The House of Smilets () was an imperial house of 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 ...

. Founded by

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 ...

Smilets of Bulgaria Smilets () reigned as tsar of Bulgaria from 1292 to 1298. Life Although Smilets is credited with being descended "from the noblest family of the Bulgarians", his antecedents are completely unknown. Judging by the landholdings of Smilets’ brother ...

in 1292, the dynasty was short-lived, ending under Smilets' son

Ivan II of Bulgaria Ivan II (, or Йоан II, ''Ioan II'', also styled inconsistently ''Ivan IV'' or ''Ioan IV''), reigned as tsar of Bulgaria from 1298 to 1299. The date of his birth is unknown, but probably not much earlier than c. 1290. He died as a monk in ex ...

in 1299.

Notable members

– his parentage is unknown, but he was of noble birth and had two brothers *

Smiltsena Palaiologina Smiltsena () was the niece of Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, and empress-consort (tsaritsa) of Tsar Smilets of Bulgaria. Empress consort of Bulgaria Smiltsena was the daughter of sebastocrator Constantine Palaiologos, who was a hal ...

– niece of

Byzantine Emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

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 ...

and wife of Smilets *

Marina Smilets of Bulgaria Marina Smilets (, before 1292 – 7 April 1355) was the eldest daughter of tsar Smilets of Bulgaria and his Byzantine wife, tentatively called Smiltsena Palaiologina. Family The date and the place of Marina's birth are unknown, but she was born be ...

– daughter of Smilets and his wife, Smiltsena *

Teodora of Bulgaria, Queen of Serbia Theodora of Bulgaria ( Bulgarian and ) was a Bulgarian princess and Queen consort of Serbia, the first wife of Stefan Dečanski. Teodora was the second daughter of Tsar Smilets of Bulgaria and Smiltsena Palaiologina. Teodora is best remembered as a ...

– daughter of Smilets and his wife, Smiltsena *

– the son of Smilets and Smiltsena, who later reigned as

Ivan II of

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 ...

.Pachymeres Vol. II, ''Andronicus Palæologus'', Liber V, 18, str. 406, and Liber VI, 35, str. 559.

Notes

{{Royal houses of Bulgaria Bulgarian noble families 13th century in Bulgaria 14th century in Bulgaria