Prespa (, ) was a medieval town, situated in the homonymous area in south-western

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

. It was a residence and burial place of the Bulgarian emperor

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

and according to some sources capital of the

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire (; was a medieval state that existed in Southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 680–681 after part of the Bulgars, led by Asparuh of Bulgaria, Asparuh, moved south to the northe ...

and seat of the

Bulgarian Patriarchate The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria (), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction based in Bulgaria. It is the first medieval recognised patriarchate outside the Pentarchy and the oldest Slavic Orthod ...

in the last decades of the 10th century.

Location

The toponym ''Prespa'' is used for a lake, an island settlement or simply an island.Георгиев (2003) The exact borders and character of the town are difficult to define by the historical sources. It has been searched in the valley of the

Lake Prespa The Lake Prespa is located on the tripoint of North Macedonia, Albania and Greece. It is a system of two lakes separated by an isthmus: the Great Prespa Lake, divided between the three countries, and the Little Prespa Lake, mostly within Greec ...

, surrounded by the mountains Baba, Petrino,

Galičica Galičica (, ) is a mountain situated across the border between North Macedonia and Albania. North Macedonia's side of the mountain is designated as a national park, positioned between the country's two largest lakes: Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa, ...

, Zvezda and Korbets. It is situated in the territories of three modern countries:

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. According to the archaeological research, in the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

there were construction activities in the following sites: *On the island of Saint Achilleios in the Little Prespa Lake (today in Greece)Prinzing G., ''Prespa'' в ''

Lexikon des Mittelalters The (; LMA or LexMA) is a German encyclopedia on the history and culture of the Middle Ages. Written by authors from all over the world, it comprises more than 36,000 articles in 9 volumes. Historically the works range from Late Antiquity to ab ...

'' *In the modern village of

Agios Germanos Agios Germanos, (), is a village in the Prespes Municipality in Western Macedonia, Greece. The village has traditional architecture of stone houses, Byzantine churches and forests. Agios Germanos is close to both Prespa Lakes and located in a vall ...

to the east of the Little Prespa Lake in Greece *On the islands of

Golem Grad Golem Grad (), meaning ''Big City/Town'', also known as Snake Island or Pelican Island, is an island in North Macedonia. The island covers an area of more than 20 hectares. It is located in Lake Prespa, a few kilometers from the Greek and Albania ...

(in North Macedonia) and

Maligrad Maligrad (, also ''Qytet i Vogël'' "small city"; , ''Mal Grad'' "small city/town") is an island situated deep within the Albanian part of Lake Prespa, with many caves suitable for wildlife and a circular cliff. Shaped like a tadpole, it contains ...

(in Albania) in Lake Prespa *In the vicinity of the modern village

Carev Dvor Carev Dvor (, meaning ''Emperor's Court''; ) is a village in Resen Municipality in North Macedonia, roughly from the municipal centre of Resen. It has 605 residents. Demographics Carev Dvor is inhabited by Orthodox Macedonians and Muslim Turks. ...

to the north of the lake *On the summit of Galičica, the mountain range between Prespa and

Lake Ohrid Lake Ohrid is a lake which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of Europe's deepest and oldest lakes, with a unique aquatic ecosystem of worldwide importance, with more th ...

(the fortress Vasiliada) Agios Ahilleios Mikri Prespa 200704

It is likely that the town itself, the center of that agglomeration of settlements, was situated on the Island of Saint Achilleios. It is the largest of the three mentioned islands (1,700 m long and 500 m wide). The ruins of several churches have been discovered, including a large basilica, which was according to some researchers one of the seven large churches, constructed by prince

Boris I Boris I (also ''Bogoris''), venerated as Saint Boris I (Mihail) the Baptizer (, ; died 2 May 907), was the ruler (knyaz) of the First Bulgarian Empire from 852 to 889. Despite a number of military setbacks, the reign of Boris I was marked wit ...

after the

Christianization of Bulgaria The Christianization of Bulgaria was the process by which 9th-century medieval Bulgaria converted to Christianity. It reflected the need of unity within the religiously divided Bulgarian state as well as the need for equal acceptance on the in ...

, while other suggest that it was built by Thessalian Greeks by orders of emperor Samuel. Its architectural plan is similar to that of the Great Basilica in the old capital

Pliska Pliska ( , ) was the first capital of the First Bulgarian Empire during the Middle Ages and is now List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, a small town in Shumen Province, on the Ludogorie plateau of the Danubian Plain (Bulgaria), Danubian Plain, 20 ...

. There are traces of the early medieval Bulgarian painting and sculpture in the ruins. On the inner side of the apse are written the names of the bishops who were subordinated to the Bulgarian Patriarch in the late 10th century.Енциклопедия „България“, I: 159-160 The central part of the island along with the heights ''Kale'' (the Bulgarian for fortress) and ''Kulata'' (the Tower) used to be fortified. There were churches and probably residential buildings in lower parts and along the coast. That area constituted the Outer town. The northern end was named ''Porta'' (Gate) which may suggest that the Outer town also had defense structures.

History

The town gained great political significance after 971 when the capital of Bulgaria

Preslav The modern Veliki Preslav or Great Preslav (, ), former Preslav (; until 1993), is a city and the seat of government of the Veliki Preslav Municipality (Great Preslav Municipality, new Bulgarian: ''obshtina''), which in turn is part of Shumen P ...

was seized by the Byzantines during the war against Sviatoslav of Kiev. A few years later, Prespa was one of the centers of the uprising of the

Cometopuli The Kometopuli dynasty ( Bulgarian: , ; Byzantine Greek: , ) was the last royal dynasty in the First Bulgarian Empire, ruling from until the fall of Bulgaria under Byzantine rule in 1018. The most notable member of the dynasty, Tsar Samuel, i ...

brothers, who kept the western Bulgarian lands out of Byzantine occupation. There are theories that the lake town was the residence of the eldest of the four brothers,

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

, before he was killed in 976. Later it became the residence of

who '' de facto'' ruled the Bulgarian Empire after the murder of his brother

Aron Aron may refer to: *Aron (name), name origin, variants, people Fictional characters *Aron (comics), from the Marvel Universe comic ''Aron! HyperSpace Boy!'' *Aron (Pokémon), in the ''Pokémon'' franchise * Aron Trask, from John Steinbeck's nove ...

in 976 or 986 and especially after the legitimate emperor

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

was captured by the Byzantines in 991. Due to that fact, some authors suggest that Prespa became official capital of the empire.Ангелов, Чолпанов, 38Николов, 171-172 According to '' Encyclopedia Bulgaria'' the town was capital between 973 and 996, according to the ''Cyril and Methodius Encyclopedia'' it was capital at least to 1015 but many medievalists do not agree with that. Some think that

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

was the political center of the country up to 986 while others consider that Prespa was never an official capital of Bulgaria, unlike

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

and

Ohrid Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...

.Павлов
Цар Самуил
After the conquest of

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

in 983 or 985, Samuel took the relics of Saint Achilles to Prespa. The large island of the Little Prespa Lake was named after the saint. During the rule of Samuel there were palaces on the island which were connected to a tower on the opposite shore by means of artificial sand-bank. On the eastern shore of the lake, near the village of Agios Germanos, Samuel erected an

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

dedicated to his parents,

Comita Nikola The ''komes'' ("count") Nicholas () was a local ruler in Bulgaria, and progenitor of the Cometopuli ("the sons of the count") dynasty. According to the Armenian chronicler Stephen of Taron, the family originated in the Armenian region of Derdj ...

and

Ripsimia of Armenia The ''komes'' ("count") Nicholas () was a local ruler in Bulgaria, and progenitor of the Cometopuli ("the sons of the count") dynasty. According to the Armenian chronicler Stephen of Taron, the family originated in the Armenian region of Derdj ...

, and his eldest brother David. When Samuel was proclaimed Emperor in 997, the seat of the

was in Prespa but was subsequently moved to Ohrid. Immediately after the disastrous defeat at the hands of the Byzantines in the

battle of Kleidion The Battle of Kleidion (; or Clidium, after the medieval name of the village of Klyuch, ; also known as the Battle of Belasitsa) took place on 29 July 1014, between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire. It was the culmination of the ...

, his soldiers were blinded by order of the Byzantine emperor

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus (; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (, ), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but t ...

. Emperor Samuel sought refuge in Prespa, where he died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on 6 October 1014. Prespa remained an Imperial residence for his successor

Ivan Vladislav Ivan Vladislav (; ; died February 1018) served as the emperor (tsar) of the First Bulgarian Empire from approximately August or September 1015 until February 1018. The precise year of his birth remains elusive; he was born at least ten years pri ...

. In 1016 the Serbian prince

Jovan Vladimir Jovan Vladimir or John Vladimir ( sr-cyr, Јован Владимир; – 22 May 1016) was the ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbs, Serbian principality of the time, from around 1000 to 1016. He ruled during the protracted war betwee ...

was murdered in Prespa by order of Ivan Vladislav. The Byzantines conquered Prespa in 1018, after the larger part of the Bulgarian nobility surrendered to Basil II. The emperor did not destroy the fortress but renamed it to Constantia. Prespa, including the Basilica of Saint Achilles and Samuel's palaces, was destroyed by

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

mercenaries in 1073, in the aftermath of the suppression of the Uprising of Georgi Voiteh, who attempted to restore the independence of Bulgaria. Prespa continues to be mentioned as an administrative center in 12th-century sources. It was ruled by the

Despotate of Epirus The Despotate of Epirus () was one of the Greek Rump state, successor states of the Byzantine Empire established in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 by a branch of the Angelos dynasty. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the ...

in the beginning of the 13th century, then by the

Second Bulgarian Empire The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1422. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...

and in 1259 was seized by the

Nicaean Empire The Empire of Nicaea (), also known as the Nicene Empire, was the largest of the three Byzantine Greek''A Short history of Greece from early times to 1964'' by W. A. Heurtley, H. C. Darby, C. W. Crawley, C. M. Woodhouse (1967), p. 55: "There in ...

during the campaign that led to the

Battle of Pelagonia The Battle of Pelagonia or Battle of Kastoriae.g. ; . took place in early summer or autumn 1259, between the Empire of Nicaea and an anti-Nicaean alliance comprising Despotate of Epirus, Kingdom of Sicily and the Principality of Achaea. It was a ...

. It is not mentioned in later sources. During excavations in 1969 the Greek archaeologist Nikolaos Moutsopoulos discovered a grave which is thought to be the burial place of emperor Samuel.Андреев, 334

Footnotes

Sources

References

* Ангелов, Д., Чолпанов, Б. ''Българска военна история през Средновековието (X-XV век)'', Издателство на БАН, София 1994, * Андреев, Й. ''Самуил'', в: Андреев, Й., Лазаров, Ив., Павлов, Пл. ''Кой кой е в Средновековна България. Исторически справочник'', издателство „Просвета“, София 1994 (1995), , стр. 334 * Ваклинов, Ст
''Формиране на старобългарската култура VI-XI век''
Издателство „Наука и изкуство“, София 1977 (цитиран по електронното издание в сайт�

от 9.8.2008) * Георгиев, П. ''Преспа'', в: ''Кирило-Методиевска енциклопедия'', т. III, стр. 327-331, Академично издателство „Марин Дринов“, София 2003, * ''Енциклопедия „България“'', том 1, Издателство на БАН, София 1978 * ''Енциклопедия „България“'', том 5, Издателство на БАН, София 1986 * Златарски, В

Издателство „Наука и изкуство“, София 1971 (достъпно в Интернет от сайта ttps://web.archive.org/web/20140721130524/http://www.promacedonia.org/index.html ''Книги за Македония''на 27.7.2008) * Иванов, Й. ''Български старини из Македония'' (фототипно издание), Издателство „Наука и изкуство“, София 1970 * Иванов, Й. ''Цар Самуиловата столица в Преспа'', в: Известия на българското археологическо дружество, т. I, 1910, стр. 55-80. * История на България, том III, Издателство на БАН, София 1982 * Кънчов, В
''Избрани произведения'', Том I
София, 1970, стр.214-216 и 218-219 * Микулчиќ И

Скопје, 1996 * Муцопулос, Н. ''Базиликата „Свети Ахилий“ в Преспа. Един исторически паметник-светиня'', София, 2007. * Николов, Г. ''Централизъм и регионализъм в ранносредновековна България (края на VII - началото на XI век)'', Академично издателство „Марин Дринов“, София 2005, * Павлов, Пл

София / Велико Търново 2002 (достъп от сайт�
''ВМРО Област Русе''
на 27.7.2008)

External links

БНТ: ''Островът на цар Самуил''
(YouTube) {{coord, 40.78, 21.09, type:city, display=title First Bulgarian Empire Kutmichevitsa Medieval Macedonia Populated places of the Byzantine Empire Former towns Former populated places in Europe Former capitals of Bulgaria