Interactive Atlas
Map of the Second Bulgarian Empire
How the empire's borders rose and fell · 1185–1396
Trace the shifting borders of medieval Bulgaria across nine dated snapshots — from the 1185 uprising that restored the empire, through its greatest extent under Ivan Asen II, to fragmentation and the Ottoman conquest. Each map draws a single historical layer alongside its neighbours.
The 1185 uprising of the brothers Asen and Peter restores Bulgarian statehood. By 1186 a realm forms around Tarnovo in the north-east, while Byzantium still holds most of the Balkans and Serbia rises under Nemanja.
Select a realm on the map to read who ruled it and how it stood that year.
The realms of 1186
Bulgaria
Ruler Asen & Peter
In 1186 Bulgaria was ruled jointly by the brothers Asen and Peter, who proclaimed the restoration of the Bulgarian Empire in the spring of that year. The state was in the process of consolidating control over parts of Moesia, Thrace, and areas around the Danube, with Tarnovo as its center. Bulgaria was re-emerging as a political entity following centuries of Byzantine domination, asserting its independence amid regional instability.
Sources
Its extent rests on 3 passages, checked word for word against the books.
Ivan Bozhilov, Vasil Gyuzelev, History of Medieval Bulgaria, 7th–14th Century.
Show the 2 quoted passages
„През пролетта на 1186 г. станало нещо много важно за българите: тържествено била обявена възобновата на Българското царство“
Read p. 607 in the book„Българското царство включвало в своите предели само част от териториите на Балканския полуостров, обитавани от българско население“
Read p. 775 in the bookIvan Bozhilov, The Asen Family (1186–1460): Genealogy and Prosopography.
Show the quoted passage
„Присъствието на една икона, изобразяваща светеца, спасена от опожар ... и потърсил убежище другаде. Иван Асен не пропуснал да се възползува от този факт и да разгласи, че солунският мъченик и чудотворец се приютил сред българите, в Търново.“
Read p. 28 in the book
Byzantine Empire
Ruler Isaac II Angelos
In 1186 the Byzantine Empire was ruled by Emperor Isaac II Angelos. The empire was in decline, having lost key territories such as Thessaloniki, Corfu, and Durazzo to the Normans in 1185, and parts of the central and eastern Balkans to Hungary. The Serbs and Hungarians were active in seizing Byzantine forts along the Nis-Beograd route, and the Hungarians threatened the imperial capital in Thrace, reflecting the empire's weakened state amid internal turmoil and external pressures.
Towards Bulgaria
The Byzantine Empire shared a border with the newly re-established Bulgarian state, which had begun its uprising in 1186. The empire faced rivalry and territorial losses in the Balkans, with Bulgarian nobles Peter and Asen proclaiming a new Bulgarian kingdom that challenged Byzantine authority.
Sources
No passage in our sources fixes this realm's extent, so its border here is approximate.
Serbia
Ruler Stefan Nemanja
In 1186 Serbia was ruled by Stefan Nemanja as Grand Župan. Although nominally a Byzantine vassal, Nemanja effectively governed independently and expanded Serbian territory significantly. His realm included Raška, Kosovo, Metohija, northern Macedonia with Skopje, Zeta, southern Dalmatia, and parts of northern Albania, making Serbia a rising power in the region amid Byzantine decline and Hungarian pressures.
Towards Bulgaria
In 1186 Serbia shared a border with the re-emerging Bulgarian state, which had just proclaimed its restoration. There was no direct conflict or alliance recorded at this time, but the political revival of Bulgaria and Serbia occurred concurrently, setting the stage for future interactions.
Sources
Its extent rests on 2 passages, checked word for word against the books.
Hungary
Ruler Béla III
In 1186 the Kingdom of Hungary was ruled by King Béla III. The kingdom was expanding southward into the Balkans, occupying key territories such as Beograd, Branicevo, Nis, and Sardika following Byzantine weakness. Hungary held significant influence in the central and eastern Balkans, controlling important towns and routes, and allied with the Serbs against Byzantium.
Towards Bulgaria
Hungary occupied border regions including Beograd, Branicevo, Nis, and Sardika, directly challenging Byzantine control and affecting Bulgarian interests. The alliance with the Serbs and the occupation of these towns placed Hungary in a position of rivalry over Balkan territories with Bulgaria.
Sources
Its extent rests on 2 passages, checked word for word against the books.
Banate of Bosnia
Ruler Ban Kulin
In 1186 the Banate of Bosnia was ruled by Ban Kulin, who maintained the banate's independence despite Hungarian claims to the region. Bosnia was situated between East and West, with some northern nobles possibly recognizing Hungarian suzerainty, but central Bosnia under Kulin remained effectively autonomous. The banate was emerging as a distinct polity amid regional power struggles involving Byzantium, Hungary, and Serbia.
Towards Bulgaria
Bosnia shared a border with Bulgaria and was independent under Ban Kulin, with no direct Hungarian influence within the banate. The region was strategically located between Bulgarian and Hungarian spheres of influence, but Kulin's rule maintained autonomy from both powers.
Sources
No passage in our sources fixes this realm's extent, so its border here is approximate.
Cumans
In 1186 the Cumans were a nomadic people inhabiting the steppes north of the Danube, controlling a loosely held territory stretching between the Volga and the Carpathians. They were a significant military force, often allied with or providing troops to neighboring states such as Bulgaria. Their presence on the trans-Danubian frontier influenced regional power dynamics, especially as they faced pressure from the advancing Tatars.
Towards Bulgaria
The Cumans had close military ties with Bulgaria in 1186, frequently providing troops and acting as allies in Bulgarian campaigns. Their territory bordered Bulgarian lands across the Danube, making them important partners and sometimes a source of military support during the early efforts to restore the Bulgarian state.
Sources
No passage in our sources fixes this realm's extent, so its border here is approximate.
The arc of the empire
When the brothers Asen and Peter rose against Byzantine rule in 1185, the restored empire held little more than the lands around its capital, Tarnovo. Within two decades Kaloyan had shattered the Latin Crusaders at Adrianople and pushed Bulgarian power south and west across the Balkans.
The empire reached its greatest extent after 1230, when Ivan Asen II routed the Epirote state at Klokotnitsa and ruled from the Black Sea to the Adriatic approaches, styling himself "Tsar of the Bulgarians and Greeks." The maps of 1205 and 1230 show that surge; the map of 1261 shows how quickly Mongol raids and dynastic strife undid it.
The fourteenth century brought a partial recovery under Theodore Svetoslav and a cultural flourishing under Ivan Alexander, but also fragmentation: by 1355 the realm had split into the tsardoms of Tarnovo, Vidin and Dobruja. The Ottoman victory on the Maritsa in 1371 sealed their fate, and with the fall of Tarnovo in 1393 and Vidin in 1396 the medieval Bulgarian state came to an end.