Samuil's Inscription
Encyclopedia
The image on the right represents the content found on the tombstone of Samuel of Bulgaria's parents ( X c. - 992-993) cited by several historians such as, F. Uspenskiĭ, Ĭor. Ivanov, and N. Adontz. Тhe letters that appear in brackets are faded away, and have been reconstructed. This inscription, which was made by the order of Tsar Samuel, mentions his parents' names as well as his brother David
.
The tombstone of Samuel's parents is currently stored at the Archaeological Museum in Sofia, Bulgaria. It was transported there from the village German
, near lake Prespa
in Greece
in 1916. The dimensions of the tombstone are within the ranges: 130-125/67-52/10-7 cm.
The following is the French translation of the inscription by Adontz:
"Au nom du Père et du Fils et du Saint-Esprit, moi, Samuel, serviteur de Dieu, je fais mémoire de mon père, de ma mère et de mon frère sur ces croix. Voici les noms des défunts: Nicolas
, serviteur de Dieu; Ripsimé
et David. Écrit en l’an de la création 6501, indiction VI."
In English, translated from the French: "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, I, Samuel, servant of God, made a memory of my father, of my mother and of my brother on these crosses. Here are the names of the deceased: Nikolas, servant of God, Ripsimia and David. Written in the year 6501 since the creation, indiction VI."
The year 6501 since the creation of the world corresponds to 992-993 CE.
David of Bulgaria
David was a Bulgarian noble, brother of Emperor Samuil and eldest son of Comita Nikola. After the disastrous invasion of Rus' armies and the fall of North-eastern Bulgaria under Byzantine occupation in 971, he and his three younger brothers took the lead of the defence of the country. They...
.
The tombstone of Samuel's parents is currently stored at the Archaeological Museum in Sofia, Bulgaria. It was transported there from the village German
Agios Germanos
Agios Germanos, is a village in the Prespes Municipality in West Macedonia, Greece. Agios Germanos is located at an altitude of approximately 1,100 meters , on a hillside, part of the Varnoundas Mountains. It is from the Prespes lakes, which can be seen from a panorama location of the village...
, near lake Prespa
Lake Prespa
Prespa is the name of two freshwater lakes in southeast Europe, shared by Greece, Albania, and Macedonia. Of the total surface area, belongs to Macedonia, to Greece and to Albania...
in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
in 1916. The dimensions of the tombstone are within the ranges: 130-125/67-52/10-7 cm.
The following is the French translation of the inscription by Adontz:
"Au nom du Père et du Fils et du Saint-Esprit, moi, Samuel, serviteur de Dieu, je fais mémoire de mon père, de ma mère et de mon frère sur ces croix. Voici les noms des défunts: Nicolas
Comita Nikola
Nikola the Comes was a father of counts David and Samuel. His son Samuel ruled as emperor of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 1014.-Family tree:-Literature:...
, serviteur de Dieu; Ripsimé
Ripsimia of Armenia
Ripsimia was an Armenian princess and daughter of King Ashot II Bagratuni , and his wife Marie of Kachum. She wed comes Nikola, probably governor of Sofia and had two sons, counts David and tsar Samuil of Bulgaria. Her children and grandchildren ruled Bulgaria until 1018-Family tree:...
et David. Écrit en l’an de la création 6501, indiction VI."
In English, translated from the French: "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, I, Samuel, servant of God, made a memory of my father, of my mother and of my brother on these crosses. Here are the names of the deceased: Nikolas, servant of God, Ripsimia and David. Written in the year 6501 since the creation, indiction VI."
The year 6501 since the creation of the world corresponds to 992-993 CE.
See also
- Samuil of BulgariaSamuil of BulgariaSamuel was the Emperor of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 980 to 997, he was a general under Roman I of Bulgaria, the second surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria, and co-ruled with him, as Roman bestowed upon him the command of the army and the effective royal...
- Comitopuli dynastyComitopuli dynastyThe Cometopuli dynasty was the last royal dynasty in the First Bulgarian Empire, ruling from ca. 976 until the fall of Bulgaria under Byzantine rule in 1018. The most notable member of the dynasty, tsar Samuel is famous for successfully resisting Byzantine conquest for more than 40 years.-Origin...
- Bitola InscriptionBitola inscriptionThe Bitola inscription is a medieval stone inscription written in Old Church Slavonic. It was found in 1956 during the demolition of an old Ottoman mosque in the town of Bitola, Republic of Macedonia and it is now kept at the Institute and Museum of Bitola epigraphic monument as "a marble slab with...
- History of BulgariaHistory of BulgariaThe history of Bulgaria spans from the first settlements on the lands of modern Bulgaria to its formation as a nation-state and includes the history of the Bulgarian people and their origin. The first traces of human presence on what is today Bulgaria date from 44,000 BC...
- History of the Republic of MacedoniaHistory of the Republic of Macedonia- Ancient period :In antiquity, most of the territory that is now the Republic of Macedonia was included in the kingdom of Paeonia, which was populated by the Paeonians, a people of Thracian origins, but also parts of ancient Illyria and Dardania, inhabited by various Illyrian peoples, and...
Literature
- Успенскiй, Ф. И. ( Uspenskiĭ, Fedor I., 1845-1928) Надпис царя Самуила, Известия Русского Археологического Института в Константинополе,1898, III, с. 184 - 194.
- Иванов, Йор. (Ivanov, Ĭor.) Български старини из Македония. София, 1931, с. 25.
- Ivanov, Ĭordan (1872-1947). Bŭlgarski starini na Makedoniia, 1970.
- Кос, М. (Kos, Milko) О натпису цара Самуила, Гласник српског научног друштва 5, 1929, с. 203 - 209.
- Степанос Таронеци-Асохик (Asoghik, Stepanos T., 10th - 11th c.). Всеобщая история Степаноса Таронского - Асохика по прoзванию, писателя ХІ столетия. Перевод с армянскoго и объяснения Н.Эминым. Москва, Типография Лазаревского института восточных языков. 1864. ХVІІІ, 335 стр.
- Asoghik (Stepanos de Taron). L'histoire universelle, Paris, 1859. Translation in German, Leipzig, 1907.
- Stepanos, Tarōnetsi (Stepanos Asoghik Taronetsi, 10th-11th c.) Tiezerakan patmutyun, Erevan, 2000, Pp. 455 (303 - 304).
- Adontz, NikoghayosNicholas AdontzNicholas Adontz was a prominent Armenian historian, specialist of Byzantine and Armenian studies, and philologist. Adontz was the author of the Armenia in the Period of Justinian, a highly influential work and landmark study on the social and political structures of early Medieval Armenia.-Early...
. Samuel l'Armenien, Roi des Bulgares. Bruxelles, Palais des academies, 1938, Pp. 63. - Adontz, Nicolas. Etudes Armeno-Byzantines. Livraria Bertrand. Lisbonne, 1965, Pp. 347-407 (384).
- Lang, David M. The Bulgarians, London, 1976.
- Lang, David M. The Armenians. A People in Exile. London, 1981, Pp. 203 (55, 105).