Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria
Encyclopedia
Theodore Svetoslav ruled as emperor (tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...

) of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

 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
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...

 after two decades of constant Mongol intervention in the internal issues of the Empire. Theodore Svetoslav's reign began with the return of Southern Bessarabia to Bulgaria and a few years later he managed to defeat 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...

 and retake most of northern Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...

 occupied by them during the crisis. After 1307 he led peaceful policy towards all neighbours which resulted in expanded trade and economy.

Apart from his external and economic successes, Theodore Svetoslav dealt with the separatists among the nobility including his uncle. He persecuted the traitors who he thought were responsible for the Mongol interference and even the Patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...

, Joakim III, was executed.

Early life

Theodore Svetoslav was the son of George Terter I
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...

 by Maria. Soon after the accession of Ivan Asen III
Ivan Asen III of Bulgaria
Ivan Asen III , ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1279–1280. Ivan Asen III was the son of Mitso Asen of Bulgaria and Maria of Bulgaria, a daughter of Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria and Irene of Thessalonica...

 in 1279 his father divorced his mother in order to marry the sister of the new emperor. Maria and Theodore Svetoslav were sent to the Byzantine Empire
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...

 as hostages, and settled in Nicaea.

The accession of George Terter I to the throne in 1280 did not alter matters, but in 1281 Theodore Svetoslav was betrothed (in absentia) to a daughter of the sebastokratōr
Sebastokrator
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...

John I Doukas
John I Doukas
John I Doukas was ruler of Thessaly from c. 1268 to his death in 1289....

 of Thessaly, as part of a diplomatic alliance. The young bride-to-be arrived in Tărnovo
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...

, but never met her intended husband.

In 1284 George Terter I concluded a new treaty with Andronikos II Palaiologos
Andronikos II Palaiologos
Andronikos II Palaiologos , Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, was Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. He was the eldest surviving son of Michael VIII Palaiologos and Theodora Doukaina Vatatzina, grandniece of John III Doukas Vatatzes...

, and retrieved his first wife, while Theodore Svetoslav at first remained a hostage. The same treaty required the breaking off of the alliance with Thessaly and Theodore Svetoslav's intended bride was also sent to Byzantium. It was only in 1285 that the Patriarch of Bulgaria Joakim III arrived in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

 and arranged for the release of Theodore Svetoslav, who was now supposed to marry a daughter of the high court official John Synadenos
John Synadenos (megas stratopedarches)
John Komnenos Angelos Doukas Synadenos was a Byzantine noble and military leader with the rank of megas stratopedarches during the reigns of Michael VIII Palaiologos and Andronikos II Palaiologos John Komnenos Angelos Doukas Synadenos was a Byzantine noble and military leader with the rank of...

. We have no information whether this marriage materialized.

Political activities

In Bulgaria Theodore Svetoslav was associated as co-emperor by his father, who issued coins representing them side by side. Nevertheless, after particularly devastating Mongol raids, George Terter I dispatched his son as hostage to Nogai Khan
Nogai Khan
Nogai , also called Isa Nogai, was a general and de facto ruler of the Golden Horde and a great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan. His grandfather was Baul/Teval Khan, the 7th son of Jochi...

, the effective leader of the Mongol Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

 in about 1289. Perhaps in connection with the same events, Theodore Svetoslav's unnamed sister married Nogai's son Chaka
Chaka of Bulgaria
Chaka reigned as emperor of Bulgaria from 1299 to 1300. The date of his birth is unknown.Chaka was the son of the Mongol leader Nogai Khan by a wife named Alaka. Sometime after 1285 Chaka married an unnamed daughter of George Terter I of Bulgaria...

. During part of his exile, Theodore Svetoslav became impoverished and sought to improve his fortunes by marrying the rich Euphrosyne, the god-daughter of Nogai's wife Euphrosyne Palaiologina, who was herself an illegitimate daughter of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.

Theodore Svetoslav left obscurity in 1298 or 1299, when he accompanied his brother-in-law Chaka in an invasion of Bulgaria. The regency for 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...

 fled Tărnovo in 1299, and Theodore Svetoslav helped convince the Bulgarian nobility to accept Chaka as ruler. However, the armies of the khan of the Golden Horde Toqta
Toqta
Tokhta was a khan of the Golden Horde, son of Mengu-Timur and great grandson of Batu Khan.His name "Tokhtokh" means "hold/holding" in the Mongolian language....

 entered Bulgaria in pursuit of his enemy Chaka, and Theodore Svetoslav promptly organized a plot, deposing Chaka and having him strangled in prison in 1300. Theodore Svetoslav now became emperor of Bulgaria and sent Chaka's severed head as a present to Toqta, who withdrew his armies from the country.

Emperor of Bulgaria

The reign of Theodore Svetoslav is connected with the internal stabilization and pacification of the country, the end of Mongol overlordship, the reassertion of relatively effective central control over outlying provinces, and the recovery of portions of Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...

 lost to the Byzantine Empire since the wars against Ivaylo of Bulgaria
Ivaylo of Bulgaria
Ivaylo, also spelled Ivailo, , nicknamed Bardokva or Lakhanas in Greek, was a rebel leader and emperor of Bulgaria. In 1277, he spearheaded a peasant uprising, and forced the nobles to accept him as emperor...

.

Theodore Svetoslav pursued a ruthless course of action, punishing all who stood in his way, including his former benefactor, Patriarch Joakim III, who was accused of treason and executed. In the face of the new emperor's brutality, some noble factions sought to replace him with other claimants to the throne, backed by Andronikos II. A new claimant appeared in the person of the sebastokratōr Radoslav Voïsil or Vojsil, from Sredna Gora, a brother of the former emperor Smilets
Smilets of Bulgaria
Smilets reigned as emperor of Bulgaria from 1292 to 1298. The date of his birth is unknown.Although Smilec is credited with being descended "from the noblest family of the Bulgarians", his antecedents are completely unknown...

, who was defeated, and captured by Theodore Svetoslav's uncle, the despotēs Aldimir
Aldimir
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. was a Bulgarian noble of the 13th–14th century...

 (Eltimir), at Krăn
KRAN
KHNA is a radio station licensed to serve Wamsutter, Wyoming, USA. The station, established in 2009, is currently owned by White Park Broadcasting, Inc.-History:...

 in about 1301. Another pretender was the former emperor Michael Asen II
Michael Asen II of Bulgaria
Michael Asen II , ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from 1277 to 1279. Michael Asen II was the only known son of...

, who unsuccessfully tried to advance into Bulgaria with a Byzantine army in about 1302. Theodore Svetoslav exchanged thirteen high-ranking Byzantine officers captured on Radoslav's defeat for his father George Terter I, whom he settled in a life of luxury in an unidentified city.

Expansion

As a consequence of his victories, Theodore Svetoslav felt secure enough to move on to the offensive by 1303 and captured the fortresses of northeastern Thrace, including Mesembria (Nesebăr
Nesebar
Nesebar is an ancient town and one of the major seaside resorts on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, located in Burgas Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Nesebar Municipality...

), Anchialos (Pomorie
Pomorie
Pomorie is a town and seaside resort in southeastern Bulgaria, located on a narrow rocky peninsula in Burgas Bay on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is situated in Burgas Province, 20 km away from the city of Burgas and 18 km from the Sunny Beach resort. The ultrasaline lagoon...

), Sozopolis (Sozopol
Sozopol
Sozopol is an ancient seaside town located 35 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Today it is one of the major seaside resorts in the country, known for the Apollonia art and film festival that is named after one of the town's ancient names.The busiest times of the year...

), and Agathopolis (Ahtopol
Ahtopol
Ahtopol is a town and seaside resort on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is located on a headland in the southeastern part of Burgas Province and is close to the border with European Turkey...

) in 1304. The Byzantine counterattack failed at the battle of 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...

 near Poros (Burgas
Burgas
-History:During the rule of the Ancient Romans, near Burgas, Debeltum was established as a military colony for veterans by Vespasian. In the Middle Ages, a small fortress called Pyrgos was erected where Burgas is today and was most probably used as a watchtower...

), where the Co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos was turned to flight. Nevertheless, the war continued, with Michael IX and Theodore Svetoslav taking turns pillaging each other's lands. In the following 1305 Theodore Svetoslav's uncle Aldimir appears to have entered into negotiations with the Byzantines, and Theodore Svetoslav annexed his uncle's lands. In 1306 Theodore Svetoslav gained the services of the rebellious Alan
Alans
The Alans, or the Alani, occasionally termed Alauni or Halani, were a group of Sarmatian tribes, nomadic pastoralists of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian.-Name:The various forms of Alan —...

 mercenaries to the Byzantines, whom he settled in Bulgaria, and made unsuccessful overtures to the mercenaries of the Catalan Company
Catalan Company
The Catalan Company of the East , officially the Magnas Societas Catalanorum, sometimes called the Grand Company and widely known as the Catalan Company, was a free company of mercenaries founded by Roger de Flor in the early 14th-century...

, who had also rebelled against their Byzantine employers. The war ended with a peace treaty in 1307, cemented with a marriage between the widowed Theodore Svetoslav and Theodora, a daughter of the Co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos.
Until the end of his life Theodore Svetoslav remained at peace with his neighbors. His reassertion of central control over outlying provinces such as Vidin
Vidin
Vidin is a port town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Serbia and Romania, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin...

 was probably peaceful, and the sparsely documented recovery of the banate of Severin from the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom 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...

 must have been achieved during the dynastic struggles in that country. In 1318 the Serbian King Stefan Uroš II Milutin visited Tărnovo, in spite of his earlier alliance with Andronikos II and his divorce from Theodore Svetoslav's sister Anna
Anna Terter of Bulgaria
Anna Terter was a Bulgarian princess and Queen consort of Serbia . She was the third wife of King Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia....

.

The only possible sign of new hostilities are two Mongol raids into Byzantine Thrace in 1320 and 1321, but these were probably executed with Bulgarian cooperation and are connected with the beginning of the civil war between Andronikos II Palaiologos and his grandson Andronikos III Palaiologos. In fact, Theodore Svetoslav sent military support to his brother-in-law Andronikos III, allegedly hoping to ensnare and capture his ally.

After a surprisingly successful reign (given the misadventures of his youth), Theodore Svetoslav died in early 1322, and was succeeded by his son George Terter II
George II of Bulgaria
George Terter II reigned as emperor of Bulgaria 1321–1322. The date of his birth is unknown, but he was born not long before 1307.George Terter II was the son of Theodore Svetoslav and Euphrosyne, and was named after his paternal grandfather George Terter I. It is possible that he was associated...

.

Terter Peak
Terter Peak
Terter Peak is an ice-covered peak rising to 570 m in Breznik Heights, Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica surmounting Wulfila Glacier to the southwest, Solis Glacier to the northwest and Zheravna Glacier to the southeast.-Location:The peak is located at which is 740 m...

 on Greenwich Island
Greenwich Island (South Shetland Islands)
Greenwich Island is an island long and from wide, lying between Robert Island and Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands. Surface area...

 in the South Shetland Islands
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...

, Antarctica is named for Tsar Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria.

Theodore Svetoslav's seal is depicted on the reverse
Obverse and reverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags , seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...

 of the Bulgarian 2 levs
Bulgarian lev
The lev is the currency of Bulgaria. It is divided in 100 stotinki . In archaic Bulgarian the word "lev" meant "lion".It is speculated that Bulgaria, as a member of the European Union will adopt the Euro in 2015 .- First lev, 1881–1952 :...

 banknote, issued in 1999 and 2005.

Family

By his first wife Euphrosyne (Efrosina), Theodore Svetoslav had one son, George Terter II
George II of Bulgaria
George Terter II reigned as emperor of Bulgaria 1321–1322. The date of his birth is unknown, but he was born not long before 1307.George Terter II was the son of Theodore Svetoslav and Euphrosyne, and was named after his paternal grandfather George Terter I. It is possible that he was associated...

, who succeeded as emperor of Bulgaria from 1322 to 1323. It is not known if he had children by his second wife Theodora Palaiologina
Theodora Palaiologina
Theodora Palaiologina Synadene was the daughter of Constantine Palaiologos and Irene Komnene Laskarina Branaina. Through her father, she was a half-niece of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.-Early life:...

, daughter of Emperor Michael IX Palaiologos
Michael IX Palaiologos
Michael IX Palaiologos or Palaeologus , , reigned as Byzantine co-emperor with full imperial style 1294/1295–1320...

.

External links

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