Michael II Asen

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Michael II Asen (Template:Langx; c. 1239 – December 1256/January 1257)Template:Cref2 was emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 1246 to 1256 or 1257. He was the son of Ivan Asen II and Irene Komnene Doukaina. He succeeded his half-brother, Kaliman I Asen. His mother or other relative must have ruled Bulgaria during his minority.

John III Doukas Vatatzes, Emperor of Nicaea, and Michael II of Epirus invaded Bulgaria shortly after Michael's ascension. Vatatzes captured the Bulgarian fortresses along the river Vardar; Michael of Epirus took possession of western Macedonia. In alliance with the Republic of Ragusa, Michael II Asen broke into Serbia in 1254, but he could not occupy Serbian territories. After Vatatzes died, he reconquered most territories lost to Nicea, but Vatatzes's son and successor, Theodore II Laskaris, launched a successful counter-offensive, forcing Michael to sign a peace treaty. Shortly after the treaty, discontented boyars (noblemen) murdered Michael.

Early life

A bearded man wearing a crown and holding a long sword in his right arm right above his shoulder

A monument to Michael's father, Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria

Michael was the son of Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria and Irene Komnene Doukaina.Template:Sfn He was most probably born in 1239.Template:Sfn His father, who died in the first half of 1241, was succeeded by Michael's seven-year-old half-brother, Kaliman.Template:Sfn Kaliman died unexpectedly (possibly of poisoning, according to contemporaneous rumors) in August or September 1246.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Reign

Territorial losses

Michael, who was only seven or eight, succeeded his half-brother.Template:Sfn According to a scholarly theory, Michael's mother ruled Bulgaria during his minority, but she stayed in Thessaloniki just three months after his coronation.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn According to another theory, his brother-in-law, Sevastokrator Peter, assumed the regency for the minor tsar.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

John III Doukas Vatatzes, Emperor of Nicaea, invaded Bulgaria soon after Kaliman's death.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He captured Serres and seized Melnik with the support of the local inhabitants.Template:Sfn He soon invaded the valley of the river Vardar, and occupied all fortresses in the region.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Michael II Komnenos Doukas, ruler of Epirus, also broke into Bulgaria and occupied western Macedonia.Template:Sfn The Bulgarians acknowledged Vatatzes's conquest in a peace treaty in late 1246 or in early 1247.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The treaty also prescribed them to support Vatatzes against the Latin Empire of Constantinople.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

New wars

Béla IV of Hungary granted the Banate of Severin to the Knights Hospitaller on 2 June 1247.Template:Sfn The charter of grant listed Bulgaria among the countries against which the Hospitallers were to provide military assistance, evidencing Béla's plan to attack Bulgaria.Template:Sfn Despite the tense relationship between Hungary and Bulgaria, Bulgarian troops assisted Vatatzes to invade the Thracian territories of the Latin Empire in August 1247.Template:Sfn

William of Rubruck, who visited the Mongol Empire between 1253 and 1255, listed Michael's realms ("BlakiaTemplate:MdashAssan's territoryTemplate:Mdashand Little Bulgaria") among the countries paying tribute to the Mongols.Template:Sfn Michael concluded an alliance with the Republic of Ragusa (now Dubrovnik in Croatia) against Stefan Uroš I, King of Serbia, in 1254.Template:Sfn The treaty shows that Sevastokrator Peter ruled a large territory in Bulgaria almost independently of Michael.Template:Sfn After Radoslav of Hum joined the coalition, Michael launched a campaign against Serbia, reaching as far as Bijelo Polje.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn According to a scholarly theory, a Hungarian attack against Bulgaria forced Michael to hastily return from Serbia.Template:Sfn

Vatatzes died on 4 November 1254.Template:Sfn Taking advantage of the absence of significant Nicene forces, Michael broke into Macedonia and reconquered the lands lost to Vatatzes in 1246 or 1247.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The Byzantine historian, George Akropolites, recorded that the Bulgarian-speaking local inhabitants supported Michael's invasion because they wanted to shake off the "yoke of those who spoke another language".Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn To secure a peaceful relationship with Hungary, Michael married Anna of Macsó, who was the daughter of Béla IV's daughter, Anna, and her husband, Rostislav Mikhailovich.Template:Sfn A man and a woman depicted on an icon in the St Michael Church in Kastoria was wrongly associated with Michael and his wife (or mother).Template:Sfn

Last years

Vatatzes's son and successor, Theodore II Laskaris, launched a counter-invasion in early 1255.Template:Sfn When referring to the new war between Nicea and Bulgaria, Rubruck described Michael as "a mere lad whose power has been eroded" by the Mongols.Template:Sfn Michael could not resist the invasion and the Nicene troops captured Stara Zagora.Template:Sfn It was only the harsh weather that prevented Theodore's army from continuing the invasion.Template:Sfn The Nicene troops resumed their attack in the spring and occupied most fortresses in the Rhodope Mountains.Template:Sfn A rebellion at Melnik forced Theodore to march towards the town, but he managed to defeat the rioters before returning to Asia Minor for the winter.Template:Sfn

Michael broke into the European territory of the Empire of Nicea in the spring of 1256.Template:Sfn He pillaged Thrace near Constantinople, but the Nicene army defeated his Cuman troops.Template:Sfn He asked his father-in-law to mediate a reconciliation between Bulgaria and Nicea in June.Template:Sfn Theodore agreed to sign a peace treaty only after Michael acknowledged the loss of the lands that he had claimed for Bulgaria.Template:Sfn The treaty determined the upper course of the river Maritsa as the border between the two countries.Template:Sfn The peace treaty outraged many boyars (noblemen) who decided to replace Michael with his cousin, Kaliman Asen.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Kaliman and his allies attacked the Tsar who died from his wounds in late 1256 or early 1257.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Sources

Primary sources

• George Akropolites: The History (Translated with and Introduction and Commentary by Ruth Macrides) (2007). Oxford University Press. Template:ISBN.
• The Mission of Friar William of Rubruck: His journey to the court of the Great Khan Möngke, 1253–1255 (Translated by Peter Jackson, Introduction, notes, and appendices by Peter Jackson and David Morgan) (2009). The Hakluyt Society. Template:ISBN.