| Elena Елена | |
| Spouse: | Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria |
| Issue: | Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria Alexander, sebastocrator |
Elena (Bulgarian: Елена) was the second wife of tsar Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria. She was the mother of tsar Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria.
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.
During the battles against Byzantine Empire, Elena was captured during Siege of Lovech in an ambush and kept in Constantinople as hostage; 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:
After the assassination of Ivan Asen I in 1196, Elena retired to a convent under the monastic name Evgenia (Bulgarian: Евгения). Her memory is honored in the Synodic of Bulgarian Church:
After her son ascended the throne, Elena was honored as empress dowager.