History of BulgariaHistory of Bulgaria
Contemporary portrait, 1355–1356
Contemporary portrait, 1355–1356

Second Bulgarian Tsardom · Tsar

Ivan Shishman

1371–1395

Tsar of Tarnovo; after its fall in 1393, continued ruling from Nikopol.

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Life

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Ivan Shishman belonged to the fourteenth-century royal family. The Gospel story shows him as a child, rather than in his later wars. The crown belongs to the presentation of the royal household; it does not by itself establish that every child shown already ruled independently. Was the son of Ivan Alexander and Theodora. Appears in the family miniature of 1355–1356. Later ruled the Tarnovo Tsardom. The same person can appear in sources at different ages and in different roles.

Sources · 6

Open · Ivan Shishman

Achievements

  • Was the son of Ivan Alexander and Theodora
  • Appears in the family miniature of 1355–1356
  • Later ruled the Tarnovo Tsardom

In our stories

Sources

  1. Ian S. R. Mladjov Bulgaria (Bălgarija): kings and emperors of the Bulgarians; princes of Bulgaria and kings of the Bulgarians Ian Mladjov’s Resources, Chronologies. Author’s working chronology, updated March 2024, 6 pp. · 2024
  2. Panitza Library, American University in Bulgaria Special Collection: The Four Gospels of Tsar Ivan Alexander. AUBG LibGuides AUBG LibGuides
  3. Simeon (scribe); anonymous medieval illuminators; British Library (custodian) Gospels of Tsar Ivan Alexander, Add MS 39627 British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue
All sources (7)
  1. Scot McKendrick The Gospels of Czar Ivan Alexander Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261–1557), ed. Helen C. Evans. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art; New Haven/London: Yale University Press · 2004 · 56
  2. Sts Cyril and Methodius National Library, Bulgaria; British Library, UK The Gospels of Tsar Ivan Alexander PDF UNESCO, International Memory of the World Register, revised nomination · 2016 · 8 pp.
  3. UNESCO Gospels of Tsar Ivan Alexander Memory of the World, register entry · 2017
  4. Lilyana Yordanova The Gospels Manuscript of Tsar Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria Mapping Eastern Europe, eds Maria Alessia Rossi and Alice Isabella Sullivan

Images

Contemporary portrait, 1355–1356

Anonymous medieval illuminator · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Anonymous medieval illuminator; British Library manuscript Add MS 39627 / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain. Group portrait from the person’s lifetime · detail