Philippopolis, on its hills above the Maritsa, is the chief city of inner Thrace and a station on the military road from Constantinople to Sredets and Belgrade.
Besides Greeks and Bulgarians it has an old community of Paulician heretics, settled in and round the city since the 10th century, and Armenians. Frederick Barbarossa's crusaders occupied it in late August 1189. In 1197 Alexios III gave its command to Ivanko, the murderer of Ivan Asen I, to hold the plain against the Bulgarians; Ivanko trained Vlach fighters here and turned it into the base of his revolt.
On 1 January 1200 it is the head of Ivanko's domain, with an imperial army withdrawn after Kamytzes's capture. In 1205 the Paulicians will open the city to Kaloyan (later).
Who holds it
- Name
- Ivanko (Alexios), rebel
- Title
- Lord
- Since
- 1197 as the emperor's commander; in revolt from 1198 or 1199
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- Married to Theodora Angelina, granddaughter of Alexios III
- Confidence
- medium
Ivanko (boyar) (English Wikipedia, citing Treadgold and Kaldellis: 'command of Philippopolis'); Rosser: principality in the Rhodope and central Thrace.
Lord in 1200
Ivanko (Alexios), in revolt against the emperor (medium confidence that he holds the walled city itself that winter).
How things stand that morning
Ivanko's seat.
Communities
Greeks, Bulgarians, Paulicians, Armenians; Ivanko's Vlach soldiers.
Fairs and markets
Not recorded for 1200.
Militia
Not recorded.
Walls and castle
Roman and Byzantine walls round the hills, with the acropolis on Nebet Tepe; detail for 1200 not pinned. The see is a Byzantine metropolis; its holder that winter is not pinned.
Trade and crafts
The grain and wine of the plain; the road trade. Philippopolis is among the districts named in Alexios III's chrysobull for Venice (November 1198) where Venetian merchants may trade free of dues (as listed in the Thrace record); whether any Venetians trade there in Ivanko's rebellion is not recorded.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- Spring 1200 (Treadgold)Returns to the emperor after Ivanko is seized at a parley.Depends on: Ivanko's capture. Stopped by: His refusal to treat.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Ivanko's command is well attested; the state of the city that winter is not described.
Primary sources for Ivanko
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- History of Niketas Choniates, Niketas Choniates (about 1185 to 1217, in stages, with a final revision in exile at Nicaea after 1204). The central narrative for the Byzantine Empire under Alexios III Angelos: the Bulgarian and Vlach war under Kaloyan, the breakaway of Ivanko in the Rhodopes and his capture by treachery in 1200, Dobromir Chrysos at Prosek and Strumica and the emperor's campaign and settlement with him, the Cuman raids into Thrace, John Komnenos the Fat's one-day revolt at Constantinople on 31 July 1200, the loosening of imperial control in the provinces and the rise of Leo Sgouros, and the court's fiscal abuses. Read online
Sources and studies
- Ivanko (boyar) (English Wikipedia), citing Choniates (trans. Magoulias 1984) pp. 257-258, 281, 285; Treadgold 1997 pp. 661-662; Kazhdan, Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium p. 1025; Madgearu 2016 p. 117; Cheynet 1986 p. 171
- Iwanko (German Wikipedia), citing Choniates, Historia 509-513 and 518-519 (ed. van Dieten); Brand 1968; Cheynet 1996 no. 188; Hoffmann 1974
- Manuel Kamytzes (English Wikipedia), citing Varzos, Genealogia ton Komnenon II (1984) pp. 697-712 and Choniates (trans. Magoulias) pp. 258, 281-283, 293-294
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.