Despotate of Lovech
Despotate of Lovech | |||||||||
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| 1330-1446 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms (14th century)
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| Status | Despotate | ||||||||
| Capital | Lovech | ||||||||
| Common languages | Middle Bulgarian | ||||||||
| Religion | Bulgarian Orthodoxy | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Notable despots | |||||||||
• 1330-1371 | Ivan Alexander | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
| 1330 | |||||||||
• Conquest by the Ottomans | 1446 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Bulgaria | ||||||||
| History of Bulgaria |
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Main category Bulgaria portal |
The Despotate of Lovech (Template:Lang-bg), 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.[1][2]
The state was the last independent Bulgarian state after 1396, before it's conquest by the Ottoman Empire. It was ruled by the Sratsimir dynasty.
History
Formation
The 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
The area was the center for many Bulgarian rulers. In the 14th century, the commercial, administrative and spiritual centres 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'etat, and the conspirators placed him on the throne.[5]
Dissolution
Ivan 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 despotate being conquered. Stanko Kosan defended the town from the Ottomans until it was conquered by the Ottomans in 1446.[1][2]
See also
- Lovech
- Lovech Fortress
- Second Bulgarian Empire
- Lovech Municipality
- Lovech Province
- Sratsimir dynasty
- Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
- History of Bulgaria
References
- ^ a b c "Lovech Fortress". History Hit. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ^ a b c "Lovech - historic medieval town - Bulgaria". ermakvagus.com. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- ^ Petkov, Kiril (2008-08-31). The Voices of Medieval Bulgaria, Seventh-Fifteenth Century: The Records of a Bygone Culture. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-16831-2.
- ^ Mladenov, Momchil. "Before the Throne: Early Years of Ivan Alexander Asen (1331-1371)". Journals.uni-vt.bg.
- ^ "Bulgaria under Tsar Ivan Alexander: an upsurge before sundown". bnr.bg. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- The Second Bulgarian Empire (1185−1396) — in Medieval Bulgaria and the Balkans.
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