Ivan Stratsimir Stracimirović, of Bulgaria

Tamir has noted the irony that Ivan Shishman (r. 1371–1395), the last Bulgarian king of an indigenous dynasty, who later became a nationalist symbol of Bulgarian identity, was Jewish in the eyes of the halakha by virtue of his mother, Teodora. His positive treatment of the Jews may have been a factor in their participation in defending the country against Ottoman invasion. According to Kechales, that was why Bayezit I expelled the Jews from Tŭrnovo. The new sovereign found himself presiding over a respected Jewish community with centers spread throughout the country; at the beginning of Ottoman rule in 1396, Jewish communities flourished in Vidin, Sofia, Plovdiv, Nikopol, Silistra, Pleven, Yambol, and Stara Zagora.

Tamir, Vicki. Bulgaria and Her Jews: The History of a Dubious Symbiosis (New York: Yeshiva University Press, 1979).

Cite this page

D Gershon Lewental. "Bulgaria." Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World. Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman. Brill Online, 2013. <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-...>

Цар Иван Срацимир е младши съвладетел на баща си Иван Асен IV Александър Тертер-Шишман, получил Бдин като апанаж през 1337 г. Владеел е земи северно от Дунава - Мала Влахия.

  Младши съвладетели на Иван II Страцимир са неговите синове: Страцимир Иванов - 1373-1381 г.; Михаил Страцимиров - 1381-1395 г.; Георги Михаил Страцимиров - 1395-1398 г. - станал е монах в манастир край Велика Сардикия - 1398 г. След тази дата няма данни за него. Също и Недин 1350-1373 г. Около 1345 г. Иван II Страцимир и майка му Теодора се заселват завинаги в Бдин. До смъртта на Иван Александър майка му не е ставала монахиня.

  Цар Иван II Страцимир като баща си и много балкански владетели е бил многоженец. Първата му съпруга е сръбска княгиня, а втората е влашката княгиня Ана Бесараб. Неин баща е влашкият воевода Никола Бесараб. Чрез този брак Иван II Страцимир става баджанак на полския княз Владислав Ополчик Пяст, който е бил женен за сестрата на Ана - Елисавета. Двамата са се оженили едновременно 1353-1354 г. През 1378 г. Иван II Страцимир е взел за съпруга византийската принцеса Кантакузина.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Sratsimir_of_Bulgaria] Ivan Sratsimir or Ivan Stratsimir (Bulgarian: Иван Срацимир) was emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria in Vidin from 1356 to 1396. He was born in 1324 or 1325, and he died in or after 1397. Despite being the eldest surviving son of Ivan Alexander, Ivan Sratsimir was disinherited in favour of his half-brother Ivan Shishman and proclaimed himself emperor in Vidin. When the Hungarians attacked and occupied his domains, he received assistance from his father and the invaders were driven away.

After the death of Ivan Alexander in 1371 Ivan Sratsimir broke off ties with Tarnovo and even placed the archbishop of Vidin under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to demonstrate his independence. Due to its geographical position, Vidin was initially safe from attacks by the Ottoman Turks who were ravaging the Balkans to the south and Ivan Sratsimir made no attempts to assist Ivan Shishman in his struggle against the Ottomans. Only after the fall of Tarnovo in 1393 did 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 marched to Vidin and seized it. Ivan Sratsimir was captured and imprisoned in Bursa where he was probably strangled. Although his son Constantine II claimed the title Emperor of Bulgaria and at times controlled 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.