Tsar Michael III Shishman Asen

Michael III Shishman was Bulgarian tsar from 1323 to 1330. He belonged to the Shishman dynasty and was the son of the Vidin despot and tsar Shishman I. He was the brother of Belaur and Keratsa Petritsa, the mother of Tsar Ivan Alexander. In 1298–1299 he married Anna-Neda, sister of the Serbian king Stefan Dečanski.

After his father's death around 1308–1311, Michael Shishman inherited his domain and received the title of "despot". Between 1317 and 1321 he participated in the civil war in Serbia, supporting the Serbian king Stefan II Milutin and subsequently his son Constantine.

 In 1322, following the death of George II Terter, Michael Shishman inherited the Tarnovo throne. A conflict began with the Byzantine emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos, who took advantage of the Bulgarians' preoccupation with electing a new tsar to seize several Bulgarian fortresses.

 Michael Shishman successfully took action against Voysil, brother of the former Bulgarian tsar Smilets, and defended his possessions. In 1324, with the support of Uzbeg Khan's Tatars, he entered into conflict with Byzantium. The Bulgarian army reached Vira and Trajanopolis. Andronikos III offered peace, which was accepted, and the agreement granted certain territories to Michael Shishman.

After the peace treaty, Michael Shishman divorced Anna-Neda and married Theodora Palaiologina, sister of the Byzantine emperor Andronikos III and widow of Todor Svetoslav. This alliance connected him by marriage to the Byzantine imperial Palaiologos family.

In 1325, Andronikos II and III concluded a new peace treaty with Michael Shishman, confirming the stability of the borders between Bulgaria and Byzantium. He provided support for Zograf Monastery while maintaining peace with the Byzantine emperors.

Michael Shishman's reign ended catastrophically in 1330 at the Battle of Velbazhd, where the Bulgarian army suffered defeat. The tsar was wounded and died soon afterwards. His death marked the end of the Shishman dynasty and the renewed rise of the Terter dynasty in the person of Ivan Alexander.