Ivan the Russian
Encyclopedia
Ivan the Russian (fl.
1288/1323–1332) was a 14th-century Bulgaria
n military leader of Russian
origin who served Bulgarian tsars Michael Shishman
and Ivan Alexander
. Prior to joining the armed forces of the Second Bulgarian Empire
, Ivan the Russian may have been a military commander in the service of the Hungarian
governor of Severin
.
Ivan the Russian rose to a high rank in the Bulgarian military in the wake of the accession of Michael Shishman to the throne. In 1323, he was in charge of the Bulgarian defence of Plovdiv
during the prolonged and ultimately successful Byzantine siege of the city. In 1328, he was involved in a failed Bulgarian attempt to capture the Byzantine capital Constantinople
from within. Probably taking part in the turbulent events that surrounded and followed Michael Shishman's death, Ivan the Russian was last mentioned as a representative of Ivan Alexander in 1332.
born in the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia (centred around modern western Ukraine
), a hypothesis based only on his ties to Hungary
, the western neighbour of Galicia–Volhynia
. Hungarian sources from 1288 make notice of one Russian named Ivan (Iwan dicto Oroz) as an ally of the ban
of Severin, Theodore Csanád, who was one of the nobles that opposed the rule of Charles I of Hungary
in 1316–1317. The land to the south of Severin was governed for Bulgaria by the despot of Vidin
, Michael Shishman
, a supporter of Csanád. Thus, as the Hungarian king established his authority over Severin and suppressed Csanád's rebellion, Ivan the Russian may have fled to Vidin and entered the service of Michael Shishman. Ivan is thought to have been joined, as a commander subordinate to the despot of Vidin, by his personal forces which consisted of Hungarians and, presumably, Russians
.
While Hungarian scholar Győrffy supports the identification of Ivan the Russian as the Iwan dicto Oroz of Hungarian chronicles, historian István Vásáry points to the lack of clear evidence and the large time span between the two. Before that identification was proposed, it was considered that Ivan had arrived in Bulgaria after fleeing the Mongol conquest of Rus', much like another Russian in Bulgarian service, Jacob Svetoslav
. Either way, in 1323 Ivan's right-hand man was a Hungarian named Inas.
Michael Shishman's accession to the Bulgarian throne in 1323 meant that Ivan the Russian assumed an elite rank in the Bulgarian military
hierarchy. Pavlov theorizes that he became protostrator
, a title borrowed from Byzantium
. The title was held by the second-in-command of the army and was approximate to the Western marshal
. In the same year, Ivan was dispatched to the city of Plovdiv
(Philippopolis) which had been recently conquered by Bulgaria after decades of Byzantine rule. With a one-thousand-strong cavalry force of Alans
, Bulgarians and possibly Hungarians and two thousand infantrymen, Ivan was to defend the city from Byzantine raids. In that task he was assisted by his deputy Inas and the Alan chieftains Itil and Temir. At the time, Ivan was already well-known even in Byzantium as a military commander.
The Bulgarian forces commanded by Ivan the Russian managed to withstand the four-month siege of Plovdiv undertaken by Andronikos III Palaiologos
, claimant to the Byzantine throne
, and his Bulgarian ally Voysil, despot of Kopsis
. In their attempts to capture the city, the Byzantines employed German
specialists to construct a siege machine, from which they fired with crossbow
s at the Bulgarian defenders. Despite the elaborate siege tactics, by the summer of 1323 the Bulgarians had not only retained the city, but also launched raids on nearby Byzantine-held fortresses in the Rhodope Mountains
, such as Stenimachos (modern Asenovgrad
) and Tsepina
. Plovdiv was lost, however, to the Byzantines soon thereafter. As Ivan's forces were leaving the city to meet the Bulgarian garrison that was to replace them, the pro-Byzantine inhabitants of Plovdiv opened the city gates and let a covert Byzantine detachment in.
, the residence of emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos
. Andronikos II, facing imminent defeat at the hands of his grandson and co-emperor Andronikos III in a protracted civil war
, was distrustful of his own guard, and had requested the assistance of Michael Shishman. The Bulgarian emperor sent Ivan the Russian along with 3,000 horsemen to Constantinople
in aid. In the words of Byzantine historian Nikephoros Gregoras, the actual intentions of Michael Shishman were to use Ivan and his men as a Trojan Horse
. In a suitable moment, the Bulgarian guard would arrest the emperor and take hold of the palace before allowing Michael Shishman with a large army and Tatar
mercenaries into Constantinople.
In accordance with the plan, Ivan and his cavalry approached Constantinople while Michael Shishman waited in Yambol
with his army. The plot was uncovered by the spies of Andronikos III. Fearing for his own imperial ambitions, he wrote to his rival and grandfather not to accept the Bulgarians into the capital. While Ivan stuck to the plan and signed an oath that he had come with peace to persuade the Byzantines, he promptly retreated to Bulgarian territory upon receiving that order from Michael Shishman.
Ivan's role in the final years of Tsar Michael Shishman's reign and the rule of Ivan Stephen
is uncertain, as he is not mentioned in the sources pertaining to that period. His high-ranking position nevertheless leads Pavlov to conjecture that Ivan took part in the Battle of Velbazhd of 28 July 1330, a Serbian
victory over Bulgaria that paved the way to the Serbian dominance of the Balkans in the mid-14th century. Michael Shishman was killed in the battle and succeeded by his son Ivan Stephen (1330–1331). Pavlov believes that Ivan the Russian was among the Bulgarian nobles that ousted the weak Ivan Stephen in 1331 and placed Ivan Alexander
(1331–1371) on the throne. It is also probable that Ivan the Russian took part in the Bulgarian victory over Byzantium at Rusokastro
in 1332 because he was last recorded as Ivan Alexander's representative in the peace negotiations that followed.
, writer and later Byzantine emperor who likely personally faced Ivan in battle. In his History, Kantakouzenos calls Ivan a man “skilled in strategy
”. Kantakouzenos also referred to Ivan as “one of Bulgaria's illustrious people” in his writings. Czech historian Konstantin Josef Jireček
, a prominent researcher of Bulgarian history, assesses Ivan as “the most clear-cut figure of a Bulgarian military leader” of that age. In the eyes of Pavlov, despite his foreign origin Ivan the Russian was not considered an emigrant or a mercenary by the Bulgarian nobility and the emperor, but rather a trusted commander and one of their own.
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1288/1323–1332) was a 14th-century Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n military leader of Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
origin who served Bulgarian tsars Michael Shishman
Michael Shishman of Bulgaria
Michael 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...
and Ivan Alexander
Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
Ivan Alexander , also known as John Alexander, ruled as Emperor of Bulgaria from 1331 to 1371, during the Second Bulgarian Empire. The date of his birth is unknown. He died on February 17, 1371. The long reign of Ivan Alexander is considered a transitional period in Bulgarian medieval history...
. Prior to joining the armed forces of the Second Bulgarian Empire
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...
, Ivan the Russian may have been a military commander in the service of the Hungarian
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
governor of Severin
Drobeta-Turnu Severin
Drobeta-Turnu Severin is a city in Mehedinţi County, Oltenia, Romania, on the left bank of the Danube, below the Iron Gates.The city administers three villages: Dudaşu Schelei, Gura Văii, and Schela Cladovei...
.
Ivan the Russian rose to a high rank in the Bulgarian military in the wake of the accession of Michael Shishman to the throne. In 1323, he was in charge of the Bulgarian defence of Plovdiv
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
during the prolonged and ultimately successful Byzantine siege of the city. In 1328, he was involved in a failed Bulgarian attempt to capture the Byzantine capital Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
from within. Probably taking part in the turbulent events that surrounded and followed Michael Shishman's death, Ivan the Russian was last mentioned as a representative of Ivan Alexander in 1332.
Early years and siege of Plovdiv
Bulgarian historian Plamen Pavlov conjectures that Ivan the Russian was a RuthenianRuthenians
The name Ruthenian |Rus']]) is a culturally loaded term and has different meanings according to the context in which it is used. Initially, it was the ethnonym used for the East Slavic peoples who lived in Rus'. Later it was used predominantly for Ukrainians...
born in the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia (centred around modern western Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
), a hypothesis based only on his ties to Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, the western neighbour of Galicia–Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
. Hungarian sources from 1288 make notice of one Russian named Ivan (Iwan dicto Oroz) as an ally of the ban
Ban (title)
Ban was a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language probably as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler". The Slavic word is probably borrowed from...
of Severin, Theodore Csanád, who was one of the nobles that opposed the rule of Charles I of Hungary
Charles I of Hungary
Charles I , also known as Charles Robert , was the first King of Hungary and Croatia of the House of Anjou. He was also descended from the old Hungarian Árpád dynasty. His claim to the throne of Hungary was contested by several pretenders...
in 1316–1317. The land to the south of Severin was governed for Bulgaria by the despot of Vidin
Vidin
Vidin is a port town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Serbia and Romania, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin...
, Michael Shishman
Michael Shishman of Bulgaria
Michael 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...
, a supporter of Csanád. Thus, as the Hungarian king established his authority over Severin and suppressed Csanád's rebellion, Ivan the Russian may have fled to Vidin and entered the service of Michael Shishman. Ivan is thought to have been joined, as a commander subordinate to the despot of Vidin, by his personal forces which consisted of Hungarians and, presumably, Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
.
While Hungarian scholar Győrffy supports the identification of Ivan the Russian as the Iwan dicto Oroz of Hungarian chronicles, historian István Vásáry points to the lack of clear evidence and the large time span between the two. Before that identification was proposed, it was considered that Ivan had arrived in Bulgaria after fleeing the Mongol conquest of Rus', much like another Russian in Bulgarian service, Jacob Svetoslav
Jacob Svetoslav
Jacob Svetoslav was a prominent 13th-century Bulgarian noble of princely Russian origin. Bestowed the title of despot, Yakov Svetoslav was the ruler of a widely autonomous domain of the Second Bulgarian Empire most likely located around Sofia...
. Either way, in 1323 Ivan's right-hand man was a Hungarian named Inas.
Michael Shishman's accession to the Bulgarian throne in 1323 meant that Ivan the Russian assumed an elite rank in the Bulgarian military
Medieval Bulgarian Army
The medieval Bulgarian army was the primary military body of the First and the Second Bulgarian Empires. During the first decades after the foundation of the country, the army consisted of a Bulgar cavalry and a Slavic infantry. The core of the Bulgarian army was the heavy cavalry, which consisted...
hierarchy. Pavlov theorizes that he became protostrator
Protostrator
Prōtostratōr was a Byzantine court office, originating as the imperial stable master, which in the last centuries of the Empire evolved into one of the senior military offices...
, a title borrowed from Byzantium
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. The title was held by the second-in-command of the army and was approximate to the Western marshal
Marshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
. In the same year, Ivan was dispatched to the city of Plovdiv
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
(Philippopolis) which had been recently conquered by Bulgaria after decades of Byzantine rule. With a one-thousand-strong cavalry force of Alans
Alans
The Alans, or the Alani, occasionally termed Alauni or Halani, were a group of Sarmatian tribes, nomadic pastoralists of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian.-Name:The various forms of Alan —...
, Bulgarians and possibly Hungarians and two thousand infantrymen, Ivan was to defend the city from Byzantine raids. In that task he was assisted by his deputy Inas and the Alan chieftains Itil and Temir. At the time, Ivan was already well-known even in Byzantium as a military commander.
The Bulgarian forces commanded by Ivan the Russian managed to withstand the four-month siege of Plovdiv undertaken by Andronikos III Palaiologos
Andronikos III Palaiologos
Andronikos III Palaiologos, Latinized as Andronicus III Palaeologus was Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341, after being rival emperor since 1321. Andronikos III was the son of Michael IX Palaiologos and Rita of Armenia...
, claimant to the Byzantine throne
Byzantine civil war of 1321–1328
The Byzantine civil war of 1321–1328 was a series of conflicts fought in the 1320s between the Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos and his grandson Andronikos III Palaiologos over control of the Byzantine Empire.-Prelude to the civil war:...
, and his Bulgarian ally Voysil, despot of Kopsis
Anevo Fortress
The Anevo Fortress or Kopsis is a medieval castle in central Bulgaria, the ruins of which are located some from the village of Anevo in Sopot Municipality, Plovdiv Province. Constructed in the first half of the 12th century, it lies on a steep hilltop at the southern foot of the Balkan...
. In their attempts to capture the city, the Byzantines employed German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
specialists to construct a siege machine, from which they fired with crossbow
Crossbow
A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a torsion engine resembling a crossbow in appearance.Historically, crossbows played a...
s at the Bulgarian defenders. Despite the elaborate siege tactics, by the summer of 1323 the Bulgarians had not only retained the city, but also launched raids on nearby Byzantine-held fortresses in the Rhodope Mountains
Rhodope Mountains
The Rhodopes are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, with over 83% of its area in southern Bulgaria and the remainder in Greece. Its highest peak, Golyam Perelik , is the seventh highest Bulgarian mountain...
, such as Stenimachos (modern Asenovgrad
Asenovgrad
Asenovgrad is a town in central southern Bulgaria, part of Plovdiv Province.-History:Asenovgrad was founded by the Thracians as Stenímachos around 300–400 BC. In 72 BC the city was captured by the troops of the Roman Empire as part of the Roman expansion towards the Black Sea. After a long period...
) and Tsepina
Tsepina
Tsepina was a castle and town in the western Rhodope mountains, southern Bulgaria, now in ruins. It is located at 6 km from the Dorkovo village in the north-eastern part of the Chepinska valley....
. Plovdiv was lost, however, to the Byzantines soon thereafter. As Ivan's forces were leaving the city to meet the Bulgarian garrison that was to replace them, the pro-Byzantine inhabitants of Plovdiv opened the city gates and let a covert Byzantine detachment in.
Anti-Byzantine plot and later career
The loss of Plovdiv did not seem to have had a profound effect on Ivan's career, and he remained a royal favourite. In 1328, Ivan was tasked by Tsar Michael Shishman with the defence of the Great Palace of ConstantinopleGreat 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...
, the residence of emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos
Andronikos II Palaiologos
Andronikos II Palaiologos , Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, was Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. He was the eldest surviving son of Michael VIII Palaiologos and Theodora Doukaina Vatatzina, grandniece of John III Doukas Vatatzes...
. Andronikos II, facing imminent defeat at the hands of his grandson and co-emperor Andronikos III in a protracted civil war
Byzantine civil war of 1321–1328
The Byzantine civil war of 1321–1328 was a series of conflicts fought in the 1320s between the Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos and his grandson Andronikos III Palaiologos over control of the Byzantine Empire.-Prelude to the civil war:...
, was distrustful of his own guard, and had requested the assistance of Michael Shishman. The Bulgarian emperor sent Ivan the Russian along with 3,000 horsemen to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in aid. In the words of Byzantine historian Nikephoros Gregoras, the actual intentions of Michael Shishman were to use Ivan and his men as a Trojan Horse
Trojan Horse
The Trojan Horse is a tale from the Trojan War about the stratagem that allowed the Greeks finally to enter the city of Troy and end the conflict. In the canonical version, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men inside...
. In a suitable moment, the Bulgarian guard would arrest the emperor and take hold of the palace before allowing Michael Shishman with a large army and Tatar
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
mercenaries into Constantinople.
In accordance with the plan, Ivan and his cavalry approached Constantinople while Michael Shishman waited in Yambol
Yambol
Yambol is a city in southeastern Bulgaria, an administrative centre of Yambol Province. It lies on both banks of the Tundzha river in the historical region of Thrace. As of February 2011, the town has a population of 72,843 inhabitants. It is occasionally spelt 'Jambol'.The administrative centres...
with his army. The plot was uncovered by the spies of Andronikos III. Fearing for his own imperial ambitions, he wrote to his rival and grandfather not to accept the Bulgarians into the capital. While Ivan stuck to the plan and signed an oath that he had come with peace to persuade the Byzantines, he promptly retreated to Bulgarian territory upon receiving that order from Michael Shishman.
Ivan's role in the final years of Tsar Michael Shishman's reign and the rule of Ivan Stephen
Ivan Stephen of Bulgaria
Ivan Stefan ruled as emperor of Bulgaria for eight months from 1330 to 1331. He was the eldest son of emperor Michael III Shishman and Anna Neda of Serbia, a daughter of King Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia. Ivan Stephen was descendent to the Terter dynasty, the Asen dynasty and the Shishman...
is uncertain, as he is not mentioned in the sources pertaining to that period. His high-ranking position nevertheless leads Pavlov to conjecture that Ivan took part in the Battle of Velbazhd of 28 July 1330, a Serbian
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
victory over Bulgaria that paved the way to the Serbian dominance of the Balkans in the mid-14th century. Michael Shishman was killed in the battle and succeeded by his son Ivan Stephen (1330–1331). Pavlov believes that Ivan the Russian was among the Bulgarian nobles that ousted the weak Ivan Stephen in 1331 and placed Ivan Alexander
Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
Ivan Alexander , also known as John Alexander, ruled as Emperor of Bulgaria from 1331 to 1371, during the Second Bulgarian Empire. The date of his birth is unknown. He died on February 17, 1371. The long reign of Ivan Alexander is considered a transitional period in Bulgarian medieval history...
(1331–1371) on the throne. It is also probable that Ivan the Russian took part in the Bulgarian victory over Byzantium at Rusokastro
Battle of Rusokastro
The Battle of Rusokastro occurred on July 18, 1332 near the village of Rusokastro, Bulgaria between the armies of the Bulgarian and Byzantine Empires. The result was a Bulgarian victory.-Origins of the conflict:...
in 1332 because he was last recorded as Ivan Alexander's representative in the peace negotiations that followed.
Assessment
Ivan the Russian was held in high regard by John VI KantakouzenosJohn VI Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus was the Byzantine emperor from 1347 to 1354.-Early life:Born in Constantinople, John Kantakouzenos was the son of a Michael Kantakouzenos, governor of the Morea. Through his mother Theodora Palaiologina Angelina, he was a descendant of the reigning house of...
, writer and later Byzantine emperor who likely personally faced Ivan in battle. In his History, Kantakouzenos calls Ivan a man “skilled in strategy
Strategy
Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...
”. Kantakouzenos also referred to Ivan as “one of Bulgaria's illustrious people” in his writings. Czech historian Konstantin Josef Jireček
Konstantin Josef Jirecek
Konstantin Josef Jireček , son of Josef Jireček, was a Czech historian, diplomat and slavist.He entered the Bulgarian service in 1879, and in 1881 became minister of education at Sofia...
, a prominent researcher of Bulgarian history, assesses Ivan as “the most clear-cut figure of a Bulgarian military leader” of that age. In the eyes of Pavlov, despite his foreign origin Ivan the Russian was not considered an emigrant or a mercenary by the Bulgarian nobility and the emperor, but rather a trusted commander and one of their own.