Bulgaria received the remains of medieval ruler Czar Samuel on Saturday, closing a chapter that began with negotiations ...

Bulgaria received the remains of medieval ruler Czar Samuel on Saturday, closing a chapter that began with negotiations spanning decades. The coffin arrived in Sofia aboard a Bulgarian military aircraft, escorted by air force fighter jets from the Greek border all the way to the capital. Thousands of Bulgarians gathered at a central square to welcome the procession, with politicians from across the country's fractured political spectrum setting aside their differences to pay tribute. A 21-gun salute and the national anthem marked the moment before the remains were carried to the historic Church of Saint Sophia, the sixth-century basilica where Samuel was reportedly baptized. Samuel ruled as a warrior emperor who fought the Byzantine Empire for control of the Balkans, but was ultimately defeated. He died in 1014 and has since been regarded as one of Bulgaria's defining national symbols. His remains were discovered at a Greek border site 60 years ago. The handover took place at Thessaloniki's Museum of Byzantine Civilization, where both Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev attended a formal ceremony. As part of the agreement struck earlier this week, Bulgaria will return religious relics taken from Greek monasteries during World War I, though several prominent Greek academics and religious leaders have already criticized that part of the deal as insufficient. Mitsotakis used the occasion to press Greece's long-running effort to recover the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum, arguing that the global community is re-evaluating how it treats cultural heritage. Radev, for his part, framed the exchange as a diplomatic turning point, saying that the ruler who once divided the two nations now serves to bring them closer. #Bulgaria #Greece #CzarSamuel