Dobrotitsa

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Dobrotitsa (Добротица, ; Dobrotici or Dobrotiţă; Τομπροτίτζας in contemporaneous Byzantine documents; Dobrodicie in contemporaneous Genoese documents) was a Bulgarian noble, ruler of the de facto independent Principality of Karvuna and the Kaliakra fortress from 1354 to 1379–1386. His ethnic origin is disputed, Dobrotitsa being considered a Bulgarian noble kindred of the Terter dynasty , a Vlach, or a Christianized Turk. Venetian sources from the late 14th century refer to Dobrotitsa as a "despot of Bulgarians" (DESPOTUM BULGARORUM DOBROTICAM) and to his realm as "parts of Zagore subordinate to Dobrotitsa" (PARTES ZAGORAE SUBDITAS DOBROTICAE).

In 1346, Dobrotitsa and his brother Theodore were sent along 1,000 soldiers by the Dobrujan ruler Balik/Balica to help the Byzantine empress Anne of Savoy with the intestine problems she faced. The following year, after the death of Balik, he became the ruler of Dobruja. In 1348 Dobrotitsa took over the fortress of Midia and by 1356 managed to seize Kozyak (present-day Obzor) and Emona from the Byzantines.

In 1366 Emperor Ivan Alexander refused to give conduct to the Byzantine emperor John V Palaiologos who was returning home from Hungary. In order to force the Bulgarians to do this, Ioan V orderred his relative Count Amadeus VI of Savoy to attack the Bulgarian coastal towns. In the fall of the same year Amadeo's navy capturred Anhialo, Nessebar, Emona and on 25 October he besieged the strong fortress Varna, where he was repulsed. As a result Ivan Alexander gave the Byzantine save conduct across Bulgaria and they kept the conquered towns. In 1369 he and Vladislav I of Wallachia helped Emperor Ivan Alexander to defeat the Hungarians and retake Vidin.. Out of gratitude, the Emperor gave Dobrotitsa Emona and Kozyak. Later he built a navy in Varna which was engaged in actions as far as Trebizond. The Genoese manuscripts write that his Navy was very strong albeit rather small and achieved successes against the Ottomans and Genoese. He was succeeded by his son Juanchus/Ivanko in 1386.

The names of the region of Dobruja derives from the Turkish rendition of his name. The city of Dobrich and two villages in northern Bulgaria are also named after him.

References

• Васил Н. Златарски, История на българската държава през средните векове, Част I, II изд., Наука и изкуство, София 1970.

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Last updated on Friday June 06, 2008 at 10:51:42 PDT (GMT -0700)
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