The power of the Eastern Roman Empire has again waned by 1185 because of external conflicts.

The noble brothers Asen and Peter lead a revolt that forces imperial recognition of an autonomous Bulgarian state.

Centered at Turnovo (present-day Veliko Turnovo), this state becomes the Second Bulgarian Empire.

Like the First Bulgarian Empire, the second expands at the expense of a preoccupied Byzantine Empire.

In 1202 Tsar Kaloian (1197-1207) concludes a final peace with Constantinople that gives Bulgaria full independence.

Kaloian also drives the Magyars from Bulgarian territory and in 1204 concludes a treaty with Rome that consolidates Bulgaria's western border by recognizing the authority of the pope.

By the middle of the thirteenth century, Bulgaria again rules from the Black Sea to the Adriatic.

Access to the sea greatly increases commerce, especially with the Italian Peninsula.

Turnovo becomes the center of Bulgarian culture, which enjoys a second golden age.