Relations with Bulgaria

heodore II Laskaris succeeded his father, John III Vatatzes, to the imperial throne. Like his father, he too suffered from epilepsy, but his condition was far more serious. In the field of foreign affairs, he pursued his father's successful policy. To begin with, he renewed the agreement concluded with the sultan of Ikonion, Kaikaus II. At the same time, he was obliged to confront Michael I Asen of Bulgaria, who in 1255, had taken advantage of John Vatatzes's death to invade the territories of Macedonia and Thrace.

Encouraged by the example of the Bulgarian sovereign, Michael II of Epiros began to prepare for an attack against the territory of the Empire of Nicaea. To this end, he sought the assistance of the Albanians and the Serbs. However, his plans were thwarted by the victorious expedition of Theodore II in Thrace, during which the latter recovered his lost territories and forced Michael Asen to sign a treaty, in May 1256, by which the king of Bulgaria was obliged to withdraw from all the lands he had recently conquered. Prilapos, Velessa, Divra and Jepena passed once more into the hands of the emperor of Nicaea. The internal turmoil that followed the fall of Michael I Asen and the marriage of his successor, Constantine Tich, to one of the daughters of Theodore II Laskaris, relieved Theodore of the Bulgarian threat.