Tsar Samuel remains return to Bulgaria after Greece deal

Remains attributed to Tsar Samuel, one of the last major rulers of the First Bulgarian Empire, returned to Bulgaria on Saturday after Greece and Bulgaria reached an agreement this week.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev called the accord “historic” as he attended a ceremony with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Under the deal, Greece will receive 48 objects taken by Bulgarian troops from churches and monasteries in northern Greece during World War I.

Radev said the remains “belong to our two peoples”. Mitsotakis said they had “incalculable cultural and spiritual but also emotional value”.

Samuel reigned from 997 to 1014 and made the Lake Prespa and Lake Ohrid region, now mostly in North Macedonia, his power base. His legacy is disputed between Bulgaria and North Macedonia, where some claim him as part of their own historical narrative.

The supposed remains were discovered in the 1960s by Greek archaeologist Nikolaos Moutsopoulos on Saint Achilleios island on Little Prespa Lake, near Greece’s borders with Albania and North Macedonia. The attribution to Samuel is based on clues including the tomb location, rich clothing found with the skeleton, the age of the deceased and an old fracture.

Bulgaria officially opened talks on the return of the remains in 2007. Public broadcaster BNT said the remains attributed to Samuel will be placed in a white sarcophagus made from marble quarried in the Prilep region of North Macedonia and will rest in the Church of Saint Sofia.

The handover has also fed debate in Bulgaria over who should receive credit for the agreement ahead of this month’s presidential election.