Again on the 989 Voden Inscription of Tsar Samuel

Authors:

Pages: 289-315
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/NMXC2141

Abstract:

The Voden inscription of Tsar Samuel from 989 was declared by Bozhidar Dimitrov (1997) a Revival forgery. For Ivan Dobrev (2007), it is an authentic monument, while according to Kazimir Popkonstantinov (2014), its text was created in the ruling quarters of Tarnovo’s tsars. Thanks to the need for an unusual title of Samuel (tsar of Bulgarians and Romans) in the inscription, its text dates back to the time of the correspondence between Tsar Kaloyan and Pope Innocent (in the second half of 1203). It can also be found on a portable marble tablet that was carved by a stonecutter in Bosnia or on the east coast of the Adriatic Sea. The dating is supported by the indisputable parallels of formulas and style established by Ivan Dobrev, but in a different chronological order – the Voden inscription “borrowed” from the Bitola inscription (1016) and “gave” to the Tarnovo inscription (1230). In Voden, it was formalized as the founding inscription of Tsar Samuel for the Assumption Church and was important for determining the leading role of the bishop of Maglen in the opposition of the Bulgarian bishops to the conquering policy of the Epirus emperor Theodore Comnenus at the 1217–1220 Council in Ohrid.

Keywords:

Voden inscription; Tsar Samuel; forgery; Bulgarian bishops; Theodore Comnenus.

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