothea (Doroslava), who married Ban Tvrtko I of Bosnia. She became the first Queen of Bosnia.
• Tsar Constantine II of Bulgaria who became the next Emperor of Bulgaria after his father.
• An unnamed daughter, who died young while at the court of Elizabeth of Poland.