Michael, Bulgarian despot

Michael
Despot
Bornunknown
Diedbefore 1330?
SpouseHelena or Anna?
HouseŠišman
FatherMichael Asen III "Šišman"
MotherAna of Serbia?

Michael (Bulgarian: Михаил, Mihail) was a son of Emperor (tsar) Michael Asen III "Šišman" of Bulgaria (1323–1330), and probably his first wife, Ana,[1] daughter of King Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia[2] by Elizabeth of Hungary.[3] He is attested solely in a fresco in the Church of the Holy Mother of God at Donja Kamenica, now in Serbia,[4] which attests that he held the title of despot at some point after his father's accession in 1323. The various possibilities for the precise identification and chronological placement of the despot Michael carry significant implications for both the political history and social practice of medieval Bulgaria.

  1. ^ Božilov 1985: 144-146.
  2. ^ Božilov 1985: 148-149.
  3. ^ Mladjov 2011: 613-614.
  4. ^ For the church, see more generally Frfulanović 2001 and Burnand 2008.