Ivan Asen II ruled the Second Bulgarian Tsardom in 1218–1241. He won at Klokotnitsa in 1230, extending Bulgaria’s influence. The Ivanovo museum account links him with support for the monk Joachim in founding the rock monastery. This is patronage: a ruler helps a religious community. In 1235 Joachim became patriarch, head of the Bulgarian Church. The monastery’s history thus connects the royal court and the monks. Supporting the monastery and identifying the ruler in the surviving, disputed mural portrait are different questions.
History of Bulgaria
