Bitola inscription
| Bitola inscription | |
|---|---|
The Bitola inscription | |
| Material | Marble |
| Size | 98 cm × 61 cm × 27 cm (39 in × 24 in × 11 in) |
| Created | 1015/1016 |
| Discovered | 1956 Sungur Chaush-Bey mosque, Bitola |
The Bitola inscription is a stone inscription from the First Bulgarian Empire written in the Old Church Slavonic language in the Cyrillic alphabet. Currently, it is located at the Institute and Museum of Bitola, North Macedonia, among the permanent exhibitions as a significant epigraphic monument, described as "a marble slab with Cyrillic letters of Jovan Vladislav from 1015/17". In the final stages of the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria Ivan Vladislav was able to renovate and strengthen his last fortification, commemorating his work with this elaborate inscription. The inscription found in 1956 in SR Macedonia, provided strong arguments supporting the Bulgarian character of Samuil's state, disputed by the Yugoslav scholars.