Monument to the Asen dynasty in their capital
Veliko Tarnovo
,
Bulgaria
, sculptor prof. Krum Damianov
The
Asen dynasty
(
Bulgarian
:
Асеневци
,
Asenevtsi
,
Romanian
:
As?ne?ti
) founded and ruled a medieval
Bulgarian
state, called in modern historiography the
Second Bulgarian Empire
, between 1185 and 1280.
The Asen dynasty rose as the leaders of Bulgaria after a
rebellion
against the
Byzantine Empire
at the turn of the year 1185/1186 caused by the increase in the Imperial taxes.
Some members of the Asen family entered Byzantine service in the thirteenth to fourteenth centuries. The name also occurs as a family name in modern Greek, and could go back to the same name. Their origin is obscure.
[1]
Origins
[
edit
]
Genealogy of the Asen dynasty
The origins of the dynasty, especially the ethnic background of the three Asen brothers (
Teodor I Peter IV
(
Romanian
:
Teodor I Petru IV
),
Ivan Asen I
(
Romanian
:
Ioan Asan I
) and
Kaloyan
(
Romanian
:
Caloian
)) are still a source of much controversy, debated among historians. There are three main hypotheses regarding their origins:
[2]
- Vlach
origin,
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
a view supported by many contemporary sources and Romanian scholars who base their claims on Western Crusade chronicles, and letters between
Pope Innocent III
and
Kaloyan
.
- Cuman
origin,
[10]
[11]
[12]
as some of the names in the dynasty, including Asen and Belgun, are derived from
Cuman language
, as well as the close ties to the
Cumans
, such as intermarriage (including
Kaloyan
's wife),
immediate entourage and allies.
Groups of Cumans settled and mingled with the local population in many regions of the Balkans between the 10th and 13th centuries and founded also other successive Bulgarian dynasties (
Terterids
and
Shishmanids
).
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
- Bulgarian
origin, a view that is common among the Bulgarian historians who reckon that all native sources (from the 13th century
) use predominantly the terms Bulgaria, Bulgarians and Bulgarian, the
Slavic
names like
Ivanko
(relative and murderer of
Ivan Asen I
),
Boril
and
Slav
, that tsar
Kaloyan
claimed provenance from the old
Bulgarian
rulers and his state from the
First Bulgarian Empire
[20]
and declares himself a
Bulgarian
avenger, adopting the moniker
the Romanslayer
by analogy with the emperor
Basil II the Bulgar Slayer
and shows cruelty to the Byzantines as revenge for the murdered and blinded
Bulgarians
.
[21]
In their own administrative documents and correspondence, the three rulers viewed themselves as descendants and successors of the Bulgarian Tsars
Samuil
,
Peter I
and
Simeon I
, and the state they founded as a continuation of the First Bulgarian Empire. However, this could be just a way to proclaim their legitimacy for the throne of the Empire.
In a correspondence, of 1199, the Pope talks about the "Roman descent" of Kaloyan. However, considering the actual text says
Nos autem audito quod de nobili urbis Romae prosapia progenitores tui originem traxerint
("We heard that your forefathers come from a noble family from the city of Rome"), it is usually dismissed as simply a hidden compliment of the Pope to Kaloyan.
Pope Innocent III in his letter to the Bulgarian King Kaloyan (Calojoannes) in 1204 addressed him "King of Bulgarians and Vlachs" (
rex Bulgarorum et Blachorum
); in answering the Pope, John called himself
imperator omnium Bulgarorum et Blachorum
("Emperor of all Bulgarians and Vlachs'), but signed himself
imperator Bulgariae Calojoannes
("Emperor Kaloyan of Bulgaria"); besides, the archbishop of Veliko Tarnovo called himself
totius Bulgariae et Blaciae Primas
("Primate of all Bulgaria and Vlachia").
Ivan Asen II
styles himselve “Tsar and sovereign of the
Bulgarians
“
[22]
and “Tsar of
Bulgarians
and
Greeks
”.
[23]
The Bulgarian historiography negate, while the Romanian highlight the role of the Vlachs in the uprising. However, the scientific debate reflects the nationalistic rivality from the 19-20th century, which did not exist in the 12-13th century. Vlachs and Bulgarian Slavs jointly inhabited Bulgaria, and both groups in sufferance were united against the common cause under a leader, regardless of the leader "race". The Asen brothers were associated with the Vlach population of the mountainous regions around Trnovo,
Niketas Choniates
recorded Vlach shamans during revolt exhibition, but nevertheless of their ethnicity, it was a joint venture of the Bulgarians, Vlachs and Cumans.
Etymology
[
edit
]
The name of the dynasty comes from one of the brothers, namely Asen I. The etymology is most likely of Cuman Turkic origin, derived from "esen" which meant "safe, sound, healthy" and the Belgun nickname seems to be derived from Turkic "bilgun", which meant "wise". Further support to this connection can be found in the charters of the
Great Lavra
of Mt. Athos from the end of the 12th century, which mention the monastery's problems with some of the Cuman stratiotes, where "Asen" is listed as the name of one of those Cumans.
[25]
Other study shows that the only name that makes sense is
anish
("descent") and the word can be found almost exclusively in the languages of the Kipchak Turks
[26]
Bulgarian Emperors from the Asen dynasty
[
edit
]
Byzantine branch
[
edit
]
The Asens in Byzantium largely descend from Ivan Asen III, who ruled briefly as Emperor of Bulgaria before fleeing to Constantinople as
Ivaylo
's uprising was gaining momentum in 1280. A
despotes
under
Michael VIII Palaiologos
, Ivan Asen III had already been married to the Byzantine Emperor's eldest daughter,
Irene Palaiologina
. The couple's five sons and two daughters were the progenitors of one of the highest-regarded Byzantine noble families of their time, along with the
Palaiologoi
. Among the Byzantine Asens, three bore the title of
despotes
, three that of
sebastokrator
, two
panhypersebastos
, one was a
megas doux
and two were titled
megas primikerios
.
[27]
In Greek, the male form of the family name is rendered as ?σ?νη? (
Asanis
) and the female as Ασαν?να (
Asanina
).
A smaller branch descends from
Elena Asenina of Bulgaria
, wife of Nicaean Emperor
Theodore II Laskaris
.
[28]
The Asens of Byzantium intermarried with other prominent noble dynasties, including the
Kantakouzenos
,
Doukas
,
Laskaris
,
Tornikios
,
Raoul
and
Zaccaria
families. Notable members of the Asen family in the Byzantine Empire include:
Byzantine Asens elsewhere
[
edit
]
From Byzantium, the Asens spread as far as
Frankish Greece
, the
Principality of Theodoro
, the
Principality of Moldavia
, the
Kingdom of Naples
and the
Kingdom of Aragon
.
[27]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Frederick B. Chary, History of Bulgaria, The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations, ABC-CLIO, 2011, ISBN 0313384479, p. 12.
- ^
Humanitas 2008
: 4
- ^
Runciman, Steven (December 3, 1987).
A History of the Crusades
. CUP Archive.
ISBN
9780521347723
– via Google Books.
- ^
Paul Stephenson,
Byzantium's Balkan Frontier: A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900-1204
, Cambridge University Press, 2004,
ISBN
978-0521027564
- ^
Boldur Alexandru, Istoria Basarabiei, Editura Frunza, Bucuresti, 1990, p 95
- ^
Madgearu, Alexandru (2014). As?ne?tii. Istoria politico-militara a statului dinastiei Asan (1185?1280). Targovi?te: Cetatea de Scaun.
ISBN
9786065372276
.
- ^
"o-city-of-byzantium-annals-of-niketas-choniates-ttranslated-by-harry-j-magoulias-1984"
– via Internet Archive.
- ^
Clifford J. Rogers, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology, Volume 1, Oxford University Press, 2010, ISBN 0195334035, p. 522.
- ^
Christoph Baumer, The History of Central Asia: The Age of Islam and the Mongols, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016, ISBN 1838609407, p. 75.
- ^
Jennifer Lawler, of the Byzantine Empire, McFarland, 2011, ISBN 0786466162, p. 234.
- ^
Istvan Vasary (2005)
Cumans and Tatars
, Cambridge University Press, p. 2
- ^
The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, Volume 1, Denis Sinor, pg 279.
- ^
Grumeza, Ion (August 4, 2010).
The Roots of Balkanization: Eastern Europe C.E. 500-1500
.
University Press of America
.
ISBN
9780761851356
– via Google Books.
- ^
Bulgarian Folk Customs, Mercia MacDermott, pg 27
- ^
Entangled Histories of the Balkans - Volume Three: Shared Pasts, Disputed Legacies
Balkan Studies Library, Roumen Daskalov, Alexander Vezenkov, Publisher BRILL, 2015,
ISBN
9004290362
, pp. 289-316.
- ^
?Kalojan, der Griechentoter"
- ^
Turnovo inscription of Tsar Ivan Asen II in the Holy 40 Martyrs Church in honour of the victory at Klokotnitsa on 9 March 1230
- ^
Иван Божилов, Васил Гюзелев:
История на средновековна България VII - XIV век.
Verlag Anubis, Sofia 2006, deutsche Ubersetzung des Titels: Iwan Boschilow, Wasil Gjuselew:
Geschichte des mittelalterlichen Bulgariens VII. ? XIV. Jahrhundert. Band 1 der dreibandigen Geschichte Bulgariens.
ISBN 978-954-426-718-6, S. 487.
- ^
"Пламен Павлов - Бунтари и авантюристи в средновековна България"
.
liternet.bg
(in Bulgarian).
- ^
Dimitri Korobeinikov, A broken mirror: the Kipcak world in the thirteenth century. In the volume: The other Europe from the Middle Ages, Edited by Florin Curta, Brill 2008, p. 400
- ^
a
b
Bo?ilov, pp. 20-22.
- ^
Bo?ilov, pp. 102-103.
References
[
edit
]
- Acropolitae, George (2007).
George Akropolites: The History
. Translated by, with commentary and introduction from, Ruth Macrides. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ISBN
978-0-19-921067-1
.
- Bo?ilov, Ivan (1985).
Familijata na Asenevci (1186–1460)
(in Bulgarian). Sofia:
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
. OCLC
14378091
.
- Dimnik, Martin (2004). "Kievan Rus', the Bulgars and the southern Slavs,
c.
1020?
c.
1200". In
Luscombe, David
;
Riley-Smith, Jonathan
(eds.).
The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume 4, c.1024?c.1198, Part 2
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 254?276.
ISBN
978-1-13905403-4
.
- Vasary, Istvan (2005) "Cumans and Tatars", Cambridge University Press: pp. 34?42
- Stephenson, Paul (2000) "Byzantium's Balkan Frontier ? A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900?1204" pp. 289?300
- History of the Byzantine Empire, A. A. Vasiliev 1935
- Djuvara, Neagu
(2008).
O scurta istorie a romanilor povestita celor tineri
. Humanitas.
ISBN
978-973-50-2591-5
.
- Stelian Brezeanu, Istoria Imperiului Bizantin, Bucuresti, MERONIA, 2007
- Boldur, Alexandru (1990).
Istoria Basarabiei
(in Romanian). Bucuresti: Editura Frunza.
- Wolff, Robert Lee
(April 1949). "The Second Bulgarian Empire. Its Origin and History to 1204".
Speculum
.
24
(2). The University of Chicago Press: 167?199.
doi
:
10.2307/2848560
.
JSTOR
2848560
.
S2CID
164165193
.
- Fine, John
(1994).
The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest
. University of Michigan Press.
ISBN
9780472082605
.
External links
[
edit
]