Aldimir

Aldimir or Eltimir (Елтимир) (fl. 1280–1305) was a Bulgarian noble of the 13th–14th century. A member of the Terter dynasty and a younger brother of Tsar George I Terter, Aldimir was an influential local ruler as the despot of Kran. Aldimir rose to that position under his brother George, though as Smilets assumed the throne he was forced into exile. At the turn of the 14th century, Aldimir returned to Bulgaria as an ally of the regent widowed consort Smiltsena. He did not oppose the accession of his nephew Theodore Svetoslav and even assisted him in ousting his contenders. However, he was promptly eliminated by Theodore Svetoslav when he betrayed him to ally with the Byzantines.

Under George I and Smiltsena Just like his brother George, Aldimir was of Cuman origin. Bulgarian historian Plamen Pavlov is of the opinion that Aldimir and George's ancestors had sought refuge in Bulgaria after 1241, when they left the Kingdom of Hungary amidst sedition. The brothers must have originated from the Cuman royal dynasty Terteroba, and the ruler Köten was probably their relative or even direct ancestor. Pavlov also interprets Aldimir's name as originating from the Cuman-language expression for "heated iron". Pavlov, however, conjectures that Aldimir's domain dates to 1298, long after George's reign. His capital was the fortress of Kran in the Rose Valley.

With Aldimir's appointment as despot of Kran, Smiltsena ensured that his lands were better protected from Smilets' brothers Radoslav and Voysil who, as émigrés in Byzantium, held aspirations for the Bulgarian throne or at least their former domains. During Smiltsena's regency, Aldimir was one of the most influential people in Bulgaria; indeed, Byzantine statesman Theodore Metochites refers to the "Scythian [i.e. Cuman] venturer", as he calls Aldimir, as the queen's right-hand man. Aldimir's leading position leaves little doubt that he was involved in the fruitless anti-Byzantine negotiations between Bulgaria and Serbia in 1299. Pavlov even goes as far as to suggest that the proposed anti-Byzantine union was the brainchild of Aldimir. and forced back to Thessaloniki, while his Byzantine generals were sent as captives to Theodore Svetoslav. With this act, Aldimir pledged his allegiance to Theodore Svetoslav, who rewarded him with an extension to his appanage. and was hostile to the Byzantine forces which entered his domain in 1305. However, by the end of that year Aldimir had switched sides to the Byzantines, as Theodore Svetoslav took back the fortresses that he had granted to Aldimir. Shortly thereafter, Theodore Svetoslav restored his direct power over Kran by reconquering and annexing the appanage.

Aldimir may have been murdered during this campaign, as no activity of his is mentioned in later sources. His widow Marina and his son Ivan Dragushin