Remains of medieval king Czar Samuel arrive in Bulgaria after decades of talks with Greece
The transfer follows decades of negotiations and a reciprocal deal that sends 48 World War I-era religious objects back to Greece, 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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126 Articles
The remains of the sovereign, who ruled the First Bulgarian Empire between the years 997 and 1014, traveled from Thessaloniki to the Bulgarian capital
In a basilica in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, the remains of the medieval ruler Tsar Samuel were interred yesterday amidst great public interest. President Radev, Patriarch Daniil, and thousands of others watched as the monarch was laid to rest. Samuel, born around the year 950, is considered one of the most important rulers in Bulgarian history. He expanded his country in all directions and managed to bring large parts of the Balkans under his …
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.
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