Michael II Asen of Bulgaria

Michael II Asen Михаил ІІ Асен
Tsar of Bulgaria
Reign	1246–1256/1257
Predecessor	Kaliman Asen I
Successor	Kaliman Asen II
Born	c. 1239
Died	December 1256/January 1257
Spouse	Anna of Macsó
House	Asen dynasty
Father	Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria
Mother	Irene Komnene Doukaina

Michael II Asen (Bulgarian: Михаил II Асен; c. 1239 – December 1256/January 1257) was emperor (or tsar) of Bulgaria from 1246 to 1256 or 1257. He was the son of Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria and Irene Komnene Doukaina. He succeeded his half-brother, Kaliman I Asen. His mother or other relative must have ruled Bulgaria during his minority.

John III Doukas Vatatzes, Emperor of Nicaea, and Michael II of Epirus, invaded Bulgaria shortly after Michael's ascension. Vatatzes captured the Bulgarian fortresses along the river Vardar; Michael of Epirus took possession of western Macedonia. In alliance with the Republic of Ragusa, Michael II Asen broke into Serbia in 1254, but he could not occupy Serbian territories. After Vatatzes died, he reconquered most territories lost to Nicea, but Vatatzes's son and successor, Theodore II Laskaris, launched a successful counter-offensive, forcing Michael to sign a peace treaty. Shortly after the treaty, discontected boyars (or noblemen) murdered Michael.

Michael was the son of Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria and Irene Komnene Doukaina. He was most probably born in 1239. His father, who died in the first half of 1241, was succeeded by Michael's seven-year-old half-brother, Kaliman. Kaliman died unexpectedly (possibly of poisoning, according to contemporaneous rumors) in August or September 1246.

Michael, who was only seven or eight, succeeded his half-brother. According to a scholarly theory, Michael's mother ruled Bulgaria during his minority, but she stayed in Thessaloniki just three months after his coronation. According to an other theory, his brother-in-law, Sevastokrator Peter, assumed the regency for the minor tsar.

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