Aldimir
Encyclopedia
Aldimir or EltimirWhile Aldimir is mentioned in Medieval Greek
sources solely as Ἐλτιμηρῆς, Eltimiris, his original name Aldimir has been established thanks to the discovery of his son Ivan Dragushin's epitaph
. (Елтимир) (fl
. 1280–1305) was a Bulgarian
noble of the 13th–14th century. A member of the Terter dynasty
and a younger brother of Tsar George I Terter
, Aldimir was an influential local ruler as the despot of Kran
. Aldimir rose to that position under his brother George, though as Smilets assumed the throne he was forced into exile. At the turn of the 14th century, Aldimir returned to Bulgaria as an ally of the regent widowed consort Smiltsena
. He did not oppose the accession of his nephew Theodore Svetoslav
and even assisted him in ousting his contenders. However, he was promptly eliminated by Theodore Svetoslav when he betrayed him to ally with the Byzantines
.
amidst sedition. The brothers must have originated from the Cuman royal dynasty Terteroba, and the ruler Köten
was probably their relative or even direct ancestor. Pavlov also interprets Aldimir's name as originating from the Cuman-language
expression for "heated iron".
Aldimir rose in importance with the accession of his older brother George (r. 1280–1292) to the Bulgarian throne in 1280. He must have been conferred the high noble title of despot during George's reign, and American historian John Fine believes Aldimir was granted his appanage
at that time. Pavlov, however, conjectures that Aldimir's domain dates to 1298, long after George's reign.
Unlike the neighbouring principality of Smilets at Kopsis
, Aldimir remained loyal to the Bulgarian government and ensured that his domain retained its ties to the capital Tarnovo
. Fine describes Aldimir's lands as spanning the region from modern Sliven
in the east to Kazanlak
or Karlovo
in the west, just south of the Balkan Mountains
. His capital was the fortress of Kran in the Rose Valley
.
After George's abdication in 1292, Aldimir had to flee into exile. He may have followed his brother as a refugee in the Byzantine Empire, though he certainly settled in the Golden Horde
not long thereafter. Perhaps with Tatar
approval, Aldimir returned to Bulgaria in 1298, after the reign of Smilets (r. 1292–1298) was over and the empire was in the hands of the child Tsar Ivan II
and his mother, the widow of Smilets tentatively known as Smiltsena. Aldimir pledged his loyalty to Smiltsena, who either granted him the domain south of the Balkan Mountains or restored him to his former appanage. To consolidate that union, Aldimir married Smiltsena's daughter, the princess Maria
, possibly in late 1298.
With Aldimir's appointment as despot of Kran, Smiltsena ensured that his lands were better protected from Smilets' brothers Radoslav and Voysil who, as émigrés in Byzantium, held aspirations for the Bulgarian throne or at least their former domains. During Smiltsena's regency, Aldimir was one of the most influential people in Bulgaria; indeed, Byzantine statesman Theodore Metochites
refers to the "Scythian [i.e. Cuman] venturer", as he calls Aldimir, as the queen's right-hand man. Aldimir's leading position leaves little doubt that he was involved in the fruitless anti-Byzantine negotiations between Bulgaria and Serbia in 1299. Pavlov even goes as far as to suggest that the proposed anti-Byzantine union was the brainchild of Aldimir.
Radoslav headed a Byzantine-supported campaign against Aldimir en route to the capital. However, the attack had disastrous consequences to Radoslav. He was captured by Aldimir, blinded and forced back to Thessaloniki
, while his Byzantine generals were sent as captives to Theodore Svetoslav. With this act, Aldimir pledged his allegiance to Theodore Svetoslav, who rewarded him with an extension to his appanage. The despotate of Kran was enlarged to the east to include the fortresses of Yambol
and Lardea
near today's Karnobat
.
While Aldimir was nominally loyal to Theodore Svetoslav, the presence of Smiltsena and Ivan at his court would have been seen by the Bulgarian emperor as a threat. In addition, Aldimir perhaps harboured a desire to accede to the throne himself. After Theodore Svetoslav's victory over Byzantium at Skafida
in 1304, the Byzantines approached Aldimir with a proposal for an anti-Bulgarian alliance. Aldimir initially remained adamant and was hostile to the Byzantine forces which entered his domain in 1305. However, by the end of that year Aldimir had switched sides to the Byzantines, as Theodore Svetoslav took back the fortresses that he had granted to Aldimir. Shortly thereafter, Theodore Svetoslav restored his direct power over Kran by reconquering and annexing the appanage.
Aldimir may have been murdered during this campaign, as no activity of his is mentioned in later sources. His widow Maria and his son Ivan Dragushin managed to escape to Serbia, where Maria's sister, Theodora
, was married to the prince Stephen Dečanski. Having become a Serbian subject, Ivan Dragushin was installed by his first cousin King Stephen Dušan as a local ruler in the region of Macedonia
. Donor's portraits of Maria and Ivan Dragushin exist in the Pološko Monastery near Kavadarci
, where Ivan Dragushin was buried before 1340.
Medieval Greek
Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, is the stage of the Greek language between the beginning of the Middle Ages around 600 and the Ottoman conquest of the city of Constantinople in 1453. The latter date marked the end of the Middle Ages in Southeast Europe...
sources solely as Ἐλτιμηρῆς, Eltimiris, his original name Aldimir has been established thanks to the discovery of his son Ivan Dragushin's epitaph
Epitaph
An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...
. (Елтимир) (fl
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
. 1280–1305) was a Bulgarian
Second Bulgarian Empire
The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state which existed between 1185 and 1396 . A successor of the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before gradually being conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th-early 15th century...
noble of the 13th–14th century. A member of the Terter dynasty
Terter dynasty
Terter , also Terterids or Terterovtsi , was a Bulgarian noble and royal house that ruled the Second Bulgarian Empire between 1280 and 1292, as well as between 1300 and 1323.The Terterids were originally of Cuman origin Terter , also Terterids or Terterovtsi (Тертеровци), was a Bulgarian noble and...
and a younger brother of Tsar George I Terter
George I of Bulgaria
George Terter I ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1280-1292. The date of his birth is unknown, and he died in 1308/1309.The reign of George Terter I represents a continuation of Bulgaria's precipitous decline during the second half of the 13th century...
, Aldimir was an influential local ruler as the despot of Kran
Kran, Bulgaria
Kran is a town in central Bulgaria. It is located just south of the Balkan Mountains and is administratively part of Kazanlak Municipality, Stara Zagora Province. Kran was an important castle of the Second Bulgarian Empire in the 13th–14th century...
. Aldimir rose to that position under his brother George, though as Smilets assumed the throne he was forced into exile. At the turn of the 14th century, Aldimir returned to Bulgaria as an ally of the regent widowed consort Smiltsena
Smiltsena Palaiologina
Smiltsena was а Byzantine princess, niece of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, and empress-consort of Tsar Smilets of Bulgaria.-Family:...
. He did not oppose the accession of his nephew Theodore Svetoslav
Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria
Theodore Svetoslav ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from 1300 to 1322. The date of his birth is unknown. He was a wise and capable ruler who brought stability and relative prosperity to the Bulgarian Empire after two decades of constant Mongol intervention in the internal issues of the Empire...
and even assisted him in ousting his contenders. However, he was promptly eliminated by Theodore Svetoslav when he betrayed him to ally with the Byzantines
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
.
Under George I and Smiltsena
Just like his brother George, Aldimir was of Cuman origin. Bulgarian historian Plamen Pavlov is of the opinion that Aldimir and George's ancestors had sought refuge in Bulgaria after 1241, when they left the Kingdom of HungaryKingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
amidst sedition. The brothers must have originated from the Cuman royal dynasty Terteroba, and the ruler Köten
Köten
Köten was a Cuman khan and member of the Terter clan. This Köten is the same Prince Kotjan Sutoevic of the Russian annals, who forged the Russian-Cuman alliance against the Tatars...
was probably their relative or even direct ancestor. Pavlov also interprets Aldimir's name as originating from the Cuman-language
Cuman language
Cuman was a Kipchak Turkic language spoken by the Cumans and Kipchaks; the language was similar to the today's Crimean Tatar language...
expression for "heated iron".
Aldimir rose in importance with the accession of his older brother George (r. 1280–1292) to the Bulgarian throne in 1280. He must have been conferred the high noble title of despot during George's reign, and American historian John Fine believes Aldimir was granted his appanage
Appanage
An apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
at that time. Pavlov, however, conjectures that Aldimir's domain dates to 1298, long after George's reign.
Unlike the neighbouring principality of Smilets at Kopsis
Anevo Fortress
The Anevo Fortress or Kopsis is a medieval castle in central Bulgaria, the ruins of which are located some from the village of Anevo in Sopot Municipality, Plovdiv Province. Constructed in the first half of the 12th century, it lies on a steep hilltop at the southern foot of the Balkan...
, Aldimir remained loyal to the Bulgarian government and ensured that his domain retained its ties to the capital Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred to as the "City of the Tsars", Veliko Tarnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famous as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists...
. Fine describes Aldimir's lands as spanning the region from modern Sliven
Sliven
Sliven is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality. It is a relatively large town with 89,848 inhabitants, as of February 2011....
in the east to Kazanlak
Kazanlak
Kazanlak, formerly Kazanlık is a Bulgarian town in Stara Zagora Province, located in the middle of the plain of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan mountain range, at the eastern end of the Rose Valley...
or Karlovo
Karlovo
Karlovo is a picturesque and a historically important town in central Bulgaria located in a fertile valley along the river Stryama at the southern foot of the Balkan Mountains...
in the west, just south of the Balkan Mountains
Balkan Mountains
The Balkan mountain range is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the Vrashka Chuka Peak on the border between Bulgaria and eastern Serbia eastward through central Bulgaria to Cape Emine on the Black Sea...
. His capital was the fortress of Kran in the Rose Valley
Rose Valley, Bulgaria
The Rose Valley is a region in Bulgaria located just south of the Balkan Mountains and the eastern part of the lower Sredna Gora chain to the south...
.
After George's abdication in 1292, Aldimir had to flee into exile. He may have followed his brother as a refugee in the Byzantine Empire, though he certainly settled in the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
not long thereafter. Perhaps with Tatar
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
approval, Aldimir returned to Bulgaria in 1298, after the reign of Smilets (r. 1292–1298) was over and the empire was in the hands of the child Tsar Ivan II
Ivan II of Bulgaria
Ivan II , reigned as emperor of Bulgaria from 1298 to 1299. The date of his birth is unknown, but probably not much earlier than c. 1290. He died as a monk in exile before 1330.Ivan II succeeded his father Smilets as emperor in Tărnovo in 1298...
and his mother, the widow of Smilets tentatively known as Smiltsena. Aldimir pledged his loyalty to Smiltsena, who either granted him the domain south of the Balkan Mountains or restored him to his former appanage. To consolidate that union, Aldimir married Smiltsena's daughter, the princess Maria
Marina Smilets of Bulgaria
Marina Smilets was the eledest daughter of tsar Smilets of Bulgaria and his Byzantine wife.-Family:The date and the place of Marina's birth are unknown, but she was born before her father's ascension on the Bulgarian throne in 1292, maybe in his official residence in Kran...
, possibly in late 1298.
With Aldimir's appointment as despot of Kran, Smiltsena ensured that his lands were better protected from Smilets' brothers Radoslav and Voysil who, as émigrés in Byzantium, held aspirations for the Bulgarian throne or at least their former domains. During Smiltsena's regency, Aldimir was one of the most influential people in Bulgaria; indeed, Byzantine statesman Theodore Metochites
Theodore Metochites
Theodore Metochites was a Byzantine statesman, author, gentleman philosopher, and patron of the arts. From c. 1305 to 1328 he held the position of personal adviser to emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos.- Life :...
refers to the "Scythian [i.e. Cuman] venturer", as he calls Aldimir, as the queen's right-hand man. Aldimir's leading position leaves little doubt that he was involved in the fruitless anti-Byzantine negotiations between Bulgaria and Serbia in 1299. Pavlov even goes as far as to suggest that the proposed anti-Byzantine union was the brainchild of Aldimir.
Under Theodore Svetoslav
In 1299, George's son and Aldimir's nephew Theodore Svetoslav (r. 1300–1322), the legitimate successor to the Bulgarian throne, invaded Bulgaria along with Tatar troops. The news of that invasion was enough to force Smiltsena and Ivan to flee to the despotate of Kran even before Theodore Svetoslav's troops had reached the capital. Aldimir gave refuge to Smiltsena and Ivan, though he was clearly not opposed to his newly crowned nephew. In 1300, Smilets' brother sebastokratorSebastokrator
Sebastokratōr was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers whose states bordered the Empire or were within its sphere of influence. The word is a compound of "sebastos" Sebastokratōr was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used...
Radoslav headed a Byzantine-supported campaign against Aldimir en route to the capital. However, the attack had disastrous consequences to Radoslav. He was captured by Aldimir, blinded and forced back to Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, while his Byzantine generals were sent as captives to Theodore Svetoslav. With this act, Aldimir pledged his allegiance to Theodore Svetoslav, who rewarded him with an extension to his appanage. The despotate of Kran was enlarged to the east to include the fortresses of Yambol
Yambol
Yambol is a city in southeastern Bulgaria, an administrative centre of Yambol Province. It lies on both banks of the Tundzha river in the historical region of Thrace. As of February 2011, the town has a population of 72,843 inhabitants. It is occasionally spelt 'Jambol'.The administrative centres...
and Lardea
Lardea
Lardea or Lardeya is a ruined late Roman and medieval fortress, situated near the village of Lozenets in Straldzha Municipality, Yambol Province, south-eastern Bulgaria. In the Middle Ages, Lardea often changed hands between Bulgaria and Byzantium....
near today's Karnobat
Karnobat
Karnobat is a town in the Burgas Province, Southeastern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Karnobat Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 18,480 inhabitants.-Geography:...
.
While Aldimir was nominally loyal to Theodore Svetoslav, the presence of Smiltsena and Ivan at his court would have been seen by the Bulgarian emperor as a threat. In addition, Aldimir perhaps harboured a desire to accede to the throne himself. After Theodore Svetoslav's victory over Byzantium at Skafida
Battle of Skafida
The Battle of Skafida occurred in 1304 near Poros , Bulgaria. As a result the Bulgarian Empire overcame the crisis from the end of the 13th century, achieved internal stability and regained most of Thrace...
in 1304, the Byzantines approached Aldimir with a proposal for an anti-Bulgarian alliance. Aldimir initially remained adamant and was hostile to the Byzantine forces which entered his domain in 1305. However, by the end of that year Aldimir had switched sides to the Byzantines, as Theodore Svetoslav took back the fortresses that he had granted to Aldimir. Shortly thereafter, Theodore Svetoslav restored his direct power over Kran by reconquering and annexing the appanage.
Aldimir may have been murdered during this campaign, as no activity of his is mentioned in later sources. His widow Maria and his son Ivan Dragushin managed to escape to Serbia, where Maria's sister, Theodora
Theodora Smilets of Bulgaria
Theodora Smilets was a Bulgarian princess and queen consort of Serbia, the first wife of king Stefan Uroš III Dečanski of Serbia....
, was married to the prince Stephen Dečanski. Having become a Serbian subject, Ivan Dragushin was installed by his first cousin King Stephen Dušan as a local ruler in the region of Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
. Donor's portraits of Maria and Ivan Dragushin exist in the Pološko Monastery near Kavadarci
Kavadarci
Kavadarci is a town located in the Tikveš region of the Republic of Macedonia. Situated in the heart of Macedonia’s wine country, it is home to the largest winery in south-eastern Europe, named after the Tikveš plain. The town of Kavadarci is the seat of Kavadarci Municipality...
, where Ivan Dragushin was buried before 1340.