Sarah, Theodora or Sarah-Theodora was an

Empress The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

during 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 ...

and second wife of

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria Ivan Alexander (, transliterated ''Ivan Aleksandǎr'', ; original spelling: ІѠАНЪ АЛЄѮАНдРЪ), also sometimes anglicized as John Alexander, ruled as Emperor (''Tsar'') of Bulgaria from 1331 to 1371,Lalkov, ''Rulers of Bulgaria'', pp ...

(ruled 1331–1371).

Biography

Sarah-Theodora is believed to have been of

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish descent, having lived with her family in the Jewish neighbourhood in

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 ...

. Ivan Alexander divorced his wife of many years,

Theodora of Wallachia Theodora () of Wallachia was the daughter of Basarab I of Wallachia (r. 1310–1352) and Lady Margareta. She married Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria as his first wife. This marriage produced four children — Michael Asen, Ivan Sratsimir, Ivan Asen a ...

, who was forced to become a nun, and Sarah converted to

Eastern Orthodox Christianity Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

, accepted the name Theodora and soon became the Tsar’s second

consort __NOTOC__ Consort may refer to: Music * "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses'' * Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles * Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...

. Their marriage took place in the late 1340s. The new Tsaritsa was renowned for her fierce support of her adopted Eastern Orthodox faith. She was one of the instigators of a church council against the Jews, oversaw the restoration of many churches and the construction of new monasteries, for this she is held in high regard by the

Bulgarian Church The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria (), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction based in Bulgaria. It is the first medieval recognised patriarchate outside the Pentarchy and the oldest Slavic Orthod ...

. There is no doubt that Theodora played a significant role in the separation of the

Bulgarian Empire Bulgarian Empire may refer to: * 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 b ...

between her firstborn,

Ivan Shishman Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria () ruled as emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria in Tarnovo from 1371 to 3 June 1395. The authority of Ivan Shishman was limited to the central parts of the Bulgarian Empire. In the wake of the death of Ivan Alexander of Bulgari ...

, and Ivan Sratsimir, the sole surviving son of the former Tsaritsa. Since Ivan Shishman was the first son born to Ivan Alexander after his accession to the throne ("

born in the purple Traditionally, born in the purple (sometimes "born to the purple") was a category of members of royal families born during the reign of their parent. This notion was later loosely expanded to include all children born of prominent or high-rankin ...

"), Theodora insisted that he was the only one worthy of the crown. Ivan Shishman was crowned co-emperor by his father who made his elder son Despot of

Vidin Vidin (, ) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin (since ...

in exchange. After Ivan Alexander died in 1371, Ivan Shishman became Tsar and Ivan Sratsimir declared Vidin a separate empire. From now on, the relationship between the two Bulgarian Empires became cold and remained so despite the threat of the forthcoming Ottoman invasion. The date of the death of the Tsaritsa is unknown, although some historians assume she died in the late 1380s.

Family

There are six known children born to Tsar Ivan Alexander and Tsaritsa Theodora:Иван Божилов, "Фамилията на Асеневци (1186-1460). Генеалогия и просопография", Издателство на Българската академия на науките "Марин Дринов", София, 1994, стр. 168 - 170 (in Bulgarian; in English: Ivan Bozhilov, "The family of the Asens (1186-1460). Genealogy and prosopography", Publishing house of the Bulgarian Academy of sciences "Marin Drinov", Sofia, 1994, p. 168-170). *

Kera Tamara Kera Tamara (; - , known also as Tamara Hatun) was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian princess, the daughter of the Bulgarian Emperor Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria, Ivan Alexander and his second wife Sarah-Theodora, and the legal wife of the Ottoman Sultan Mura ...

* Kera-Maria *

Ivan Asen John or Ivan Asen may refer to: * Ivan Asen I (1186–1196), ruler of Bulgaria * 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 w ...

* Desislava of Bulgaria * Vasilisa

Honours

Mount Sara Teodora Mount Sara Teodora (, ) is the broad ice-covered peak rising to 1389 mReference ...

Oscar II Coast Oscar II Coast is that portion of the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula between Cape Fairweather to the north, and Cape Alexander to the south. Discovered in 1893 by Captain C.A. Larsen, who named it for King Oscar II of Norway and Sweden. ...

Graham Land Graham Land is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula that lies north of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

is named after Sarah-Theodora.

Sources

{{Authority control 14th-century births Year of death unknown Bulgarian consorts Bulgarian people of Jewish descent Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Judaism Shishman dynasty 14th-century Bulgarian women 14th-century Bulgarian people Mothers of Bulgarian emperors