Ivan Sratsimir
emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria in Vidin
Years: 1324 - 1397
Ivan Sratsimir or Ivan Stratsimir is emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria in Vidin from 1356 to 1396.
He was born in 1324 or 1325, and he dies in or after 1397.
Despite being the eldest surviving son of Ivan Alexander, Ivan Sratsimir is disinherited in favor of his half-brother Ivan Shishman and proclaims himself emperor in Vidin.
When the Hungarians attack and occupy his domains, he receives assistance from his father and the invaders are driven away.
After the death of Ivan Alexander in 1371, Ivan Sratsimir breaks off ties with Tarnovo and even places the archbishop of Vidin under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to demonstrate his independence.
Due to its geographical position, Vidin is initially safe from attacks by the Ottoman Turks who are ravaging the Balkans to the south and Ivan Sratsimir makes no attempts to assist Ivan Shishman in his struggle against the Ottomans.
Only after the fall of Tarnovo in 1393 does his policy become more active and he eventually joined the crusade of the Hungarian king Sigismund.
However, after the disastrous battle of Nicopolis in 1396, the Ottomans march to Vidin and seize it.
Ivan Sratsimir is captured and imprisoned in Bursa, where he is probably strangled.
Although his son Constantine II claims the title Emperor of Bulgaria and at times controls some parts of his father's realm, Ivan Sratsimir is generally regarded by historians as the last ruler of medieval Bulgaria.
Sratsimir Hill on Trinity Peninsula in Antarctica is named after him.
