Elena () was the second wife of tsar Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria. She was the mother of tsar Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria. Biography Her antecedents are unknown. She is sometimes alleged to be a daughter of Stefan Nemanja of Serbia, but this relationship is questionable and would have caused various canonical impediments to marriages between their descendants. Elena married Ivan Asen I in 1183 at the age of thirteen. During the battles against Byzantine Empire, Elena was captured during Siege of Lovech in an ambush; when Ivan Asen ascended the throne as co-tsar, he sent his younger brother Kaloyan to Constantinople as hostage in exchange for Elena. By her marriage to Ivan Asen I, Elena had at least two sons: Ivan Asen II, emperor of Bulgaria 1218–1241 Alexander (Aleksandăr), sebastokrator, who died after 1232; Alexander had a son named Kaliman Asen II, emperor of Bulgaria in 1256 After the assassination of Ivan Asen I in 1196, Elena retired to a convent under the monastic name Evgenia (). Her memory is honored in the Synodic of Bulgarian Church: After her son ascended the throne, Elena was honored as empress dowager. Sources "Кой кой е в средновековна България", изд. къща "Петър Берон", 1999 г., "Фамилията на Асеневци", Божилов, Ив. Bulgarian consorts Year of death unknown 12th-century Bulgarian women 13th-century Bulgarian women