Smilets of Bulgaria

Smilets Смилец
Tsar of Bulgaria
Reign	1292–1298
Predecessor	George Terter I
Successor	Ivan II of Bulgaria
Died	1298
Spouse	Smiltsena Palaiologina
Issue	Marina Smilets of Bulgaria Teodora of Bulgaria, Queen of Serbia Ivan II of Bulgaria
House	Smilets dynasty

Smilets (Bulgarian: Смилец) reigned as emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 1292 to 1298. The date of his birth is unknown.

Although Smilec is credited with being descended "from the noblest family of the Bulgarians", his antecedents are completely unknown. Judging by the landholdings of his brothers Radoslav and Vojsil, the family held extensive lands between the Balkan mountains and Sredna Gora.

Before ascending the throne replacing George Terter I in 1292, Smilec had married an unnamed Byzantine princess, the daughter of the sebastokratōr Constantine Palaiologos, a half-brother of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos. Apart from the information that Smilec became emperor of Bulgaria according to the wishes of Nogai Khan, we know nothing of the circumstances of Smilec's accession. He was crowned by Patriarch Joachim III. Joachim III was executed for treason in 1300 by emperor Theodore Svetoslav, George Terter I's son, and historian John Van Antwerp Fine Jr. theorizes that the alleged treachery might be linked to the obscure period when Smilets overthrew George Terter I.

The reign of Smilec has been considered the height of Mongol overlordship in Bulgaria. Nevertheless, Mongol raids may have continued, as in 1297 and 1298. Since these raids pillaged parts of Thrace (then entirely in Byzantine hands), perhaps Bulgaria was not one of their objectives. In fact, in spite of the usually pro-Byzantine policy of Nogai, Smilec was quickly involved in an unsuccessful war against the Byzantine Empire at the beginning of his reign.

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