#头条创作挑战赛 #
The Bulgarian state in the Middle Ages was mainly divided into two phases: the First Bulgarian Empire (681-1018) and the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1397). The First Bulgarian Empire was finally destroyed by the Byzantines in 1018, entering the era of Byzantine rule; The Second Empire was also ended by the Ottomans in 1397, and Bulgaria was ruled by the Ottoman Empire for almost 5 centuries...
First Bulgarian Empire
It can be said that the Second Bulgarian Empire was the last glory of the Bulgarian state and the Bulgarian nation in the Middle Ages, after which Bulgaria entered the "dark ages" of long-term rule, occupation and oppression, until after the Russo-Turkish War in 1878, Bulgaria, which had experienced ups and downs, became independent with the help of Russia and rebuilt the Bulgarian kingdom...
Flag of Bulgaria
Therefore, the fall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1397 became the death of Bulgaria. In this issue, we will focus on this history of Bulgaria's decline and talk about the process of the Second Bulgarian Empire from its fall to its demise.
Hopes dashed
In 1185, the Bulgarians, led by the Assen brothers, rebelled against the Byzantine Empire and successfully gained independence and established the Second Bulgarian Empire. From 1218 to 1241, Ivan Asen II ascended the Tsar throne, ushering in the era of the most powerful Bulgarian Second Empire.
Assen Dynasty Monument
After the death of Tsar Ivan Asen II, Bulgaria's internal political turmoil, successive tsars fell into internal power struggle, taking advantage of the rise of Byzantium, Hungary, Serbia and other strong neighbors, and the Mongol-Tatar invasion of the Golden Horde in the north, Bulgaria fell into an existential crisis under internal and external troubles.
Ivan Asen II
At a critical juncture, the Bulgarian pig Ivajlo launched a peasant uprising in 1277 to attack the tsar and feudal nobility internally; Fight the Mongol invaders externally. Saved Bulgaria from ruin. But after that, the great nobility in the country seized power, Tsar George I came to the throne, Ivajlo was killed, and the vigorous Ivajlo uprising came to an end.
Ivaylo peasant uprising
Tsar George I and three successive rulers were subject to the Mongol Golden Horde, and it was not until Tsar Svetoslav ascended the throne that Bulgaria once again regained its independence and development. Svetoslav eventually unified a divided Bulgaria by strengthening government institutions, buying off aristocratic feudal lords, and gaining popular support.
Tsar George I
Tsar Odor Svetoslav Dzerzer (Тодор Светослав Тертер/Theodore Svetoslav) was the son of George I, who reigned for 22 years (1299-1321), almost returning to Bulgaria's glory, but with his death, the Second Bulgarian Empire fell into complete decay and eventually inevitably went to extinction...
Coat of arms of the Bulgarian Empire
During the reign of Tsar Svetoslav, relations with the Mongol-Tatars eased and control over the feudal nobility everywhere was strengthened, after which the situation in the country temporarily stabilized. At the same time, the Byzantine Empire was attacked by the rising Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor and was temporarily in trouble.
Mongol-Tatar
At the same time, the court of the Byzantine Empire was also restless, and bloody conflicts occurred frequently, and the Byzantine Empire, the former overlord of the Balkans, was already a paper tiger in the middle of the external power. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Bulgarian tsar Svetoslav launched a counterattack against Byzantium...
The Bulgarians, while Byzantium was busy dealing with the Ottoman Turkish offensive and the rebellion of the mercenaries of the Catalan mercenaries, recovered the lands between the Balkan and Stranja mountains in one fell swoop, and later several ports on the Black Sea coast. Forcing Byzantium to sign a peace treaty with Bulgaria, recognizing Bulgaria's de facto control over these lands.
Mercenaries of the Catalan mercenary regiment
As a result, Bulgaria and Byzantium entered a 15-year period of peace, during which Bulgaria rapidly expanded its economy and trade, and produced a considerable number of weapons and daily necessities. At this time, Bulgaria saw a glimmer of hope for revival and was about to become a Balkan power again.
Svetoslav established good relations with the growing Kingdom of Serbia and prepared to jointly attack the Byzantine Empire's Thrace region in 1321 in order to seize more territory. But before it was implemented, Tsar Svetoslav died in the autumn of that year, after which the last glimmer of hope for the revival of Bulgaria was dashed, and it was inevitable that it would decay .......
The beginning of decay
In the autumn of 1321, Theodor Svetoslav Dzerzer, the last promising lord of the Second Bulgarian Empire, died, and was succeeded by his son Georgi, known as "Tsar Georgi II Тертер, reigned 1321-1322)".
Bulgarian Terzer dynasty
But this Tsar Georgi was a short-lived ghost, dying after only one year on the throne, and died after his death, ending the Bulgarian Terzer dynasty. The Bulgarian state also fell into internal chaos in the process of competing for the imperial throne, but fortunately, the Byzantium next door also had no time to interfere in Bulgaria's internal affairs because of the competition for the imperial throne.
As for the Bulgarians, in the chaotic struggle for the throne, the House of Lords elected Mikhail Shishman, the absolute king of Vidin who had not been involved in the throne dispute, as tsar, ending the power vacuum and beginning the reign of the Bulgarian Shishmanian dynasty.
Mikhail Shishman
This was Tsar Mikhail III Shishman Assen (Михаил III Шишман Асен/Michael Sisman, reigned 1323-1330). Tsar Shishman did not want Bulgaria to be divided, so he insisted on the anti-Byzantine position of successive tsars, and took advantage of the Byzantine civil strife to start a war to unite the people.
In 1325, after a conflict between Andronikos II and his nephew Andronikos III in Byzantium over territory, Bulgaria took the opportunity to send troops, but it ended in failure. At this time, the powerful Serbia also intervened in this melee.
Andronikos II
In 1327, the Serbian-Bulgarian-Byzantine melee began, during which the three kingdoms changed their roles as enemies and allies several times, but they could not achieve decisive results, and only Serbia gradually grew stronger in the melee. So in 1328, Bulgaria and Byzantium concluded a peace treaty against Serbia.
At this time, the new Byzantine monarch was Andronikos III, and his sister, Odona, widow of the former Bulgarian Tsar Svetoslav, became the wife of the current Bulgarian Tsar Hishman. For this reason, Shishman also took early leave of absence from his wife, Anna, the sister of King Stephen Uroš of Serbia, and even exiled Anna's mother and son abroad.
Andronikos III
This greatly attracted the Byzantine Empire, but offended Serbia, so the Serbian king also wooed the old Byzantine emperor Andronikos II and sent troops to strategic parts of Macedonia. This culminated in the decisive battle between Bulgaria (with Byzantium behind it) and Serbia in 1330 AD!
On July 28, 1330, the two sides fought a decisive battle at Wilbutzde (near present-day Chustendil), which resulted in the total destruction of the Bulgarian army and the death of Tsar Shishman with serious wounds! Bulgaria's defeat in this campaign "marked the beginning of the decline of the Bulgarian state"!
Then King Stephen of Serbia asked the Serbs to bring his sister Anna back from the penal colony, and then supported his sister Anna's son, Ivan, to the throne, known as "Tsar Ivan Stefan / Stephen (Иван Стефан/Ivan Stephen)", and Bulgaria fell and Serbia became the emperor of Bulgaria.
King Stefan Uroš III of Serbia
But Tsar Stefan was of Serbian descent after all, so in 1331 there was a riot in Bulgaria, and the nobles of Veliko Tarnovo used a peaceful coup to send the new tsar and his mother Anna back to Serbia. The nephew of the former Tsar Shishman, Ivan Alexander (Иван Александър/Ivan Alexander, reigned 1331-1371), became the new Tsar.
In the same year, riots broke out within Serbia, as a result of which the Serbian nobility overthrew the old king, Stephen Uroš III, and installed his son Stephen Dusan (1331-1355) as King of Serbia.
The ambitious Duchamp king took advantage of the civil strife in Byzantium to launch a conquest and conquer most of Macedonia and almost all of Albania, as well as vast territories in central and northern Greece. Duchamp was determined to build a powerful medieval Serbian Empire, and in 1345 Duchamp proclaimed himself emperor and became emperor of the Serbian Empire.
The Coronation of Tsar Stephen Duchamp of Serbia as Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire
This Stephen Duchamp became the biggest rival of the new Bulgarian Tsar, Ivan Alexander, and led Bulgaria to the end of its demise...
Towards destruction
At the beginning of his accession to the throne, Ivan Alexander realized that the real enemy of Bulgaria was not Byzantium, nor Serbia, but the Ottoman Empire, which was rising strongly! Therefore, during the 40 years of his reign in Bulgaria, he devoted himself to winning over the Balkan countries.
Ottoman Empire
So from the beginning of his accession to the throne, Tsar Ivan Alexander dealt with domestic problems and threats from neighboring countries such as the Byzantine Empire and the Serbian Empire, and led Bulgaria into an era of economic recovery and cultural and religious revival. But Ivan Aleksandr's opponent is Serbia's strongest king, Stephen Duchamp.
Stephen Duchamp
Stephen Duchamp, who also ruled Serbia for more than twenty years, succeeded him in the same year as Ivan Alexander, but in terms of ability and ambition. Later Stephen Duchamp was crowned "Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, Bulgarians and Albanians" by the Orthodox Church!
Stephen Duchamp
The territory of the country ruled by Stephen Duchamp occupies about 2/3 of the entire area of the Balkan Peninsula! And the stronger Serbia was, the weaker Bulgaria became, so Tsar Alexander could only marry his sister to Emperor Duchamp and keep the peace by marrying.
Taking advantage of the rare period of peace, Tsar Ivan Alexander tried his best to revive the Second Bulgarian Empire, but at this time, the Bulgarian state had long been difficult to return, and Tsar Alexander was powerless and unable to solve the problem of feudal division at home, and could only watch Bulgaria become a stepping stone for the Ottoman Empire to conquer the Balkans step by step...
Coat of arms of Bulgaria
During the reign of Ivan Alexander, Bulgaria had long been divided, and there were still many "princely states" large and small in Bulgaria, which was already seriously reduced, among which there were three independent small countries:
- l the Duchy of Dobroga, occupied by the noble Barlik, between the lower Danube and the Black Sea;
- l The Duchy of Viddin in the Northwest Territories, administered by Ivan Stratimir, son of Tsar Ivan Alexander;
- Ivan Shishman, son of Tsar Ivan Alexander, ruled the principality of Tarnovo in the capital region.
Bulgaria is divided into three
In the late Ivan Alexander period, the frequent invasions of the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary, and the dilemma of the Black Death, made Tsar Alexander, who was bent on reviving Bulgaria, also disheartened, and he could only proclaim himself "Tsar of Bulgarians and Greeks", hoping for an ethereal theology.
In order to prevent succession disputes in the country after his death, Tsar Alexander divided the few remaining territories among his sons, namely the Duchy of Vidin and the Duchy of Tarnovo above. This heralded the decline and division of the Bulgarian Empire, which was divided into three and destined to be conquered by the Ottomans.
After Alexander's death in 1371, Bulgaria was divided and so-called "tsars" appeared in different regions, such as the Duchy of Vidin: successively ruled by Tsar Belauer (1331-1336, Alexander's uncle) and Tsar Ivan Slazimir (Иван Срацимир, son of Alexander).
There was also Tsar Mikhail Asen (Михаил Асен, 1336-1354, son of Alexander) who ruled Tarnovo; Tsar Ivan Asen IV (Иван Асен IV, son of Alexander, son of Alexander) who ruled Preslav.
Lineage of the Bulgarian Shishmanian dynasty
Alexander's other sons also served as tsars: Ivan Shishman (Иван Шишман, 1371-1395); Ivan Asen V (Иван Асен V, 1371). In short, after the death of Tsar Alexander, the whole of Bulgaria was completely scattered and left to the mercy of the Ottomans ...
Then the Ottomans won a complete victory at the Battle of Konomen on the Marika River, and the Macedonian monarchs could no longer stop the Ottoman attack, and the Balkan front collapsed! Both Bulgaria and Serbia became dependencies of the Ottoman Empire.
The Ottomans invade the Balkans
In 1385, the Ottomans occupied Sofia. In order to save the Ottoman Army, the Serbian League was formed against the Ottomans, but the Serbos-Bosnian coalition was annihilated by the Ottoman army. In 1388, 30,000 Ottoman troops entered Bulgaria, all but Varna and the capital Veliko Tarnovo fell.
On June 15, 1389, the famous Battle of Kosovo began, and the Ottomans defeated more than 100,000 allied troops from Wallachia, Bosnia, Albania and other countries with an absolute disadvantage of 60,000 troops! Although the Ottoman Sultan Murad I (1362-1389) was killed in battle, his son Bajezid I (1389-1402) quickly succeeded to the throne, turning defeat into attack, winning more with less, setting a classic example of the Battle of Kosovo (for details, see Battle of Kosovo 1389, Ottoman Empire vs Balkan Coalition - A Brief History of the Ottomans 7).
Battle of Kosovo
In 1393 AD, the Ottoman army besieged the Bulgarian capital Veliko Tarnovo, and after three months of stubborn resistance, the Bulgarians fell on July 17, marking the end of the Second Bulgarian Empire! Although the Kingdom of Vidin was still alive at this time, Bulgarian history had entered a period of Ottoman occupation (1397-1878).
Expansion of the Ottoman Empire
The Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Strasimir, who refused to surrender, chose to join the Hungarian army in 1396 to launch a final battle against the Ottoman army after the collapse of the country, known as the "Battle of Nico Fort", and the final result was still a complete Ottoman victory (for details, see Crusader Terminator at the Battle of Nicoburg, Bayezid I (center) - A Brief History of the Ottomans 10).
Battle of Fort Nico
At this point, the medieval Bulgarian state came to an end, and Bulgaria entered a period of 500 years of Ottoman Turkish rule. It can be said that all of Bulgaria was a bridgehead and victim of the rise of the Ottoman Empire and its invasion of the Balkans! The hegemon and protagonist of the Balkans, since then became the Ottoman Turks ...
So what was the state of Bulgaria under the Ottoman Empire? What kind of resistance and struggle will the Bulgarians, ruled by the Ottomans, carry out? And how did Bulgaria recover from Ottoman rule?
Stay tuned to this series, and stay tuned for the next installment!