Restoration
In 1185 the brothers Asen and Peter raised a rebellion in Tarnovo against the Byzantines. The reason: taxes that were far too high. Some things never change. The uprising succeeded and the Second Bulgarian Empire was born, with Tarnovo as its capital.
Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II
- Kaloyan (1197–1207) – defeated the knights of the Fourth Crusade at Adrianople in 1205 and captured the Latin emperor Baldwin of Flanders. The knights came for Constantinople and went home with a lesson learned.
- Ivan Asen II (1218–1241) – the empire’s most powerful ruler. After the Battle of Klokotnitsa (1230), Bulgaria again had access to three seas. He was known for his mercy towards prisoners – a rarity for the age.
Tarnovo
Tarnovo was the fortress of Tsarevets, churches, monasteries and scholars. Patriarch Euthymius reformed spelling and literary style. Art reached its peak – the frescoes in the Boyana Church (1259) are among the finest in medieval Europe.
The fall
In the 14th century the state fragmented into the Tarnovo and Vidin kingdoms and several feudal domains. The Ottomans exploited the quarrels. Tarnovo fell in 1393, Vidin in 1396. A long night began.
To this day Tarnovo hosts a “Sound and Light” show over Tsarevets. In 20 minutes you watch glory flare up and fade away. Much faster than it happened in history.