Tsar Chaka

Chaka was a Bulgarian tsar, the son of the Tatar military commander Nogai and Alaka, and the husband of Elena, daughter of the Bulgarian tsar George I Terter.

Biography: In 1279 he married Elena, the youngest daughter of Tsar George I Terter. Subsequently, Chaka fell out of favour with Tokhtai after killing his stepmother and brother, who wanted peace with Tokhtai. Chaka briefly became khan but came into conflict with the military commanders, who went over to Tokhta's side. Chaka sought refuge among the Alans and later in Bulgaria, together with his wife Elena and brother-in-law Theodore Svetoslav.

In 1299–1300, Chaka ascended the throne as Bulgarian ruler according to the traditional view, which has, however, been challenged by an alternative interpretation put forward by the Bulgarian historian Plamen Pavlov. He suggests that Chaka was the suzerain of Svetoslav Terter.

When Tokhtai learnt of Chaka's whereabouts, he sent a large army towards Bulgaria, and it besieged the capital, Tarnovo. Theodore Svetoslav organised a conspiracy as a result of which Chaka was captured and strangled. His head was sent to Tokhtai.

Family: Chaka was married to Elena, daughter of the Bulgarian tsar George I Terter. They had one son, named Kara-Kishek. After his father's death, Kara-Kishek fled the Golden Horde with 3,000 Tatars and joined the army of the Vidin despot Shishman.