Rostislav Stratimirovich (; ; 1683–88) was a Bulgarian rebel leader who led the Second Tarnovo Uprising against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in 1686. He claimed the title

Prince of Tarnovo Prince of Tarnovo () is the title held by the firstborn son of the Bulgarian monarch and is exclusive to the heir to the throne. Veliko Tarnovo, Tarnovo (Veliko Tarnovo) served as the old Bulgarian capital and was the strongest Bulgarian fortifica ...

, as a claimed descendant of the medieval Bulgarian ruler Ivan Stratsimir.

Life

Rostislav claimed descent from Ivan Stratsimir, the last Emperor of Vidin (r. 1356–96). He belonged to the Ottoman Bulgarian

sipahi The ''sipahi'' ( , ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuk Turks and later by the Ottoman Empire. ''Sipahi'' units included the land grant–holding ('' timar'') provincial ''timarli sipahi'', which constituted most of the arm ...

Genealogy tree of Savelev-Rostislavic family2

He was the head of the conspirators of an uprising in Ottoman Bulgaria, at Tarnovo. In 1686 he left for

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, intending to gain support in the rebellion. At

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

he met Russian Orthodox Patriarch Joachim and asked him for help. The agreement was being guaranteed by the engagement between Rostislav and the niece of the patriarch, Maria Dubrovska. Upon the start of the

Russo-Turkish War (1686–1700) The Russo-Turkish War of 1686–1700 was part of the joint European effort to confront the Ottoman Empire. The larger European conflict was known as the Great Turkish War. The Russo-Turkish War began after the Tsardom of Russia joined the Europe ...

, the rebellion broke out prematurely in the old Bulgarian capital of

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 ...

. Rostislav returned to Ottoman Bulgaria, but the Ottoman forces were much greater and the rebellion was suppressed. Heavily wounded, Rostislav got to the

Rila Monastery The Monastery of Saint John of Rila, also known as Rila Monastery ("Sveti Ivan Rilski" (), is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situated in the southwestern Rila Mountains, south of the capital Sofia in th ...

, where the monks saved his life. After many adventures he went back to Moscow, where he finally married Maria Dubrovska and gave the foundations of the Russian noble family Saveliev–Rostislavich. One of his descendants is the Russian writer Nikolay Saveliev–Rostislavic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rostislav Stratimirovich 17th-century Bulgarian people People from Veliko Tarnovo Bulgarian revolutionaries Ottoman period in the history of Bulgaria 17th-century births Year of death unknown Bulgarian expatriates in Russia Pretenders to the Bulgarian throne