Ivan Asen I
After Isaac II defeated them in early 1186, Asen and Peter fled north over the Danube but returned in the autumn, accompanied by Cuman reinforcements.[9][10] According to a scholarly theory, the multiethnic character of their homeland, the Byzantine theme (or district) of Paristrion, makes it probable that Bulgarians, Vlachs and Cumans were among their ancestors.[1][22] Asen, whom Choniates characterized as the "more insolent and savage of the two", was especially impertinent and was "struck across the face and rebuked for impudence"[23] at the command of Isaac II's uncle, John Doukas.[18] A special tax, levied to finance the Emperor's marriage to Margaret of Hungary had brought the Bulgarian and Vlach population to the edge of an uprising before the public humiliation of Asen and his brother at the imperial camp.[22][26] The brothers instructed these "demoniacs", as Choniates called them, to declare before the mob that God "had consented to their freedom" and Saint Demetrius would "come over to them" from Thessalonica "to be their helper and assistant"[27] against the Byzantines.[30][31] The coronation and Theodor's new name are evidence the brothers wanted to demonstrate from the beginning they had established a state which was the political successor of the First Bulgarian Empire.[43][44] The Byzantines launched a series of unsuccessful campaigns against the rebellious Bulgarians and Vlachs, but they could not prevent Peter and Asen from securing their rule in Paristrion.[47] The arrival of the crusader army of the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, in the Balkan Peninsula in July 1189 enabled Peter and Asen to occupy new territories of the Byzantine Empire.[49][50] One of the chronicles of Barbarossa's crusade, The History of the Expedition of the Emperor Frederick, explicitly mentions that they seized "the region where the Danube flows into the sea"[51] (present-day Dobruja) and parts of Thrace.[52] When writing of the negotiations between Barbarossa and the brothers' envoys during the march of the crusaders across the Balkans, primary sources mention only Peter, suggesting he was regarded as the senior ruler of Bulgaria.[60] A eulogy delivered in praise of Isaac II in 1193 referred to Asen as a "reckless and obdurate rebel", surrounded by "imperial traps", while describing Peter as a "stumbling block" and an "adverse wind" to his brother.[63] Historians Madgearu[63] and Paul Stephenson[61] agree, the sources provide evidence the brothers divided their realm around 1192, with Asen retaining Tarnovo and its region.After Constantine Angelos Doukas was blinded during the rebellion against Isaac II, the Vlachs and the Bulgarians resumed their attacks against the Byzantine Empire.[64][65] The Emperor dispatched Alexios Gidos and Basil Vatatzes to wage war against the invaders, but their united armies were almost annihilated in the Battle of Arcadiopolis.[68][72] He decided to have his sister-in-law executed for the illicit love affair which insulted his family, but his wife persuaded him to punish Ivanko instead of her sister.[73][74] Stephenson concludes, Choniates' words show that Asen had introduced a "reign of terror", intimidating his subjects with the assistance of Cuman mercenaries.
Tsar of BulgariaPeter IIKaloyanTarnovoIvan Asen IIDynastyAsen dynastyBulgarianemperorBulgariaByzantine themeParistrionVlachsByzantine EmperorIsaac II AngelosThraceBalkan MountainsByzantine EmpireEmperor of BulgariaDanubeStruma RiverIvankoTheodorSynodikon of Tsar BorilIvan of RilaTurkicRomaniansetymologyPechenegRobert of ClariLatin Empire of ConstantinoplepastoralistİpsalaNiketas ChoniatespronoiaJohn DoukasUprising of Asen and PeterByzantine themesMargaret of Hungarysack of Thessalonica by the NormansDemetrius of ThessalonicademoniacsFirst Bulgarian EmpirePreslavsolar eclipseLower DanubeConstantinopleSecond Bulgarian EmpirebasileusGeorge AkropolitesLovechHoly Roman EmperorFrederick BarbarossaBalkan PeninsulaDobrujawas ambushed and defeatedAnchialusAdrianopleConstantine Angelos DoukasAlexios GidosBasil VatatzesBattle of ArcadiopolisPhilippopolisAlexiosAlexios AspietesStrumadefeated them near SerresIvan AsensebastokratorAsen PeakOxford University PressWayne State University PressColumbia University PressAshgate PublishingChary, Frederick B.GreenwoodCurta, FlorinCambridge University PressFine, John V. A.The University of Michigan PressBrill PublishersLexington BooksTreadgold, WarrenStanford University PressBulgarian monarchsFirst EmpireAsparuhTervelKormisoshTeletsTelerigKardamOmurtagMalamirPresian IBoris IVladimirSimeon IPeter IBoris IISamuelGavril RadomirIvan VladislavByzantinesPresian IIPetar DelyanTihomirAlusianConstantine BodinSecond EmpireIvan Asen IKaliman Asen IMichael Asen IKaliman Asen IIMitso AsenRostislav IConstantine IJacob SvetoslavMichael Asen IIIvayloIvan Asen IIIGeorge Terter ISmiletsIvan IITheodore SvetoslavGeorge Terter II