Family Tree of the Second Bulgarian Empire
23 reigning rulers across four dynasties — with their consorts, kin and the family's Byzantine branch
The Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) was ruled by four successive dynasties — the Asen, Terter, Smilets and Shishman houses — from the uprising of the brothers Peter and Asen against Byzantium to the fall of Tarnovo to the Ottomans. This family tree charts every tsar and their relatives across those two centuries, together with the Asens in Byzantium: the descendants of Ivan Asen III, who lived on in Constantinople as the noble Asanes family. Switch between the houses with the tabs, expand a branch to follow a line, and select any name for their reign, family ties and the primary sources behind each fact.
Paul Asen
- Children
Paul Asen is attested between 1437 and 1442; his membership of the Asen family is beyond doubt, although direct evidence of his origin is lacking. In 1437 he carried out a diplomatic mission to Sultan Murad II on behalf of Emperor John VIII, and in 1438–1439 he was governor (kephale) of Constantinople, going out to meet the emperor on his return from the Council of Ferrara–Florence.
In the spring of 1441, during his family's stay in Mesembria, his daughter Theodora married Despot Demetrios Palaiologos — a union that raised up his son Matthew. Paul Asen was married (his wife's name is unknown) and had three children: Matthew, Theodora and Simonida (the nun Sophrosyne). He died of a stroke on 20 October 1442.