The Despotate of Lovech (Bulgarian: Деспотство Ловеч, romanized: Despotstvo Lovech), was a Bulgarian state, covering parts of the territory of what is now Lovech Province, formed in 1330 after Ivan Alexander was appointed to govern Lovech, the capital of the despotate, and the nearby area around the town. It was dissolved after the fall of the Lovech Fortress in 1446 to the Ottomans.
Despotate of Lovech | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1330–1446 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms (14th century)
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| Status | Despotate | ||||||||
| Capital and largest city | Lovech 43°08′05″N 24°43′02″E / 43.13472°N 24.71722°E | ||||||||
| Common languages | Middle Bulgarian | ||||||||
| Religion | Bulgarian Orthodoxy | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Despot | |||||||||
• 1330–1371 | Ivan Alexander | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Appointment of Ivan Alexander | 1330 | ||||||||
• Conquest by the Ottomans | 1446 | ||||||||
| Currency | Various coins | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Bulgaria | ||||||||
The state was the last independent Bulgarian state after 1396, before its conquest by the Ottoman Empire. It was ruled by the Sratsimir dynasty.
History
editFormation
editThe despotate was formed after Ivan Alexander became the despot, most likely being appointed due to Lovech being a major town that controlled commercial passage through the Stara Planina passes, and the migration of intellectuals to Moldavia and Wallachia, due to Ottoman conquests.[1][2][3]
Period of prosperity
editThe area was the center for many Bulgarian rulers. In the 14th century, the commercial, administrative, and spiritual centers were at their peak. The despot also made a great contribution towards stopping the Serbian advance, although Bulgaria still lost the Battle of Velbazhd. Ivan married Princess Theodora of Wallachia.[4] He gradually won trust to become the elected Tsar of Bulgaria in 1331, after Ivan Stefan was driven out by a coup d'état, and the conspirators placed him on the throne.[5]
Dissolution
editIvan Alexander died on 17 February 1371. Despite his early years of success, his later decisions, such as splitting the empire among his sons in 1356, left the Bulgarian states to face outside powers politically divided and weakened, contributing to the fall of the despotate. The Ottoman invasions of Bulgaria in the 14th century did not directly result in the fall of the despotate. The Turkish traveller Kâtip Çelebi testified the late conquest of Lovech. He mentioned that the city was conquered in 1446, This was confirmed by the Armenian travel writer Hugaz Indzedzyan according to whom "Lovech had been conquered in 1446 by Sultan Fatih Mehmed."[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Lovech Fortress". History Hit. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ "Lovech - historic medieval town - Bulgaria". ermakvagus.com. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ Petkov, Kiril (31 August 2008). The Voices of Medieval Bulgaria, Seventh-Fifteenth Century: The Records of a Bygone Culture. BRILL. p. 447. ISBN 978-90-04-16831-2.
- ^ Mladenov, Momchil. "Before the Throne: Early Years of Ivan Alexander Asen (1331–1371)". Journals.uni-vt.bg.
- ^ Pavlova, Venteta (9 February 2022) [20 March 2014]. "Bulgaria under Tsar Ivan Alexander: an upsurge before sundown". Bulgarian National Radio. Translated to English by Alexander Markov. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ Домът на Шишман (in Bulgarian). Sofia: Петър Николов Зиков. 2021. ISBN 978-619-7496-74-1.