Greece Returns Medieval Emperor Czar Samuel Remains To Bulgaria

Greece handed over the remains of medieval ruler Czar Samuel to Bulgaria on Saturday during a ceremony at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attended the event, which concluded decades of diplomatic talks over the relics.

The agreement between Athens and Sofia established a reciprocal cultural exchange. In return for the royal bones, Bulgaria agreed to transfer 48 religious items taken by its forces from Greek monasteries during World War I. The arrangement also included bones from two additional sarcophagi found at the same site, which Bulgarian authorities attribute to Samuel’s son and successor, Gavril Radomir, and other royal family members.

Samuel ruled the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 until his death in 1014. He spent most of his reign battling the Byzantine Empire to defend his territory. Bulgarian history records that he died of shock after Byzantine forces defeated his army and blinded thousands of captured soldiers.

Greek archaeologist Nikolaos Moutsopoulos discovered the grave in 1965 during excavations at the Basilica of Saint Achillios on an island in Lake Prespa. The site sits close to modern borders shared by Greece, Albania, and North Macedonia. Researchers based the identification on royal textiles, grave location, and skeletal trauma consistent with historical accounts.

The transfer carries diplomatic sensitivity across the region. Samuel remains a central national figure in Bulgaria, but historians and political figures in North Macedonia also claim his legacy. A joint historical commission previously discussed Samuel's role in school curricula, though political disputes between Sofia and Skopje have stalled those efforts.

Bulgarian officials arranged a military transport flight to bring the remains from Thessaloniki to Sofia on Saturday. The schedule called for a public ceremony at Battenberg Square followed by a procession to the Church of Saint Sophia, where Samuel’s remains will rest inside a permanent sarcophagus.