George Terter I (Bulgarian: Георги Тертер I), of the Terter dynasty, ruled as the tsar of Bulgaria from 1280 to 1292. He was born in Cherven. The date of his birth is unknown, and he died in 1308 or 1309.
Contents
Early life
The antecedents of George Terter I are unclear, but the Byzantine sources testify that he was of Bulgarian and Cuman descent, something corroborated by his double name, which recalls the name of the Cuman clan Terteroba. George Terter I had at least one brother, named Aldimir (Eltimir), who was made a despot by either his older brother or by the regency for Ivan II.
When Ivan Asen III became emperor at Tărnovo in 1279 during the Uprising of Ivaylo, he sought to strengthen his position by allying himself with George Terter. The latter divorced his wife Maria, who was sent, together with their son, Theodore Svetoslav, as a hostage to the Byzantine Empire, in order for George to marry Kira Maria, sister of Ivan Asen III. George Terter was accordingly made a despot, the highest rank in the Byzantino-Bulgarian court hierarchy.
Reign
The continued success of Ivaylo against Byzantine reinforcements led Ivan Asen III to flee the capital and escape to the Byzantine Empire, while George Terter I seized power as emperor in 1280. With the threat from Ivaylo and Ivan Asen III removed, George Terter I made an alliance with King Charles I of Sicily, with Stefan Dragutin of Serbia, and with Thessaly against Michael VIII Palaeologus of the Byzantine Empire in 1281. The alliance failed as Charles was distracted by the Sicilian Vespers and the secession of Sicily in 1282, while Bulgaria was ravaged by the Mongols of the Golden Horde under Nogai Khan. Seeking Serbian support, George Terter I engaged his daughter Anna to the Serbian king Stefan Uroš II Milutin in 1284.