- Ballshi inscription
The Ballshi inscription ( _bg. надпис от Балши, "nadpis ot Balshi") is an epigraph from the time of the
Bulgaria n Prince ("Knyaz ") Boris I (852–889) testifying to thechristianization of Bulgaria . The inscription was unearthed nearBallshi ,Albania , in 1918.The
Medieval Greek -language Bulgarian inscription covers the upper part of amarble column which also features, in its bottom part, the laterLatin epitaph of Norman commander Robert de Montfort who died in 1108, with across in the middle of the column. The column was discovered by Austro-Hungarian soldiers duringWorld War I 25 kilometres southwest of the Albanian town ofBerat , near Ballshi, among the ruins of amonastery .The Ballshi inscription is an key domestic source giving important information about the
christianization of theBulgarians and the southwestern border of theFirst Bulgarian Empire during the rule of Boris. SaintClement of Ohrid 's concise biography byDemetrios Chomatenos , early 12th-century Arcbishop of Ohrid, hints at the existence of other similar stone columns in the region of Glavinitsa (around Ballshi) notifying of the baptism of the Bulgarians. Chomatenos even attributes their construction to Clement:The current location of the inscription is not known. In the first half of the 20th century it was exhibited in a museum in
Durrës . The National Archaeological Museum inSofia preserves a plaster print of the epigraph.Text
cquote|Εβαπτισθη ο εκ θ(εo)υ αρχων Βουλγ] αριαςΒορης ο μετο-
τομασθεις
Μιχαηλ συν
τω εκ θ(εο)υ δε-
δομενω αυ-
τω εθνει ε-
τους ςτοδ.ee also
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Christianization of Bulgaria
*Bulgarians in Albania References
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