Remains of medieval king Czar Samuel arrive in Bulgaria after decades of talks with Greece
The transfer followed decades of negotiations and a reciprocal accord for nearly 50 religious relics, officials said.
- On Saturday, the remains of Bulgarian Tsar Samuel arrived in Sofia following an official handover ceremony at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki, hosted by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
- Decades of negotiations followed the 1965 discovery by Greek archaeologist Nikolaos Moutsopoulos at the Basilica of Saint Achillios. Samuel, who reigned from 997 to 1014, resisted the Byzantine Empire as a national hero.
- Under the reciprocal agreement, Athens receives 48 religious relics pillaged during World War One. The remains were transported to Sofia aboard a military aircraft with a fighter jet escort.
- Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev hailed the accord as a 'historic agreement,' stating Samuel 'unites us' today. Mitsotakis acknowledged the remains have 'incalculable cultural and spiritual but also emotional value.'
- Analyst Dimitar Bechev noted the initiative aims to emphasize the Bulgarian character of the Slavic population in Macedonia, as North Macedonia also claims Samuel as 'their' ruler with a statue in Skopje.
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SAMUEL was an emperor who fought against the Byzantine Empire to expand his kingdom, but was ultimately defeated and died shortly thereafter, in 1014.
After decades of negotiations, Greece handed over to Bulgaria the remains of medieval King Samuel, who were met in Sofia by a military plane with State honors.
Bulgaria successfully recovered remains from Greece on Saturday believed to belong to Tsar Samuel, one of the last prominent rulers of the First Bulgarian Empire, more than a thousand years after his death. This followed an agreement reached this week between Greece and Bulgaria for the return of the remains, which Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev described as "historic." "These remains belong to both our peoples," Radev said during the hand…
In return, Athens will receive its religious relics.
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