Despotate of Dobruja

The Despotate of Dobruja, also known as the Principality of Karvuna, was a quasi-independent Bulgarian polity that existed from approximately 1356 to 1411. It was a 14th-century former country located in the region of modern Dobruja, having split from the Second Bulgarian Empire under Byzantine influence. Its first capital was the fortress of Karvuna, now Balchik, which was mentioned in 14th-century Bulgarian, Byzantine, and Italian documents.