The return of the mortal remains of Tsar Samuil to Bulgaria is an unprecedented event that will remain in history, said on the air of “Na fokus“ historian and mediaevalist Prof. Plamen Pavlov. In his words, the importance of the ruler for Bulgarian history must be considered beyond the disputes and political interpretations of recent days.
“Undoubtedly, an unprecedented event. It will probably be left in history in golden letters. And not only because of the symbolic return of the bones to Samuil's people“, he said. Prof. Pavlov emphasized that Samuil ruled in an extremely difficult period, when a significant part of the territories of the First Bulgarian Kingdom were already under Byzantine control, and his dynasty continued its resistance against Byzantium.
The historian was categorical that there is no reason to doubt the identification of the remains found in the basilica of “Saint Achilles“. He explained that archaeological finds and historical information provide sufficient grounds for this position, and additional modern research can bring further clarity. According to him, Bulgaria has the necessary specialists and technologies to carry out DNA and anthropological analyses.
Prof. Pavlov also commented on the disputes surrounding Samuil's origin and the attempts to present the historical figure as part of a different national tradition. According to him, medieval sources clearly place the ruler in the Bulgarian state and dynastic tradition. “He was not a king - on the contrary, he was from the royal family, from the Krum dynasty. And we know this from the Bulgarian pokrifen chronicle from the 11th-12th centuries. It says there that Roman and Samuil are from the same royal lineage“, said the historian.
According to Prof. Pavlov, the return of the remains may have significance beyond historical symbolism in relations between Bulgaria and Greece and for future scientific research. He called for joint Bulgarian-Greek archaeological expeditions in the area of the basilica “St. Achilles“, where, according to him, there are still unexplored traces of the medieval Bulgarian center.