Ivan Shishman II

Ivan Shishman II^[1] (Bulgarian: Иван Шишман), also known as (Ivan) Shishman III,^[2][3][a] was a Bulgarian rebel proclaimed as tsar of Bulgaria in Tarnovo during the First Tarnovo Uprising (1598).^[2][4] He and the rebels briefly held control of Tarnovo,^[2] which had been the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1395), until the uprising was crushed by the Ottoman Empire.^[4]

Ivan Shishman II claimed descent from the Second Bulgarian Empire's last ruling dynasty, the House of Sratsimir,^[4] allegedly from the tsar Ivan Shishman (r. 1371–1395).^[5] Although unverified, it is possible that he was a genuine descendant given that the family is recorded to have survived in the neighbouring Kingdom of Hungary until at least the second half of the 16th century.^[6] It has also been suggested that "Ivan Shishman" was a name assumed by one of the other known leaders of the uprising, Theodore Balina, as self-proclaimed tsar.^[7]

Notes

1. If Shishman of Vidin (who did not rule as tsar) is counted as "Shishman I".