Kalojan

   Tsar of Bulgaria (qq.v.) from 1197-1207. Until 1204 he was a fierce enemy of Byzantium (q.v.), along with Ivanko and Dobromir Chrysos (qq.v.). By treaty in 1202 with Alexios III (q.v.) his territorial gains were ratified, and his position was further supported when Pope Innocent III (qq.v.) crowned him king, for which he submitted the Bulgarian church to the papacy (q.v.). However, after 1204 when the Latin Empire (q.v.) threatened Bulgaria, Kalojan became the self-proclaimed restorer of Orthodoxy (q.v.). In 1205, with help from his Byzantine and Cuman (q.v.) allies, Kalojan annihilated a Latin army sent against him and captured Emperor Baldwin of Flanders (q.v.), who died in captivity. Kalojan himself was killed in 1207 while besieging Thessalonike (q.v.). Arguably, his chief legacy was to the Empire of Nicaea in Asia Minor (qq.v.), which he saved by weakening Latin military power.