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.
In 1188, Elena was captured by enemy Byzantine forces during their attempted Siege of Lovech and kept in Constantinople as a hostage by Emperor Isaac II Angelos. 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.