Despot Ivanko

Ivanko initially fought alongside Asen and Peter in the Tarnovo uprising. He was directly involved in the conspiracy against Tsar Ivan Asen I and succeeded in killing him. According to accounts, many of the Tarnovo boyars were involved in this conspiracy. The Byzantine sebastokrator Isaac Komnenos was also implicated. He bribed Ivanko, promising him an alliance and marriage to his daughter. After the successful conspiracy, Ivanko failed to retain the Tarnovo throne because of his rivals for it, Ivan Asen's two brothers, Kaloyan and Peter. He therefore fled to Byzantium, and the brothers captured Tarnovo. Peter came to power first, but a few months later he was killed, and Kaloyan ascended the throne. After Ivanko fled to Byzantium, the emperor gave him the lands around Plovdiv, and he thus became governor of Plovdiv. After Kaloyan became tsar of the Bulgarians, he won Ivanko over as an ally against Byzantium. Together they achieved military successes. In 1200, the Byzantine emperor proposed a face-to-face meeting with Ivanko, which took place. At the meeting, Ivanko was captured and probably killed.