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Visualization of Policies of Cultural Memory Construction
pressions. Ihe problem of the role of state policies in the construction of cultural
memory and of the use of the cultural memory in various state policies has an
important place in the frameworks of nationalism and cross-border studies. Ihis
applies particularly to the case of the Balkans, where, in historical aspect, identity
has often been a target of speculations and propaganda and of more or less forcible
substitution, while the boundaries have reshaped the territory of the peninsula
more than once. Ihus, guite often the population of two or more neighbouring
countries shares the same cultural and historical heritage. Ihis heritage could be¬
come a basis for the construction of different cultural memories according to the
specific national context.
The case in point in this chapter is the construction of the cultural memory of
King Samuel and the Battle of Kleidion of 1014 in the region of Petrich, in south¬
west Bulgaria. The study is based on the authors’ fieldwork conducted in July 2014
for the project “Study on the Memory of the Events Related to the Reign of King
Samuel and the Battle of Kleidion”' and on an analysis of various visual art materi¬
als: paintings, sculptures, monuments, illustrations, and so forth. All these materi¬
als have been popularized through reproductions in schoolbooks, encyclopaedias,
historical literature, print media, and posters.
King Samuel and the Battle of Kleidion: Brief History
Samuel was the king of the First Bulgarian Kingdom in the period from 997 to
1014. His rule was characterized by the struggle to preserve Bulgaria’s independ¬
ence from the Byzantine Empire and, thus, by constant warfare. During his time
the capital of the Bulgarian Kingdom moved to Ohrid (today in the Republic of
Macedonia), which more than nine centuries later became grounds for the Repub¬
lic of Macedonia to claim that King Samuel was a Macedonian ruler. Today, in the
collective memory of the people, King Samuel is mainly related to two military
events.
The first battle dates back to the time when, after the Bulgarian King Boris I
and his brother Roman were taken captive by the Byzantines, Samuel ruled Bul¬
garia together with his three brothers. The event is referred to as the Battle of the
Gates of Trajan. The battle between Bulgaria and Byzantium took place in 986 in
the Gates of Trajan Pass in the Sredna Gora Mountains, near Ihtiman. After an
unsuccessful siege of Sofia, the Byzantine Emperor Basil II and his army retreated
to Thrace but were surrounded in the pass by the Bulgarian army under the com¬
mand of Samuel. Thus, the Battle of the Gates of Trajan became the largest defeat
of the Byzantines under Emperor Basil II.
' The project is part of the initiative for the commemoration of 1,000 years since the Battle of Kleidion
and the death of King Samuel. The project has been financed by the Council of Ministers.
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