Kaloyan of Bulgaria
| Kaloyan Калоян |
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| King of the Bulgarians and Vlachs | |
His statue in Varna
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| Reign | 1196–1207 |
| Coronation | 8 November 1204 |
| Predecessor | Ivan Asen I |
| Successor | Boril |
| Born | c. 1170 |
| Died | October 1207 |
| Spouse | Cuman princess |
| House | Asen dynasty |
Kaloyan, also known as Kalojan, Johannitsa or Ioannitsa (Bulgarian: Калоян; c. 1170–October 1207) was emperor (or tsar) of Bulgaria from 1196 to 1207. He was a younger brother of Theodor and Asen who lead the uprising of the Bulgarians and Vlachs in 1185. The uprising ended with the restoration of the independence of Bulgaria. He spent years as a hostage in Constantinople in the late 1180s. Theodor (who had been crowned emperor under the name Peter) made him his co-ruler after Asen was murdered in 1196. A year later, Theodor-Peter was also assassinated, and Kaloyan became the sole ruler of Bulgaria.
To obtain an imperial crown from the Holy See, Kaloyan entered into correspondence with Pope Innocent III, offering to acknowledge papal primacy. His expansionist policy brought him into conflict with the Byzantine Empire, Serbia and Hungary. Emeric, King of Hungary allowed the papal legate who delivered a royal crown to Kaloyan to enter Bulgaria only at the pope's demand. The legate crowned Kaloyan "King of the Bulgarians and Vlachs" on 8 November 1204, but he continued to regard his realm as an empire.
Kaloyan took advantage of the disintegration of the Byzantine Empire after the fall of Constantinople to the crusaders (or "Latins"). He captured fortresses in Macedonia and Thrace and supported the local population's riots against the crusaders. He defeated Baldwin I, Latin emperor of Constantinople, in the Battle of Adrianople on 14 April 1205. Baldwin was captured and died in Kaloyan's prison. He launched new campaigns against the crusaders and captured or destroyed dozens of their fortresses. He was thereafter known as Kaloyan the Romanslayer, because his troops murdered or captured thousands of Romaioi (or local Greeks). He died under mysterious circumstances during the siege of Thessalonica in 1207.
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