Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria - Family

Family

Ivan Asen II was married three times. His first wife may be the Anna (religious name Anisia) mentioned in the Synodik of the Bulgarian Church. She may have been a concubine instead of a legitimate spouse, and she may have been the mother of his two eldest daughters:

1. Maria (?), who married Manuel of Thessalonica.
2. Beloslava (?), who married Stefan Vladislav I of Serbia.

His second wife was Anna Maria of Hungary, a daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary. She died in 1237 and by her he had several children, including:

1. Elena, who married Theodore II Doukas Laskaris of the Nicaea.
2. Thamar, at one point alleged to be engaged to the future Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.
3. Kaliman Asen I, who succeeded as emperor of Bulgaria 1241–1246.
4. Peter, who died in 1237.

By his third wife, Eirene (religious name Xene) of Thessalonica, a daughter of Theodore of Epirus and Maria Petraliphaina, he had three children:

1. Anna (or Theodora), who married the sebastokrator Peter before 1253.
2. Maria, who married Mitso Asen, who succeeded as emperor of Bulgaria 1256–1257.
3. Michael Asen I, who succeeded as emperor of Bulgaria 1246–1256.