Inscripción de Iván Asen II, Medieval inscription in Holy Forty Martyrs Church, Bulgaria

The Inscription of Ivan Asen II is a medieval text carved into a marble column inside the Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria. The column stands in the northern part of the church interior and is one of three columns preserved in the building.

The inscription was carved in 1230, shortly after Tsar Ivan Asen II defeated Theodore Komnenos Doukas at the Battle of Klokotnitsa. That victory allowed Bulgaria to extend its territory across much of the Balkans.

The inscription is in Cyrillic, not Latin, and is the oldest Bulgarian written monument in which prosodic marks are placed systematically. It records the church's foundation and Ivan Asen II's 1230 victory at Klokotnitsa. The text was copied in 1858 by Hristo Daskalov of Tryavna, when the building served as a mosque.

The inscription is inside a church, so modest clothing is recommended for the visit. The church in Veliko Tarnovo is easy to reach on foot from the old town area.

The inscription is the oldest known monument of Bulgarian writing in which prosodic marks are used systematically, as noted in Russian scholarship. Hristo Daskalov of Tryavna copied it in 1858, when the church served as a mosque. The carved text records the 1230 Battle of Klokotnitsa and Bulgaria's superiority over the Latin Empire.