List of Bulgarian monarchs

This is a list of Bulgarian monarchs from the earliest records in the Namelist of Bulgarian Rulers to 1946, when the monarchy in the country was abolished.

Traditional early rulers (153–605)

The following three names appear in the so-called Namelist (Imennik) of Bulgarian rulers. At least the first two seem to cover extended eponymous periods, although the second of these, Irnik, is identified by his name and chronological position as Attila's son Hernac. The preceding eponym, Avitohol, may be identified with a distant ancestor/predecessor of Attila who led his Huns westward in the mid-2nd century.
* Avitohol: eponym period (153–453)
* Irnik: eponym period (453–603)
* Gostun: regent (?) (603–605)

First Bulgarian Empire (605?–1018)

* Kubrat (605?–665), ruler of the Huns and Bulgars north of the Black Sea
* Bat Bajan (665–668)
* Asparuh (668–694/5), settled in Moesia in 680/1
* Tervel (694/5–715)
* Ajjar (?) (715)
* Kormesij (721–738)
* Sevar (738–753)
* Kormisoš (753–756)
* Vineh (756–762)
* Telec (762–765)
* Sabin (765–766), died in exile after 765
* Umor (766)
* Toktu (766–767)
* Pagan (767–768)
* Telerig (768–777), died in exile after 777
* Kardam (777–after 797)
* Krum (by 802–814)
* Omurtag (814–831)
* Malamir (831–836)
* Presian (836–852)
* Boris I baptized Mihail, Saint (852–889), adopted Christianity in 864, died as monk May 2 907
* Vladimir (889–893), died in or after 893
* Simeon I (893–May 27 927), emperor (tsar) from 913, created patriarchate c.925
* Petăr I, Saint (927–969), died as monk January 30 970
* Boris II (969–977), in Byzantine captivity 971-977
* Roman (977–997), in Byzantine captivity 991-997
* Samuil (997–October 6 1014)
* Gavril Radomir (1014–1015)
* Ivan Vladislav (1015–1018)
* Presian II (1018), died 1060/1?

Byzantine Domination (1018–1185)

Rebels against Byzantine Rule
* Petăr II, Deljan (1040–1041), with...
* Alusian (1041), died after 1041
* Petăr III, Bodin (1072), died as king of Zeta c.1106

Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1422)

* Petăr IV (1185–1197), with...
* Ivan Asen I (1189–1196), and...
* Kaloyan (1196–1207)
* Boril (1207–1218), died after 1218
* Ivan Asen II (1218–June 24, 1241), restored patriarchate 1235
* Kaliman Asen I (June 24, 1241–1246)
* Mihail Asen I (1246–1256)
* Kaliman Asen II (1256)
* Mico Asen (1256–1257), died in exile before 1277/8
* Konstantin I son of Tih (1257–1277)
* Mihail Asen II (1277–1279, associated since c. 1272), died in exile after 1302
* Ivailo (1278–1279)
* Ivan Asen III (1279–1280), died in exile 1303
* Georgi Terter I (1280–1292), died 1308/9
* Smilec (1292–1298)
* Ivan II (1298–1299), died as monk before 1330
* Čaka (1299–1300)
* Todor Svetoslav (1300–1322, associated c.1285–1289)
* Georgi Terter II (1322–1323, associated since c.1321?)
* Mihail Asen III son of Šišman (1323–July 31, 1330)
* Ivan Stefan (July 31, 1330–1331, associated c.1323–1324), died in exile after 1343
* Ivan Aleksandăr (1331–February 17, 1371)
* Mihail Asen IV (associated c. 1332–1355)
* Ivan Sracimir (1356–1397 in Vidin, associated since 1337)
* Ivan Asen IV (associated 1337–1349)
* Ivan Šišman (February 17, 1371–June 3, 1395, associated since c. 1356), lost Tărnovo in 1393
* Ivan Asen V (associated by 1359–1388?)
* Konstantin II (1397–1422 in Vidin, associated since c. 1395), died in exile September 17, 1422
* (the Ottoman conquest began in 1369 and was completed in 1422)

Ottoman domination (1393–1878)

Third Bulgarian State (1878–1946)

* Aleksandǎr I of Battenberg (April 4, 1879–September 7, 1886), died in exile November 17, 1893
* (Interregnum) (September 8, 1886–July 7, 1887)
* Ferdinand I of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (July 7, 1887–October 3, 1918), died in exile September 10, 1948
* Boris III (October 3, 1918–August 28, 1943)
* Simeon II (August 28, 1943–September 16, 1946)

Monarchy abolished in 1946

Titular tsar of Bulgaria
* Simeon II (1946–present)

Notes

Note on titles

According to a controversial 17th century Volga Bulgar source, early Bulgar leaders bore the title of baltavar, which might mean "ruler of Avars", although this is likely a folk etymology. The rulers of the Bulgars also acquired the traditional Turkic titles of possibly khan and certainly khagan, but the monarch's title was rendered as kanasybigi in the Bulgar inscriptions, as arkhōn (i.e., "ruler") in Greek translation and as rex (i.e., "king") in Latin. Whether kanasybigi is derived from or akin to "khan" and "khagan" is a matter of some dispute. In Slavic the generic term for ruler, knjaz was used until 913, when Simeon I was crowned Emperor of the Bulgarians in a makeshift imperial coronation by the Patriarch of Constantinople, Nicholas I Mystikos. This concession by the Byzantine government was revoked, causing a decade-long period of warfare, exacerbated by Simeon's claim to the title Emperor of the Romans. After the peace settlements of 924 and 927, the Bulgarian imperial title was recognized, albeit reluctantly, by the Byzantine government. In Slavic the imperial title was rendered as tsar (scholarly transliteration car' ), contracted from tsesar (cěsar' ), and corresponding to the Medieval Greek basileus and the Latin imperator. After Bulgaria's liberation from Ottoman yoke in 1878, the country became an autonomous principality under a Prince (knjaz) of Bulgaria. With the proclamation of full independence in 1908, Bulgaria's monarchs adopted the traditional imperial title of Tsar (car) of the Bulgarians, but were internationally recognized only as kings (roi des bulgares). The monarchy was abolished by referendum during a period of Soviet occupation in 1946.

Note on conventions in the list

In the comprehensive list of rulers below names are rendered in a consistent and reversible standard scholarly transliteration from the modern Bulgarian vernacular forms. The list includes several rulers overlooked in the common listings (e.g., Presian II, Mihail Asen II, Ivan II, Konstantin II). The names and numeration of rulers is standardized, though disrupting as little as possible Bulgarian historiographical conventions. The rulers are listed by their official names, excluding sobriquets and patronymics (e.g., Konstantin [son of] Tih and Mihail [son of] Šišman). Rulers with genuine double names (e.g., Ivan Asen, Mihail Asen, Georgi Terter, Ivan Šišman) are counted separately from rulers with single names (e.g., Ivan Asen II is distinct from Ivan II). The often misleading or inaccurate division between dynasties is ignored for the sake of simplicity and consistency. The somewhat controversial chronology for the period down to the late 8th century follows Moskov's relatively recent study (see References). For the end of the Second Bulgarian Empire, the list follows the study of Tjutjundžiev and Pavlov (see References).

References

* Jordan Andreev, Ivan Lazarov, and Plamen Pavlov, Koj koj e v srednovekovna Bălgarija, Sofia, 1999.
* George Ostrogorsky, "Avtokrator i samodržac" Glas Srpske kraljevske akadamije CLXIV, Drugi razdred 84 (1935), 95-187.
* John V.A. Fine, Jr., The Early Medieval Balkans, Ann Arbor, 1983.
* John V.A. Fine, Jr., The Late Medieval Balkans, Ann Arbor, 1987.
* Ivan Tjutjundžiev and Plamen Pavlov, Bălgarskata dăržava i osmanskata ekspanzija 1369–1422, Veliko Tărnovo, 1992.

External links

* Detailed list of Bulgarian rulers

List of Bulgarian monarchs: Encyclopedia BETA

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