Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria

Ivan Alexander (died 17 February 1371), nephew of Michael Shishman, was tsar of Bulgaria from 1331 to 1371. He fought at Velbazhd in 1330, where Serbia crushed Bulgaria; defeat and invasion sparked a coup in 1331 that ousted Ivan Stefan and put him on the throne.

He retook northeastern Thrace and secured the Serbian border by marrying his sister Helena to Stefan Dušan in 1332. That summer he caught Andronikos III at Rusokastro and, reinforced by Mongol cavalry, overwhelmed the Byzantine army. Around 1332 he crowned his eldest son Michael Asen IV co-emperor.

His long reign brought economic recovery and a cultural and religious revival, but Ottoman raids and the Black Death wore Bulgaria down. He divided the realm among his sons, leaving it split when the Ottomans advanced.