Michael, Bulgarian despot

Michael (Bulgarian: Михаил, Mihail) was a son of Emperor (tsar) Michael Asen III "Shishman" of Bulgaria (1323–1330), and probably his first wife, Ana, daughter of King Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia by Elizabeth of Hungary. He is attested solely in a fresco in the Church of the Holy Mother of God at Donja Kamenica, now in Serbia, which attests that he held the title of despot at some point after his father's accession in 1323. The various possibilities for the precise identification and chronological placement of the despot Michael carry significant implications for both the political history and social practice of medieval Bulgaria.