The House of Asen, also Asen dynasty or the Asenids (,
romanized
In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...
: ''Asenevtsi''), founded and ruled a medieval
Bulgarian state, called in modern historiography the
Second Bulgarian Empire
The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1422. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...
, between 1185 and 1280.
The Asen dynasty rose as the leaders of Bulgaria after a
rebellion
Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
against the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
at the turn of the year 1185/1186 caused by the increase in the Imperial taxes.
Some members of the Asen family entered Byzantine service in the thirteenth to fourteenth centuries. The name also occurs as a family name in modern Greek, and could go back to the same name. Their origin is obscure.
Origins

The origins of the dynasty, especially the ethnic background of the three Asen brothers (
Teodor I Peter IV (),
Ivan Asen I
Ivan Asen I, also known as Asen I or John Asen I (; died in 1196), was emperor or tsar of Bulgaria from 1187/1188 to 1196 as co-ruler with his elder brother, Peter II. Hailing from the Byzantine theme of Paristrion, his exact place and date o ...
() and
Kaloyan
Kaloyan or Kalojan, also known as Ivan I, Ioannitsa or Johannitsa (; 1170 – October 1207), the Roman Slayer, was emperor or tsar of Bulgaria from 1196 to 1207. He was the younger brother of Theodor and Asen, who led the anti-Byzantine upr ...
()) are still a source of much controversy, debated among historians. There are three main hypotheses regarding their origins:
#
Vlach
Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula) ...
origin, a view supported by most contemporary sources and scholars who base their claims on Western Crusade chronicles, and letters between
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216.
Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...
and
Kaloyan
Kaloyan or Kalojan, also known as Ivan I, Ioannitsa or Johannitsa (; 1170 – October 1207), the Roman Slayer, was emperor or tsar of Bulgaria from 1196 to 1207. He was the younger brother of Theodor and Asen, who led the anti-Byzantine upr ...
.
#
Cuman
The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Rus' chronicles, as " ...
origin, as some of the names in the dynasty, including Asen and Belgun, are derived from the
Cuman language
Cuman or Kuman (also called Kipchak, Qypchaq or Polovtsian, self referred to as Tatar () in Codex Cumanicus) was a West Kipchak Turkic language spoken by the Cumans (Polovtsy, Folban, Vallany, Kun) and Kipchaks; the language was similar to t ...
, as well as the family's close ties to the
Cumans
The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cumania, Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Ru ...
, such as intermarriage (including
Kaloyan
Kaloyan or Kalojan, also known as Ivan I, Ioannitsa or Johannitsa (; 1170 – October 1207), the Roman Slayer, was emperor or tsar of Bulgaria from 1196 to 1207. He was the younger brother of Theodor and Asen, who led the anti-Byzantine upr ...
's wife), immediate entourage and allies. Groups of Cumans settled and mingled with the local population in many regions of the Balkans between the 10th and 13th centuries and also founded subsequent Bulgarian dynasties (
Terterids
The House of Terter (), also Terterids or Terterovtsi (Тертеровци), was a Bulgarian noble and royal house of Cuman origin,István Vásáry (2005) ''Cumans and Tatars'', Cambridge University Press, p. 2 a branch of the Cuman noble dynas ...
and
Shishmanids).
[István Vásáry (2005) ''Cumans and Tatars'', Cambridge University Press, p. 2][The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, Volume 1, Denis Sinor, pg 279.][Bulgarian Folk Customs, Mercia MacDermott, pg 27] Similarly, according to some researchers, the
Asen dynasty
The House of Asen, also Asen dynasty or the Asenids (, romanized: ''Asenevtsi''), founded and ruled a medieval Bulgarian state, called in modern historiography the Second Bulgarian Empire, between 1185 and 1280.
The Asen dynasty rose as the le ...
might be descendants of the
Ashina Ashina may refer to:
*Ashina tribe, a ruling dynasty of the Turkic Khaganate
*Ashina clan (Japan)
is a Japanese clans, Japanese clan that emerged during the Sengoku period.Edmond Papinot, Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire ...
tribe.
#
Bulgarian origin, a view that is common among the Bulgarian historians who reckon that all native sources (from the 13th century) use predominantly the terms Bulgaria, Bulgarians and Bulgarian, the
Slavic
Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to:
Peoples
* Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia
** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples
** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples
** West Slav ...
names like
Ivanko
Ivanko is a Slavic given name and a surname, a diminutive from the given name Ivan, a Slavic variant of the name "John". It may be a transliteration from Иванко or Иванько.
Notable people with the name include:
Given name
* Ivank ...
(relative and murderer of
Ivan Asen I
Ivan Asen I, also known as Asen I or John Asen I (; died in 1196), was emperor or tsar of Bulgaria from 1187/1188 to 1196 as co-ruler with his elder brother, Peter II. Hailing from the Byzantine theme of Paristrion, his exact place and date o ...
),
Boril and
Slav
The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and N ...
, that tsar
Kaloyan
Kaloyan or Kalojan, also known as Ivan I, Ioannitsa or Johannitsa (; 1170 – October 1207), the Roman Slayer, was emperor or tsar of Bulgaria from 1196 to 1207. He was the younger brother of Theodor and Asen, who led the anti-Byzantine upr ...
claimed provenance from the old
Bulgarian rulers and his state from the
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire (; was a medieval state that existed in Southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 680–681 after part of the Bulgars, led by Asparuh of Bulgaria, Asparuh, moved south to the northe ...
and declares himself a
Bulgarian avenger, adopting the moniker
the Romanslayer by analogy with the emperor
Basil II the Bulgar Slayer
Basil II Porphyrogenitus (; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (, ), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but the ...
and shows cruelty to the Byzantines as revenge for the murdered and blinded
Bulgarians
Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...
.
In their own administrative documents and correspondence, the three rulers viewed themselves as descendants and successors of the Bulgarian Tsars
Samuil,
Peter I Peter I may refer to:
Religious hierarchs
* Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–68 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus
* Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint
* Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholicos ...
and
Simeon I, and the state they founded as a continuation of the First Bulgarian Empire. However, this could be just a way to proclaim their legitimacy for the throne of the Empire.
In a correspondence, of 1199, the Pope talks about the "Roman descent" of Kaloyan. However, considering the actual text says ''Nos autem audito quod de nobili urbis Romae prosapia progenitores tui originem traxerint'' ("We heard that your forefathers come from a noble family from the city of Rome"), it is usually dismissed as simply a hidden compliment of the Pope to Kaloyan.
Pope Innocent III in his letter to the Bulgarian King Kaloyan (Calojoannes) in 1204 addressed him "King of Bulgarians and Vlachs" (''rex Bulgarorum et Blachorum''); in answering the Pope, Kaloyan called himself ''imperator omnium Bulgarorum et Blachorum'' ("Emperor of all Bulgarians and Vlachs'), but signed himself ''imperator Bulgariae Calojoannes'' ("Emperor Kaloyan of Bulgaria"); besides, the archbishop of Veliko Tarnovo called himself ''totius Bulgariae et Blaciae Primas'' ("Primate of all Bulgaria and Vlachia").
Ivan Asen II
Ivan Asen II, also known as John Asen II (, ; 1190s – May/June 1241), was Emperor (Tsar) of Second Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria from 1218 to 1241. He was still a child when his father Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria, Ivan Asen I one of the founders of th ...
styled himself “Tsar and sovereign of the
Bulgarians
Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...
“ and “Tsar of
Bulgarians
Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...
and
Greeks
Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
”.
The Bulgarian historiography negate, while the Romanian highlight the role of the Vlachs in the uprising. However, the scientific debate reflects the nationalistic rivalry from the 19-20th century, which did not exist in the 12-13th century. Vlachs and Bulgarian Slavs jointly inhabited Bulgaria, and both groups in sufferance were united against the common cause under a leader, regardless of the leader's "race".
Niketas Choniates
Niketas or Nicetas Choniates (; – 1217), whose actual surname was Akominatos (), was a Byzantine Greek historian and politician. He accompanied his brother Michael Akominatos to Constantinople from their birthplace Chonae (from which came h ...
recorded Vlach shamans during revolt, but nevertheless of their ethnicity, it was a joint venture of the Bulgarians, Vlachs and Cumans.
Etymology
The name of the dynasty comes from one of the brothers, namely Asen I. The etymology is most likely of Cuman Turkic origin, derived from "esen" which meant "safe, sound, healthy" and the Belgun nickname seems to be derived from Turkic "bilgün", which meant "wise". Further support to this connection can be found in the charters of the
Great Lavra
The Monastery of Great Lavra () is the first monastery built on Mount Athos, on the Athos peninsula in geographical Macedonia, northeastern Greece. It is located on the southeastern foot of the Mount at an elevation of . The founding of the ...
of Mt. Athos from the end of the 12th century, which mention the monastery's problems with some of the Cuman stratiotes, where "Asen" is listed as the name of one of those Cumans.
Other study shows that the only name that makes sense is ''änish'' ("descent") and the word can be found almost exclusively in the languages of the Kipchak Turks
Bulgarian Emperors from the Asen dynasty

Monument to the Asen Dynasty,
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo (, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. It is the historical and spiritual capital of Bulgaria.
Often referred to as the "''City of the Tsars''", Velik ...
Byzantine branch
The Asens in Byzantium largely descend from Ivan Asen III, who ruled briefly as Emperor of Bulgaria before fleeing to Constantinople as
Ivaylo
Ivaylo (died 1281), also spelled Ivailo (), was a rebel leader who ruled briefly as tsar of Bulgaria. In 1277, he spearheaded a peasant uprising and forced the Bulgarian nobility to accept him as emperor. He reigned as emperor from 1278 to 1279, ...
's uprising was gaining momentum in 1280. A ''despotes'' under
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus (; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as Byzantine emperor from 1261 until his death in 1282, and previously as the co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea from 1259 to 1261. Michael VIII was the founder of th ...
, Ivan Asen III had already been married to the Byzantine Emperor's eldest daughter,
Irene Palaiologina. The couple's five sons and two daughters were the progenitors of one of the highest-regarded Byzantine noble families of their time, along with the
Palaiologoi
The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; , ; female version Palaiologina; ), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek noble family that rose to power and produced the last and longest-ruling d ...
. Among the Byzantine Asens, three bore the title of ''
despotes
Despot or ''despotes'' () was a senior Byzantine court title that was bestowed on the sons or sons-in-law of reigning emperors, and initially denoted the heir-apparent of the Byzantine emperor.
From Byzantium it spread throughout the late medie ...
'', three that of ''
sebastokrator
''Sebastokrator'' (, ; ; ), 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 (Bulgarian Empire, Serbian Empire). The word is a compound ...
'', two ''
panhypersebastos
The title of () was a Byzantine court title created by Alexios I Komnenos () using the imperial root (the Greek translation of ). It was always conferred to members of aristocratic families closely allied to the imperial family.
Michael Taronit ...
'', one was a ''
megas doux'' and two were titled ''
megas primikerios
The Latin term ''primicerius'', Hellenized as ''primikērios'' (), was a title applied in the later Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire to the heads of administrative departments, and also used by the Church to denote the heads of various college ...
''.
[Božilov, pp. 20-22.] In Greek, the male form of the family name is rendered as Ἀσάνης (''Asanis'') and the female as Ασανίνα (''Asanina'').
A smaller branch descends from
Elena Asenina of Bulgaria
Elena Asenina of Bulgaria (; c.1224 – 1252 CE) (also Helena) was an queen consort, empress consort of Empire of Nicaea, Nicaea, married to Theodore II Laskaris (r. 1254–1258). She was daughter of List of Bulgarian monarchs, Bulgarian Emperor I ...
, wife of Nicaean Emperor
Theodore II Laskaris
Theodore II Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris (; November 1221/1222 – 16 August 1258) was Emperor of Nicaea from 1254 to 1258. He was the only child of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes and Empress Irene Laskarina. His mother was the eldest da ...
.
[Božilov, pp. 102-103.]
The Asens of Byzantium intermarried with other prominent noble dynasties, including the
Kantakouzenos
The House of Kantakouzenos ( Kantakouzenoi; , pl. Καντακουζηνοί; feminine form Kantakouzene; ), also found in English-language literature as Cantacuzenus or Cantacuzene, was a Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek Nobility, noble family t ...
,
Doukas
The House of Doukas ( pl. Doukai; , pl. , feminine form Doukaina; ), Latinized as Ducas, was a Byzantine Greek noble family, whose branches provided several notable generals and rulers to the Byzantine Empire in the 9th–11th centuries. A mat ...
,
Laskaris
The House of Laskaris (; feminine form Laskarina; ), Latinized as Lascaris, was a Byzantine Greek noble family which rose to prominence during the late Byzantine period. The members of the family formed the ruling dynasty of the Empire of Nicaea, ...
,
Tornikios
The Tornikios or Tornikes (pl. Tornikioi; ; feminine form Tornikina, ) was a Byzantine noble family, prominent during the middle and late Byzantine period. From the mid-10th century, members of the family, of Armenian and Georgian origins, acqu ...
,
Raoul and
Zaccaria
The Zaccaria family was a noble Genoese family that had great importance in the development and consolidation of the Republic of Genoa in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and whose only surviving branch ( Zaccaria de Damalà) produced ...
families. Notable members of the Asen family in the Byzantine Empire include:
*
Andronikos Asen
Andronikos Asen (; died ) was the ''epitropos'' ("steward, overseer") of the Byzantine province of the Morea between 1316 and 1322.
Life
Andronikos Asen was the son of Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen III and Irene, who was the sister of Byzantine em ...
, ''epitropos'' of the Morea (1316–1322)
*
Irene Asanina, Empress Consort of
John VI Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene (; ; – 15 June 1383) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under Andronikos III Palaiologos and regent for John V Palaiologos before reigning as Byza ...
(1347–1354)
*
Matthew Asen Kantakouzenos
Matthew Asen Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus (, c. 1325 – June 1383) was Byzantine Emperor from 1353 to 1357 and later Despot of the Morea from 1380 to 1381.
Life
Matthew Asanes Kantakouzenos was the son of Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos and Iren ...
, Co-Emperor of Byzantium (1353–1357)
*
Matthew Palaiologos Asen
Matthew Palaiologos Asen (; died 29 March 1467) was a late Byzantine aristocrat and official, related to the Asen and Palaiologos dynasties.
Life
He was the son of Paul Asen, and brother of Simonis and Theodora Asanina. In 1441, his sister Th ...
, Lord of Corinth (1454–1458)
Byzantine Asens elsewhere
From Byzantium, the Asens spread as far as
Frankish Greece
The Frankish Occupation (; anglicized as ), also known as the Latin Occupation () and, for the Venetian domains, Venetian Occupation (), was the period in Greek history after the Fourth Crusade (1204), when a number of primarily French ...
, the
Principality of Theodoro
The Principality of Theodoro (), also known as Gothia () or the Principality of Theodoro-Mangup, was a Greek principality in the southern part of Crimea, specifically on the foothills of the Crimean Mountains. It represented one of the final rump ...
, the
Principality of Moldavia
Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially independent and later auto ...
, the
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...
and the
Kingdom of Aragon
The Kingdom of Aragon (; ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Monarchy, kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain. It became a part of the larger ...
.
*
Eudoxia Laskarina Asanina (1248–1311), Nicaean princess, Countess of Ventimiglia and Tende and nun in Aragon
*
Helena Asanina Kantakouzene
Helena Asanina Kantakouzene (died after 1394) was regent of the Lordship of Salona in Frankish Greece from 1382 until its conquest by the Ottoman Empire in 1394 on behalf of her daughter Maria Fadrique.
Life
Helena was one of the younger daughte ...
, Dowager Countess of Salona (1380–1394)
*
Andronikos Asen Zaccaria
Andronikos Asen Zaccaria or Asanes Zaccaria (died 1401) was a Republic of Genoa, Genoese lord of the Principality of Achaea in southern Greece.
Life
Andronikos Asen Zaccaria was the son of Centurione I Zaccaria, member of the Republic of Genoa, ...
, Prince of Achaea (before 1386-1401)
*
Thomas Asen Palaiologos
Thomas Asen Palaiologos (, ; 15th century–1523?) was a prominent Byzantine Empire, Byzantine exile in the Kingdom of Naples in the early 16th century. A descendant of two imperial dynasties, the Palaiologoi of Byzantium and the Asen dynasty, As ...
, exile in Naples and ''ktetor''
*
Maria Asanina Palaiologina, Princess Consort of Moldavia (1472–1477)
See also
*
Ashina tribe Ashina may refer to:
* Ashina tribe, a ruling dynasty of the Turkic Khaganate
* Ashina clan (Japan), one of the Japanese clans
* Ashina District, Hiroshima, a former Japanese district
* Empress Ashina (551–582), empress of the Chinese/Xianbei dyna ...
*
History of Bulgaria
The history of Bulgaria can be traced from the first settlements on the lands of modern Bulgaria to its formation as a nation-state, and includes the history of the Bulgarian people and their origin. The earliest evidence of hominid occupation ...
*
List of Bulgarian monarchs
The monarchs of Bulgaria ruled Bulgaria during the medieval First ( 681–1018) and Second (1185–1422) Bulgarian empires, as well as during the modern Principality (1879–1908) and Kingdom (1908–1946) of Bulgaria. This list includes monarc ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
* Vasary, Istvan (2005) "Cumans and Tatars", Cambridge University Press: pp. 34–42
* Stephenson, Paul (2000) "Byzantium's Balkan Frontier — A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900–1204" pp. 289–300
* History of the Byzantine Empire, A. A. Vasiliev 1935
*
* Stelian Brezeanu, Istoria Imperiului Bizantin, Bucuresti, MERONIA, 2007
*
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asen Dynasty
Bulgarian noble families