Eltimeres

He was probably killed in 1305. He held the title of Despot. The question, who bestowed him with the title of despot, remains unresolved. He ruled almost independently in the region of Krounos (Krŭn) in Rhodope (κατὰ τὸν Κρουνὸν ἐξάρχοντα). He received this territory probably as dowry. He was the brother of the Bulgarian Tsar George Terter I. He was the son-in-law of the Bulgarian Tsar Smilets and his wife Smiltsena Palaiologina (γαμβρόν γε ὄντα Σμιλτζαίνης), since he married their daughter Maria (Marina). His nephew was Theodor Svetoslav. He was the father or the father-in-law of Ioannes Dragusinos (ΕΚΟΙΜΙΘΕΙ Ο ΔΟΥΛΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΣ Ο ΔΡΑΓΟΥΣΙΝΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΟΙΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΔΕΣΠΟΤΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΑΛΔΙΜΙΡΟΥ). He was apparently of Cuman origin. He acted as a loyal supporter of Smiltsena after the death of her husband. He offered her a place of refuge in the region of Krounos (Krŭn). The Bulgarian Tsar Theodor Svetoslav gained his trust after he donated the fortresses Diampolis (Jambol) and Lardaia to him. Eltimeres defeated and blinded sebastokrator Radoslav, the brother of the Bulgarian Tsar Smilets, who aspired to the Bulgarian throne with the aid of the Byzantines. He handed over Radoslav and the captured byzantine noblemen to the Bulgarian Tsar Theodor Svetoslav. He marched in 1304 with Theodor Svetoslav against the Byzantines, although his mother-in-law and a byzantine embassy tried to dissuade him with gifts and pronoia promises from joining the alliance with the Bulgarian Tsar. Another intercesssion of his mother-in-law ended with success. He switched the sides and fought with the Byzantines against the Bulgarian Tsar. The hostilities led to the reconcquest of the fortresses Diampolis and Lardaia and the capture of the territory of Krounos by the Bulgarian Tsar Theodor Svetoslav.