Veliko Tarnovo in the context of "Boril of Bulgaria"

Ivan Asen II, also known as John Asen II (Bulgarian: Иван Асен II, [iˈvan ɐˈsɛn ˈftɔri]; 1190s – May/June 1241), was Emperor (Tsar) of Bulgaria from 1218 to 1241. He was still a child when his father Ivan Asen I – one of the founders of the Second Bulgarian Empire – was killed in 1196. His supporters tried to secure the throne for him after his uncle, Kaloyan, was murdered in 1207, but Kaloyan's other nephew, Boril, overcame them. Ivan Asen fled from Bulgaria and settled in the Rus' principalities.

Boril could never strengthen his rule which enabled Ivan Asen to muster an army and return to Bulgaria. He captured Tarnovo and blinded Boril in 1218. Initially, he supported the full communion of the Bulgarian Church with the Papacy and concluded alliances with the neighboring Catholic powers, Hungary and the Latin Empire of Constantinople. He tried to achieve the regency for the 11-year-old Latin Emperor, Baldwin II, after 1228, but the Latin aristocrats did not support Ivan Asen. He inflicted a crushing defeat on Theodore Komnenos Doukas of the Empire of Thessalonica, in the Battle of Klokotnitsa in 1230. Theodore's empire soon collapsed and Ivan Asen conquered large territories in Macedonia, Thessaly and Thrace.

The House of Asen, also Asen dynasty or the Asenids (Bulgarian: Асеневци, romanized: Asenevtsi), founded and ruled a medieval Bulgarian state, called in modern historiography the Second Bulgarian Empire, between 1185 and 1280.

The Asen dynasty rose as the leaders of Bulgaria after a rebellion against the Byzantine Empire at the turn of the year 1185/1186 caused by the increase in the Imperial taxes.

Alexius Slav (Bulgarian: Алексий Слав, Greek: Ἀλέξιος Σθλαῦος; fl. 1208–28) was a Bulgarian nobleman (bolyarin), a member of the Asen dynasty, and a nephew of the first three Asen brothers. He was first probably the governor of the Rhodopes domain of the Second Bulgarian Empire, and then an autocrat in these lands.

He was first mentioned as one of the nobles disputing Tsar Boril's ascension to the Bulgarian throne. He married the daughter of Latin Emperor Henry of Flanders in November 1208, leaving the Bulgarian capital of Veliko Tarnovo and establishing himself as an independent ruler over the largest part of the Rhodope Mountains. Alexius Slav became a vassal of Henry after the Bulgarian defeat near Plovdiv. Henry promised to support his aspirations for the Bulgarian throne and awarded Alexius Slav the title of despot.

The Synod of Tarnovo was a council of the Bulgarian Church, at that time in union with Rome, held at Veliko Tarnovo in 1211. Emperor (or Tsar) Boril of Bulgaria convoked it to condemn Bogomilism. The decisions of the synod were included in a document, now known as the Book of Boril.

43°19′N 25°33′E / 43.317°N 25.550°E / 43.317; 25.550

Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgarian: Област Велико Търново, romanized: Oblast Veliko Tǎrnovo) is a province in the middle of the northern part of Bulgaria. Its capital city, Veliko Tarnovo, is of historical significance as it was the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire. The province is divided into ten municipalities with a total population, as of December 2009, of 275,395.

The Yantra (Bulgarian: Янтра ['jantrɐ]) is a river in northern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube. Reaching a length of 285 km, it is the seventh longest river in Bulgaria and the third longest Bulgarian tributary of the Danube. In the middle and lower course, the Yantra takes many turns forming numerous gorges. It has a high sinuosity index of 3.1, which is characteristic for meandering rivers. Its catchment spans a territory of 7,862 km and has a small mean slope value 4.6‰ with a mean altitude of 470 m.

The city of Veliko Tarnovo, situated on several hills overlooking the river along its middle course, served as the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire in the 12–14th centuries, and remains an important cultural, economic and tourist center in Bulgaria. Another major city on the river is Gabrovo, an early education and industrial hub of the country.

Tsarevets (Bulgarian: Царевец, romanized: Tsarevets) is a medieval stronghold located on a hill with the same name in Veliko Tarnovo in northern Bulgaria. Tsarevets is 206 metres (676 ft) above sea level. It served as the Second Bulgarian Empire's primary fortress and strongest bulwark between 1185 and 1393, housing the royal and the patriarchal palaces, and it is also a popular tourist attraction.