Anna Terter of Bulgaria
Encyclopedia
Anna Terter was a Bulgarian
princess and Queen consort
of Serbia (1284–1299). She was the third wife of King Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia
.
According to George Pachymeres
, Anna was "the daughter of Terter
, borne to him by the sister of Asen
. The sister of Asen was Kira Maria
- second wife of George I Terter
. According another theory Anna was the daughter of tsar
George I of Bulgaria
and his first wife Maria. Anna was sister of Bulgarian tsar Theodore Svetoslav.
In 1284 Anna married King Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia
as his third wife. They had two children:
In 1299 Stefan Uroš II Milutin divorced Anna in order to marry Simonida
, who was only 5 years old. Anna was sent to the Byzantine Empire where in 1301 she married Michael (Demetrios) Doukas Komnenos Koutroules, son of the Despot Michael II Komnenos Doukas
of Epirus
. They had issues.
In 1304 Anna Terter and Michael (Demetrios) Doukas were accused of conspiracy against the Emperor. In 1305 they were imprisoned in the Great Palace of Constantinople
and their property was confiscated. Later Anna and Michael made an attempt to escape to Bulgaria, but they failed and Michael was imprisoned in the jail of Blachernae
.
Second Bulgarian Empire
The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state which existed between 1185 and 1396 . A successor of the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before gradually being conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th-early 15th century...
princess and Queen consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of Serbia (1284–1299). She was the third wife of King Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia
Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia
Stefan Uroš II Milutin was a king of Serbia , and member of the House of Nemanjić.-Early:...
.
According to George Pachymeres
George Pachymeres
Georgius Pachymeres , a Byzantine Greek historian and miscellaneous writer, was born at Nicaea, in Bithynia, where his father had taken refuge after the capture of Constantinople by the Latins in 1204...
, Anna was "the daughter of Terter
George I of Bulgaria
George Terter I ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1280-1292. The date of his birth is unknown, and he died in 1308/1309.The reign of George Terter I represents a continuation of Bulgaria's precipitous decline during the second half of the 13th century...
, borne to him by the sister of Asen
Ivan Asen III of Bulgaria
Ivan Asen III , ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1279–1280. Ivan Asen III was the son of Mitso Asen of Bulgaria and Maria of Bulgaria, a daughter of Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria and Irene of Thessalonica...
. The sister of Asen was Kira Maria
Kira Maria Asenina of Bulgaria
Kira Maria Asenina was a Bulgarian princess and empress consort , second wife of George I of Bulgaria.Kira Maria was the daughter of tsar Mitso Asen of Bulgaria and his wife Maria. The dates and the places of her birth and death are unknown....
- second wife of George I Terter
George I of Bulgaria
George Terter I ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1280-1292. The date of his birth is unknown, and he died in 1308/1309.The reign of George Terter I represents a continuation of Bulgaria's precipitous decline during the second half of the 13th century...
. According another theory Anna was the daughter of tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
George I of Bulgaria
George I of Bulgaria
George Terter I ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1280-1292. The date of his birth is unknown, and he died in 1308/1309.The reign of George Terter I represents a continuation of Bulgaria's precipitous decline during the second half of the 13th century...
and his first wife Maria. Anna was sister of Bulgarian tsar Theodore Svetoslav.
In 1284 Anna married King Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia
Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia
Stefan Uroš II Milutin was a king of Serbia , and member of the House of Nemanjić.-Early:...
as his third wife. They had two children:
- Stefan Uroš III DečanskiStefan Uroš III Decanski of SerbiaStephen Uroš III of Dečani was King of Serbia from January 6, 1322 to 8 September 1331. He defeated and killed several of his family members who wanted to take the throne from him. He took his epithet Dečanski from the great monastery he built at Dečani.-Early:He was the son of King Stefan Uroš II...
, who succeeded as king of Serbia - Anna Neda of SerbiaAnna Neda of SerbiaAnna Neda was a 14th-century Serb Empress consort of Bulgaria. She was the daughter of Serbian King Stefan Uroš II Milutin and Princess Anna Terter, daughter of George I of Bulgaria...
, who married Michael Shishman of BulgariaMichael Shishman of BulgariaMichael Asen III ), ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from 1323 to 1330. The exact year of his birth is unknown but it was between 1280 and 1292. He was the founder of the last ruling dynasty of the Second Bulgarian Empire, the Shishman dynasty...
.
In 1299 Stefan Uroš II Milutin divorced Anna in order to marry Simonida
Simonida
Simonida Nemanjić , born Simonis Palaiologina , was a Byzantine princess and queen consort of Serbia as the fourth wife of Serbian king Milutin . She was a daughter of Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos and Irene of Montferrat.- Life :Simonida was born in Constantinople ca. 1294...
, who was only 5 years old. Anna was sent to the Byzantine Empire where in 1301 she married Michael (Demetrios) Doukas Komnenos Koutroules, son of the Despot Michael II Komnenos Doukas
Michael II Komnenos Doukas
Michael II Komnenos Doukas or Comnenus Ducas , often called Michael Angelos in narrative sources, was the ruler of Epirus from 1230 until his death in 1266/68.-Life:...
of Epirus
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate or Principality of Epirus was one of the Byzantine Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Empire of Nicaea, and the Empire of Trebizond...
. They had issues.
In 1304 Anna Terter and Michael (Demetrios) Doukas were accused of conspiracy against the Emperor. In 1305 they were imprisoned in the Great Palace of Constantinople
Great Palace of Constantinople
The Great Palace of Constantinople — also known as the Sacred Palace — was the large Imperial Byzantine palace complex located in the south-eastern end of the peninsula now known as "Old Istanbul", modern Turkey...
and their property was confiscated. Later Anna and Michael made an attempt to escape to Bulgaria, but they failed and Michael was imprisoned in the jail of Blachernae
Blachernae
Blachernae was a suburb in the northwestern section of Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire. It was the site of a spring and a number of prominent churches were built there, most notably the great Church of St. Mary of Blachernae , built by Empress Pulcheria in circa 450,...
.
Sources
- Krastev, Krasimir. "Съдбата на българската царкиня Анна Тертер" - Тангра. Сборник в чест на 70-годишнината на акад. Васил Гюзелев. С.: СУ, 2006, 649-657
- Pavlov, Plamen."Търновските царици". В.Т.:ДАР-РХ, 2006.
See also
- Terter dynastyTerter dynastyTerter , also Terterids or Terterovtsi , was a Bulgarian noble and royal house that ruled the Second Bulgarian Empire between 1280 and 1292, as well as between 1300 and 1323.The Terterids were originally of Cuman origin Terter , also Terterids or Terterovtsi (Тертеровци), was a Bulgarian noble and...
- Rulers of Serbia
- House of NemanjićHouse of NemanjicThe Nemanjić was the most important dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages, and one of the most important in Southeastern Europe. The royal house produced eleven Serbian monarchs between 1166 and 1371. It's progenitor was Stephen Nemanja, who descended from a cadet line of the Vukanović dynasty...