Ivalyo of Bulgaria started life as a peasant. But he knew how to take advantage of opportunity when it presented itself. Ivalyo lived while King Constantine Tich was on the throne, and Bulgaria was struggling both with the Tatar invaders and an economic crisis. Ivalyo put together a peasant army that would defend Northern Bulgaria against the Tatars and defeated them in numerous battles.
King Constantine was grateful (probably) but peasant armies are usurping the throne’s monopoly on force, so his gratitude did not stop King Constantine from leading his army to put down the peasants. And in a surprise twist, the king’s army lost. They lost so badly that Constantine was killed by Ivalyo!
What followed next was even more unusual: Queen Mary decided to marry Ivalyo in 1278, effectively making him king, and in charge of handling ongoing threats from the Tartars and the Byzantines. King Ivalyo did what Queen Mary had hoped. He won battles against the Tatars and against the Byzantines with his army of peasants. But eventually King Ivalyo met a foe he could not defeat, and he decided to try teaming up with Nogai, a Tartar leader. Who not only declined to join forces but killed King Ivalyo. Thus came to an end an illustrious career.
Today, Ivalyo is known as “King Ivalyo he Cabbage” – probably a reference to his humble origins.
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