Tsar Coloman I Asen

Coloman I Asen, also known as the Child Tsar, was an underage ruler of Bulgaria from 1241 to 1246. He was a son of Tsar Ivan Asen II and the Hungarian princess Anna Maria. During this period, the state was governed by a regency acting on behalf of the young tsar.

There are several hypotheses about the origin of the name Coloman. One links it to Hungarian influence at the Bulgarian court during this period. In Hungary and Austria between the 11th and 13th centuries, Coloman was highly revered as a saint’s name, rendered in Latin as Colomannus. In Pope Innocent IV’s letter of 21 March 1245 to Tsar Coloman I Asen, he is referred to as “Colomanno in Bulgaria”.

Another view connects his name with the Bulgarian name Kaloyan, deriving it from “the handsome man”. The Bulgarian rulers Peter and John bore the epithets Kalopeter and Kaloyan respectively.

After Ivan Asen II’s death, Bulgaria’s situation became alarming because of pressure from the Tatars, who devastated northern Bulgaria. In 1242 or 1243, the Tatar forces of Khan Batu attacked and compelled the regency in Tarnovo to pay tribute to the Golden Horde. The state was also divided by internal strife.

A dissatisfied faction of boyars, led by Irene, Ivan Asen II’s third wife, poisoned Coloman I Asen in 1246 and placed her son Michael II Asen, who was also underage, on the throne.