Origins
The origins of the dynasty, especially the ethnic background of the three Asen brothers (Teodor I Peter IV, Ivan Asen I and Kaloyan) are still a source of much controversy, debated between historians. There are three main hypothesis regarding their origins:
- Bulgarian origin, a view that is common among the Bulgarian historians who reckon that all native sources use predominantly the terms Bulgaria, Bulgarians and Bulgarian, that tsar Kaloyan claimed provenance from the rulers of the First Bulgarian Empire and that it's just a matter of terminology and for certain period by "Vlach" the medieval sources meant "Bulgarian from Moesia".
- Vlach origin, a view supported by historians who base their claims on mentions in some chronicles.
- Cuman origin, as some of the names in the dynasty, including Asen and Belgun (nickname of Ivan Asen I) are derived from Cuman language.
In their own administrative documents and correspondence, the three rulers viewed themselves as descendants and successors of the Bulgarian Tsars Samuil, Peter I and Simeon I, and the state they founded as a continuation of the First Bulgarian Empire. However, this could be just a way to proclaim their legitimacy for the throne of the Empire.
In a correspondence, of 1199, the Pope talks about the "Roman descent" of Kaloyan. However, considering the actual text says "Nos autem audito quod de nobili urbis Romae prosapia progenitores tui originem traxerint" ("We heard that your forefathers come from a noble family from the city of Rome"), it's usually dismissed as simply a hidden compliment of the Pope to Kaloyan.
Pope Innocent III in his letter to the Bulgarian King Kaloyan (Calojoannes) in 1204 addressed him “King of Bulgarians and Vlachs (Bulgarorum and Blacorum rex) ; in answering the Pope, John calls himself “imperator omnium Bulgarorum et Blachorum” but signs himself “imperator Bulgariae Calojoannes” the archbishop of Trnovo calls himself “totius Bulgariae et Blaciae Primas"
Read more about this topic: Asen Dynasty
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