| Ivaylo | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Statue of Ivaylo | |
| Tsar of Bulgaria | |
| Reign | 1278–1279 |
| Predecessor | Constantine Tikh Asen |
| Successor | Ivan Asen III |
| Died | 1281 |
| Spouse | Maria Palaiologina Kantakouzena |
Ivaylo (died 1281), also spelled Ivailo (Bulgarian: Ивайло), was a rebel leader who ruled briefly as tsar of Bulgaria.[1] In 1277, he spearheaded a peasant uprising and forced the Bulgarian nobility to accept him as emperor. He reigned as emperor from 1278 to 1279, scoring victories against the Byzantines and the Mongols. Beset by foreign and domestic enemies, which included the Bulgarian nobles, he was eventually forced into exile among the Mongols, where he presented himself as a dethroned vassal. The Mongols then killed him in 1281 as an enemy of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus.[2]
Ivaylo's reign as a monarch has been used as an example of early anti-feudal class warfare by Marxist historians and has been translated through folk songs, traditions and legends. He served as an inspiration to Bulgarian guerrilla (hajduk) freedom fighters during the Ottoman period.[3] He was nicknamed Bardokva ("radish" or "lettuce" in Bulgarian) and Lakhanas (Λαχανᾶς, "cabbage") in Greek.
- ^ "Britannica". Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ Jordan 1999, pp. 68–69.
- ^ Jordan 1999, pp. 45–50.