Shishman

Shishman was a contender for the Bulgarian throne in exile, the third son of tsar Michael Shishman (r. 1323–1330). He was named after his grandfather Shishman of Vidin and was probably born in the capital of the Bulgarian Empire Tarnovo. Background His father, Michael Shishman led aggressive policy in the Balkans, in an attempt to extend the size of Bulgaria to that during the reign of Ivan Asen II (1218–1241). The Byzantine Empire suffered some setbacks and had to agree to concessions in Thrace but Michael Shishman could not achieve a decisive success. He eventually allied with the Byzantines against Serbia and divorced his Serbian wife Anna Neda. In 1330 the Serbs defeated the Bulgarian army in the battle of Velbazhd, in which the Bulgarian tsar perished. After the battle the two sides negotiated peace in the locality of Mraka and it was decided that the eldest son of Michael Shishman – Ivan Stephen would succeed his father as emperor. Eight months later, in 1331, Ivan Stephen was overthrown in a palace coup by Ivan Alexander (1331–1371), son of Michael Shishman's sister. Anna Neda and her sons had to flee to Serbia.