Two pairs of fighter jets will escort the military Spartan with the mortal remains of Tsar Samuil, as soon as the machine enters Bulgarian airspace. In Sofia, they will be greeted with 21 artillery salutes.
The marble sarcophagus of Tsar Samuil has already been placed, and the ancient temple “St. Sophia“ is ready for the burial of the mortal remains of our medieval ruler. Tomorrow, His Holiness the Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Daniil will personally lead the prayer for the deceased.
„The memorial service itself will be performed here and from then on Tsar Samuil will always be mentioned in prayers for the repose of his soul. He is loved for this, because he himself loved his people, his soldiers, and we see that he dies from this love and sensitivity“, says Father Kiril Didov, chairman of the church “St. Sophia“.
Tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. over “Batenberg“ Square in Sofia, the military "Spartan" is expected to fly over with the mortal remains, accompanied by two MiG-29 fighter jets and two F-16 fighter jets.
Bulgaria welcomes the mortal remains with state and military honors. The military will pay their respects, escorting the medieval leader with honors on the way from the airport to “Batenberg“ Square, where representatives of the National Assembly, the Council of Ministers and the president are expected.
The mortal remains will be accompanied in a procession to the ancient church “St. Sophia“, where they will be laid to rest in the royal marble sarcophagus. The coat of arms from the shroud with which Samuil was buried more than 1,000 years ago is carved on it.
More than a thousand years later, the remains of Tsar Samuil continue to hide more secrets. Historians and DNA experts comment on what more we can learn from them.
Along with the remains of Samuil, those of his son Gabriel Radomir are also returning to the capital of modern Bulgaria. Gabriel Radomir took power after the obligatory nine days of his father's death had passed.
Koronjasan was probably in Bitola, and his task was to gain time to restore the blinded army.
„Historical sources mention Gabriel Radomir: they say that he was much stronger and larger than his father, but not as smart. He reigned for less than a year, as he was killed by his cousin Ivan Vladislav, who also killed his wife and blinded his eldest son and took the throne,“ historians point out.
Photos of the tsar's remains, taken a month ago.
Historians are eagerly awaiting the remains of Samuil from Greece and cannot wait to decipher the code they carry with modern scientific technologies.
“First of all, it can be established what kind of family relationship he has with the other buried. Another thing that can already be established, which is already personal for Samuil, is what diseases he possibly experienced. There may even be an element that shows what foods he used. If there are remains of poison, that could also be seen“, historians point out.
Genetics specialists are optimistic: DNA technologies today already detect information preserved for millions of years.
„So some 1,000 years should not be a problem. We can quite well compare back, both in the male and female lines, and make an even more accurate map of aristocratic families and even their distant descendants, including us“, says Assoc. Prof. Elitsa Becheva-Kraychir from the National Genetic Laboratory at the UAGB “Maichin Dom“.
With the help of artificial intelligence, science can also approximately determine what Samuil looked like.
„He has large eye sockets, he seems to have a slightly hunched and large nose, and a small face. All these features make him an interesting person, historians point out.