History of BulgariaHistory of Bulgaria
Depiction on a coin · 12th century · detail
Depiction on a coin

Second Bulgarian Tsardom · Tsar

Peter IV

≈Dates disputed: 1185–1197

With his brother Asen, led an uprising that restored the Bulgarian state.

See the sources for the dating evidence.

ListenBiography

Life

Editorial draft

The texts are drafts. Draft, source checking and expert review are separate states. A model assists with drafting and checking the texts. No expert has reviewed them yet.

Peter was Asen’s brother. The main Byzantine account is by Niketas Choniates, who does not present the rebels’ own viewpoint. It mentions Bulgarians, Vlachs and help from the Cumans. The present St Demetrius church is restored, rather than an untouched setting of the event. Opposed the rule of Isaac II Angelos. Was associated with the uprising’s proclamation at Tarnovo. Helped restore Bulgarian royal authority. His story shows how new rulers claimed continuity with an earlier state.

Sources · 13

Open · Peter IV

Achievements

  • Opposed the rule of Isaac II Angelos
  • Was associated with the uprising’s proclamation at Tarnovo
  • Helped restore Bulgarian royal authority

In our stories

Sources

  1. Ian S. R. Mladjov Monarchs’ Names and Numbering in the Second Bulgarian State Studia Ceranea 5 (2015), pp. 267–310. Łódź University Press. · 2015 · 5 · 267–310
  2. 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
  3. Министерство на външните работи на Република България История МВнР, Информация за България, undated web overview.
All sources (16)
  1. Niketas Choniates; Harry J. Magoulias (translator) O City of Byzantium: Annals of Niketas Choniatēs PDF Byzantine Texts in Translation; Wayne State University Press, Detroit · 1984 · 203–206
  2. БДЖ – Пътнически превози ЕООД (institutional publisher; individual author not stated) Цар Иван Асен I, 1187–1196 PDF Поредица Български владетели · 1–2
  3. Евгени Дерменджиев За патриаршеския комплекс, царския дворец и фортификацията на средновековната крепост на хълма Царевец в предстоличния Търнов PDF Известия на Регионален исторически музей – Велико Търново · 2016 · XXXI · 39–100
  4. Anastasia Dobyčina A “Divine Sanction” on the Revolt: The Cult of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica and the Uprising of Peter and Asen (1185–1186) Studia Ceranea, University of Lodz · 2012 · 2 · 113–126
  5. Туристическо дружество „Трапезица-1902“ Пътеводител „17 туристически маршрута в община Велико Търново“ / Guidebook “17 tourist routes in Veliko Tarnovo Municipality” PDF ТД „Трапезица-1902“, Велико Търново; издание с подкрепата на община Велико Търново · 2015 · 12–13
  6. Kirił Marinow Tărnovgrad Viewed by the Others: the Case of Niketas Choniates Studia Ceranea, University of Lodz · 2021 · 11 · 301–320
  7. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Coin Nomisma Isaac II, 22.122.1 The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  8. Регионален исторически музей – Велико Търново Църквата “Св. Димитър” – Велико Търново Museum object catalogue
  9. Регионален исторически музей – Велико Търново Архитектурно – музеен резерват „Царевец“ Museum object catalogue
  10. Marko Pijović Late Medieval Vlachs in the Western Balkans, 13th to 15th centuries: Orality, Society and the Limits of Collective Identities PDF Balcanica Posnaniensia · 2021 · XXVIII/1 · 65–92
  11. Исторически музей Приморско Свети Димитър – Покровител на българите Museum Primorsko, news · 2017
  12. Foteini Spingou Classicizing Visions of Constantinople after 1204: Niketas Choniates’ De signis Reconsidered PDF Dumbarton Oaks Papers · 2022 · 76 · 181–220
  13. István Vásáry Cumans and Tatars: Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans, 1185–1365 Cambridge University Press, Cambridge; ISBN 9780521837569 · 2005

Alternative dates in the sources

≈ 1186–1197
Ian S. R. Mladjov
1185–1197
Ian S. R. Mladjov

Images

Depiction on a coin

Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Depiction on a coin · 12th century · detail

Open source

Full attribution

Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.5. Depiction on a coin · 12th century · detail