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Cut-out detail; background removed. Isaac II coin, 12th century, in electrum, an alloy of gold and silver. No link to the wedding tax is established.
Coin of Isaac II

Peter, Asen and the revolt of 1185 · Second Tsardom

The church and the beginning of a tsardom

How do Peter and Asen gather people for a revolt?

9 scenes · 3 min · Sources · 16

StartListen

Two brothers receive a refusal from the emperor. People then gather for revolt around a prayer house. Follow a retreat and return with Cuman allies, the restoration of the Bulgarian state and what Choniates actually tells us.

Isaac II coin, 12th century, in electrum, an alloy of gold and silver. No link to the wedding tax is established.

Part 1 · Second Tsardom

A wedding paid for by others

Isaac II Angelos is preparing a wedding. He is emperor of Byzantium, the eastern Roman Empire. The medieval account links discontent near the Balkan Mountains to a wedding tax. People must give their ruler some of their property.

Two brothers, Peter and Asen, go to the emperor. They ask to serve in the army and receive land near the mountains. Their request is refused. They return home insulted.

Listen to scene · 1

Synthetic voice · 0:26
Sources · 2
  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. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Coin Nomisma Isaac II, 22.122.1
Modern photograph of St Demetrius Church and the foundations around it.

Part 2 · Second Tsardom

The brothers gather people in church

People are afraid to rebel, the medieval author tells us. The brothers build a church for St Demetrius, honoured as Thessaloniki’s protector. People gathered inside proclaim that the saint has left Thessaloniki and will help free Bulgarians and Vlachs. Vlachs is an old name for communities speaking languages descended from the ancient Romans’ language.

The revolt is usually dated to 1185. The medieval account gives no exact day. A recorded promise does not prove a miracle.

Listen to scene · 2

Synthetic voice · 0:30
Sources · 4
  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. 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
  3. БДЖ – Пътнически превози ЕООД (institutional publisher; individual author not stated) Цар Иван Асен I, 1187–1196 PDF Поредица Български владетели · 1–2
  4. 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
Facade of reconstructed St Demetrius Church. This is not an untouched wall from 1185.

Part 3 · Second Tsardom

The bricks above the window

Look at St Demetrius Church below Trapezitsa in Veliko Tarnovo. Brick courses run between the stone blocks. Above the window are round ceramic ornaments, made of fired clay.

The museum links this church to the revolt. We cannot be sure this is the site of the brothers’ church. The date of the remains is disputed.

The photograph shows a reconstructed building. We cannot say every stone stood here when the brothers were alive.

1 · Stone and brick
Stone blocks alternate with thin brick courses. We are looking at a reconstructed facade.
2 · Ceramic dishes
Round ceramic elements decorate the arch above the window. The museum describes this kind of facade decoration.
3 · Arches along the wall
These shallow arched niches decorate the wall. They are not passageways.

Listen to scene · 3

Synthetic voice · 0:25
Sources · 4
  1. Регионален исторически музей – Велико Търново Църквата “Св. Димитър” – Велико Търново Museum object catalogue
  2. 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
  3. Kandi File:Church of St Demetrius, Veliko Tarnovo 2.JPG Wikimedia Commons
  4. 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
Tsarevets hill today, with restored fortifications and patriarchal church.
Geographic context, without historical bordersGeographic context, without historical borders123
Geographic context, without historical borders

Part 4 · Second Tsardom

A church below, a fortress above

Find the church below Trapezitsa and Tsarevets hill on the map. They are different places. Tsarevets is a fortified hill. Steep slopes and the Yantra River hinder attackers. The hill holds the palace complex from which rulers governed the state.

Tarnovo becomes the restored Bulgarian state’s capital: the city from which it is governed. Today’s palace remains belong to different building phases. Not everything on the hill was built in the year of the revolt.

Listen to scene · 4

Synthetic voice · 0:26
Sources · 3
  1. Регионален исторически музей – Велико Търново Църквата “Св. Димитър” – Велико Търново Museum object catalogue
  2. Регионален исторически музей – Велико Търново Архитектурно – музеен резерват „Царевец“ Museum object catalogue
  3. Kirił Marinow Tărnovgrad Viewed by the Others: the Case of Niketas Choniates Studia Ceranea, University of Lodz · 2021 · 11 · 301–320

Part 5 · Second Tsardom

Activity: a message or proof

What can we conclude from Choniates’ account of the saint?

  1. A message promising the saint’s help was recorded.
  2. It is proven that the saint personally fought.
  3. The present building dates from the revolt.
Why is that?

Choniates reports what was proclaimed in the prayer house. A recorded promise does not prove that a miracle happened.

Correct · A message promising the saint’s help was recorded.

  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. 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

Listen to scene · 5

Synthetic voice · 0:03
Sources · 2
  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. 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
Present-day view of walls and a tower on Tsarevets, including reconstructed sections.

Part 6 · Second Tsardom

Asen returns with the Cumans

The imperial army advances. After a defeat, the brothers withdraw across the Danube. But Asen recruits Cuman allies beyond the river. The Cumans are a people of the steppes. Steppes are vast grassy plains. Asen returns with them after the emperor has withdrawn his army.

Listen to scene · 6

Synthetic voice · 0:18
Sources · 2
  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. István Vásáry Cumans and Tatars: Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans, 1185–1365 Cambridge University Press, Cambridge; ISBN 9780521837569 · 2005

Part 7 · Second Tsardom

Activity: put the account in order

Before the emperor’s campaign, Choniates describes Peter wearing a gold crown and red shoes. Order the events from earliest to latest.

  1. The brothers’ petition is refused
  2. Peter adopts signs of rulership
  3. The brothers withdraw across the Danube
  4. Asen returns with Cuman allies
Why is that?

Choniates relates the refusal first, then the signs of rule, the retreat and the return with allies. This narrative order does not require a choice between disputed calendar dates.

Correct order

  1. The brothers’ petition is refused
  2. Peter adopts signs of rulership
  3. The brothers withdraw across the Danube
  4. Asen returns with Cuman allies
  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

Listen to scene · 7

Synthetic voice · 0:09
Sources · 1
  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
Roe 22, leaf 440v according to Commons; copied in 1286. The content of the pictured leaf has not been checked.

Part 8 · Second Tsardom

The leaf copied in 1286

The photograph shows a copy of the medieval account made in 1286. We do not know whether this leaf describes the revolt. The year dates the copy.

The author is a Byzantine official and historian hostile to the rebels. He records a promise of the saint’s help. That does not prove a miracle. The dream where St Demetrius shows Asen a place with a fiery sword is a legend. The old text makes us ask: what can we check?

Listen to scene · 8

Synthetic voice · 0:26
Sources · 5
  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. 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
  3. Исторически музей Приморско Свети Димитър – Покровител на българите Museum Primorsko, news · 2017
  4. Foteini Spingou Classicizing Visions of Constantinople after 1204: Niketas Choniates’ De signis Reconsidered PDF Dumbarton Oaks Papers · 2022 · 76 · 181–220
  5. Unidentified reproduction provider File:Niketas Choniates, Oxford, MS Roe 22.jpg Wikimedia Commons

Part 9 · Second Tsardom

Activity: match the evidence

Match each name or object with its description in the story.

  1. Niketas Choniates · Author of the revolt account
  2. Present-day St Demetrius · Church below Trapezitsa
  3. Tsarevets · Fortified hill with a palace complex
  4. Isaac II’s coin · Metal object from the emperor’s time
Why is that?

Choniates is the author. Present-day St Demetrius is below Trapezitsa. The palace is on Tsarevets. The coin is a metal object from Isaac II’s reign, not a proven payment of the wedding tax.

  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. Регионален исторически музей – Велико Търново Църквата “Св. Димитър” – Велико Търново Museum object catalogue
  3. Регионален исторически музей – Велико Търново Архитектурно – музеен резерват „Царевец“ Museum object catalogue
  4. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Coin Nomisma Isaac II, 22.122.1

Listen to scene · 9

Synthetic voice · 0:04
Sources · 4
  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. Регионален исторически музей – Велико Търново Църквата “Св. Димитър” – Велико Търново Museum object catalogue
  3. Регионален исторически музей – Велико Търново Архитектурно – музеен резерват „Царевец“ Museum object catalogue
  4. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Coin Nomisma Isaac II, 22.122.1

A new find for your collection

The revolt begins the Second Bulgarian Tsardom, a state ruled by a tsar. A recorded promise of a saint’s help does not prove a miracle.

Kaloyan · AdrianopleKaloyan and the captured emperorFollow another change in power.Boyana Church · BoyanaThe faces of BoyanaGeorgi Ivanov · BaikonurInto orbit, without docking

People in this story

Peter IVAsenIsaac II AngelosNiketas ChoniatesSaint DemetriusPeter IV · RulersIvan Asen I · Rulers

Sources

  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
  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. Kandi File:Church of St Demetrius, Veliko Tarnovo 2.JPG Wikimedia Commons
  11. Unidentified reproduction provider File:Niketas Choniates, Oxford, MS Roe 22.jpg Wikimedia Commons
  12. 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
  13. Исторически музей Приморско Свети Димитър – Покровител на българите Museum Primorsko, news · 2017
  14. Foteini Spingou Classicizing Visions of Constantinople after 1204: Niketas Choniates’ De signis Reconsidered PDF Dumbarton Oaks Papers · 2022 · 76 · 181–220
  15. István Vásáry Cumans and Tatars: Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans, 1185–1365 Cambridge University Press, Cambridge; ISBN 9780521837569 · 2005
  16. Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes (CNRS) United Kingdom, Oxford, Bodleian Library, Roe, 22 (Diktyon 48403) Pinakes: Textes et manuscrits grecs

Images

The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 1.0 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Isaac II coin, 12th century, in electrum, an alloy of gold and silver. No link to the wedding tax is established.

Open source

Full attribution

The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 22.122.1 · Gift of Bashford Dean, 1922 · CC0 1.0. Cut-out detail; background removed.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 1.0 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Isaac II coin, 12th century, in electrum, an alloy of gold and silver. No link to the wedding tax is established.

Open source

Full attribution

The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 22.122.1 · Gift of Bashford Dean, 1922 · CC0 1.0. Cropped image.

Klearchos Kapoutsis · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Modern photograph of St Demetrius Church and the foundations around it.

Open source

Full attribution

Klearchos Kapoutsis / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0. Modern photograph of St Demetrius Church and the foundations around it. Processed image.

Kandi · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Facade of reconstructed St Demetrius Church. This is not an untouched wall from 1185.

Open source

Full attribution

Kandi / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Facade of reconstructed St Demetrius Church. This is not an untouched wall from 1185. Processed image.

www.vacacionesbulgaria.com · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Tsarevets hill today, with restored fortifications and patriarchal church.

Open source

Full attribution

www.vacacionesbulgaria.com / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Tsarevets hill today, with restored fortifications and patriarchal church. Processed image.

Kandi · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Present-day view of walls and a tower on Tsarevets, including reconstructed sections.

Open source

Full attribution

Kandi / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Present-day view of walls and a tower on Tsarevets, including reconstructed sections. Processed image.

Unidentified reproduction provider · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Roe 22, leaf 440v according to Commons; copied in 1286. The content of the pictured leaf has not been checked.

Open source

Full attribution

Unidentified reproduction provider / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Roe 22, leaf 440v according to Commons; copied in 1286. The content of the pictured leaf has not been checked. Processed image.

Geographic context, without historical borders

Tom Patterson · Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso · Public domain · Natural Earth

Open source

Full attribution

Tom Patterson · Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso