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24-633: Neither Fruzhin's birthdate nor his biography prior to the Fall of Tarnovo to the Ottomans in 1393 are known, but from his involvement in the 1404 uprising, the former can be narrowed down to the 1380s, the same decade his parents married, and there's no mention of him having been a bastard. He had a brother, Alexander , who converted to Islam after the Ottoman conquest, adopting the name Iskender and becoming governor of Samsun and then Smyrna , where he died in 1418. As

48-576: A joint Hungarian and Wallachian raid of the cities of Vidin , Oryahovo and Silistra on the Danube along with Dan II and Filipo Scolari . Sigismund rewarded Fruzhin's military service with a noble title, entrusting him with the governance of Temes County and presenting him with a personal domain at Lippa . Fruzhin visited the Republic of Ragusa ( Dubrovnik ) and the leaders of the Albanian revolt , in 1435 on

72-590: A modern reconstruction of a medieval tower modeled after the tower in Cherven and built in 1930, is in the southeastern part of the fortress. It is at the place of the original medieval tower where Latin Emperor Baldwin I of Constantinople found his death as a prisoner of Kaloyan of Bulgaria . During the Middle Ages , residential buildings, craftsman's workshops and numerous churches and monasteries were situated on

96-723: A secret diplomat mission of Sigismund. In 1444, he participated in Władysław III of Poland 's Crusade of Varna , an attempt to drive the Ottoman Turks away from Bulgaria and Europe . The campaign ended in disaster, as Władysław III died in the Battle of Varna at the Black Sea , and Fruzhin is not mentioned in any later historical sources. Fruzhin died in Brașov in 1460. Fall of Tarnovo Ottoman victory The siege of Tarnovo occurred in

120-527: Is a medieval stronghold located on a hill with the same name in Veliko Tarnovo in northern Bulgaria . Tsarevets is 206 metres (676 ft) above sea level. It served as the Second Bulgarian Empire 's primary fortress and strongest bulwark between 1185 and 1393, housing the royal and the patriarchal palaces, and it is also a popular tourist attraction. The earliest evidence of human presence on

144-478: Is located in the centre, surrounded by an internal stone wall, two battle towers and two entrances - north and south. It consists of a throne hall, a castle church and the king's chamber. The restoration of the fortress Tsarevets began in 1930 and was completed in 1981 in honour of the 1300 anniversary of the establishment of the Bulgarian state. Kings Petar, Asen, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen the second lived there. The castle

168-456: Is on the hill's central and plain part, which was a closed complex encircled by a fortified wall, two towers and two entrances, a main one from the north and one from the south. It featured a throne room , a palace church and a royal residential part and encompassed 4,872 square metres (52,440 sq ft). On the top of the hill is the patriarchate, a complex with an area of about 3,000 square metres (32,000 sq ft). The Cathedral of

192-493: The Dardanelles , and joined with his western army, which likely included some Christian rulers from Macedonia . He entrusted the main command to his son Celebi , and ordered him to depart for Tarnovo. Suddenly, the town was besieged from all sides. The Turks threatened the citizens with fire and death if they did not surrender. The population resisted but eventually surrendered after a three-month siege, following an attack from

216-592: The Ascension of the Lord , built on the remains of a late Roman basilica, was reconstructed in 1981 and painted in 1985. The frescoes inside, painted in a striking modernist style rather than in the style of traditional Orthodox frescoes, depict conventional Christian subjects as well as glorious and tragic moments of the Second Bulgarian Empire. The church has not been reconsecrated. Baldwin's Tower (Балдуинова кула),

240-584: The Bulgarian lands along with his cousin Constantine II, Ivan Sracimir's son and last reigning Bulgarian monarch at Vidin. Despite conflicting historical details regarding the span and size of the revolt, there are hints that Constantine and Fruzhin managed to restore their rule over at least a part of the Bulgarian lands. However, the uprising was crushed (probably in 1413 or 1418) and Fruzhin returned to Hungary. In 1425, Fruzhin participated in Hungarian service in

264-653: The Moldovan metropolitan bishop to carry the episcopal symbols in Tarnovo, where he came the following year. In 1402, Tarnovo had its own metropolitan , subjected to the Byzantine patriarch. Thus, the Bulgarian state fell under Turkish rule while the Bulgarian church fell under Greek rule. 43°05′N 25°39′E  /  43.083°N 25.650°E  / 43.083; 25.650 Tsarevets (fortress) Tsarevets ( Bulgarian : Царевец , romanized :  Tsarevets )

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288-504: The absence of Tsar Ivan Shishman , who attempted to fight the Turks elsewhere, leading the remnants of his troops to the fortress of Nikopol , the main Bulgarian leader in the town was Patriarch Evtimiy . He went to the Turkish camp with the intention of assuaging the Turkish commander, who listened politely to his pleas, but afterwards fulfilled very little of his promises. After a fierce battle,

312-837: The capital Tarnovo was captured by the Ottomans, Fruzhin fled initially to the domains of his uncle Ivan Sratsimir at Vidin, in the Bulgarian northwest. He settled in Hungary under Sigismund I some time after that. Sigismund accepted Fruzhin to his court and recognized his claim to the Bulgarian throne. He stayed in Hungary as a member of the Order of the Dragon with some other famous noblemen like Filipo Skolari , Vlad Dracula and Skenderbeg . Ecumenical Patriarch Joseph II of Constantinople may also have been an illegitimate half-brother of Fruzhin's. Probably in 1404, Fruzhin headed an anti-Ottoman revolt in

336-417: The direction of Tsarevets , on July 17, 1393. The Patriarch's church "Ascension of Christ" was turned into a mosque, the rest of the churches were also turned into mosques, baths, or stables. All palaces and churches of Trapezitsa were burned down and destroyed. The same fate was expected for the tzar palaces of Tsarevets; however, parts of their walls and towers were left standing until the 17th century. In

360-522: The fortress became the most important one in Bulgaria, often compared with Rome and Constantinople in magnificence. In 1393, the stronghold was besieged by Ottoman forces for three months before finally being conquered and burnt down on 17 July, which marked the fall of the Bulgarian Empire. It has three entrances. The main entrance is located on the easternmost side of the hill. The castle complex

384-531: The hill dates from the 2nd millennium BC . It was settled in the 4th century, and a Byzantine city, tentatively identified with Zikideva , was constructed near the end of the 5th century, on the grounds of which the construction of the Bulgarian stronghold was begun in the 12th century. After the Bulgarian Rebellion and the establishment of the Second Bulgarian Empire with its capital in Veliko Tarnovo,

408-541: The main army led by his father Bayazid I and they went on to capture the fortress of Nikopol . This rapid success by the Turks led a great deal of panic throughout the rest of Europe and the Pope called for a Crusade . This Crusade would be fought at Nikopol three years later in the Battle of Nicopolis . Later, the city's leading citizens were sent into exile in Asia Minor , where their historical traces are lost. The patriarch

432-714: The same way as the Greek learned men enriched the West with the old classics. Many merchants and boyars converted to Islam. The famous church of the Holy Forty Martyrs , built by Ivan Asen II , somewhat damaged after the battle, was turned into a mosque. The fall of Tarnovo and the exile of Patriarch Evtimiy mark the destruction of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church . As early as August 1394, the Patriarch of Constantinople appointed

456-580: The slopes of the Tsarevets hill. Archaeologists have discovered 400 residential buildings, differentiated in quarters, over 22 churches and 4 monasteries. Tsarevets hill is also the location of Execution Rock, an outcropping over the Yantra River from which traitors were pushed to their deaths and their bodies fell into the river. There Patriarch Joachim was executed by the Tsar Theodore Svetoslav in

480-548: The spring of 1393 and resulted in a decisive Ottoman victory. With the fall of its capital, the Bulgarian Empire was reduced to a few fortresses along the Danube . Tarnovo exceeded all Bulgarian towns by its size, its treasures, and its partly natural, partly artificial fortifications. Therefore, the Turks attacked this area of Bulgaria first. In the spring of 1393, Bayazid I gathered his troops from Asia Minor , crossed

504-403: The town was captured by the Turks under Celebi. Celebi left the town after appointing a local commander. The new governor gathered all eminent citizens and boyars under a pretense and had them all killed. According to legend, Evtimiy was sentenced to death but saved at the last minute by a miracle. After leaving behind a Turkish commander to govern the town, Celebi left and joined up his army with

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528-426: The year 1300. The Sound and Light (Звук и светлина, Zvuk i svetlina ) audiovisual show is an attraction carried out in the evening that uses three lasers , variegated lights, dramatic music and church bells to tell the story of the fall of Tarnovo to the Ottomans, as well as other key moments of the history of Bulgaria . The large-scale show has been organized at Tsarevets since 1985, when the 800-year anniversary of

552-461: Was sent into exile in Thrace. He died in exile and was later hailed as a national saint of his people. The citizens of Tarnovo that remained in the town saw what was described by contemporary sources as a "complete devastation of the town". Turkish colonists occupied Tsarevets which from then on was called Hisar. The disciples of Evtimiy dispersed to Russia and Serbia, taking with them Bulgarian books, in

576-427: Was the biggest one in the 14th century. The whole stronghold is girdled by thick walls reaching up to 3.6 metres (12 ft) and was served by three gates. The main gate was at the hill's westernmost part, on a narrow rock massif, and featured a draw-bridge. The second gate is 180 metres (590 ft) away from the first one and the third one, which existed until 1889, is 450 metres (1,480 ft) further. The palace

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