Alexander AND Fruzhin – The Two Heirs to The Crown of Tsar Ivan Shishman

The article deals with the fate of the two sons and heirs of Tsar Ivan Shishman – the last ruler of the Kingdom of Tarnovo. By an irony of history the two brothers took adversarial sides after the fall of their father’s kingdom. The elder, Alexander, converted to Islam and under the name Iskender became an Ottoman governor in Asia Minor, where he was killed in 1418 fighting for the conquerors. His younger brother Fruzhin emigrated to Hungary and was granted an estate by King Sigismund. He was among the most uncompromising defenders of the Christian cause in the early 15th century, participating practically in all the activities organized against the Ottoman Turks but the data of his last years are obscure