Bulgaria commemorates 1938 Solun Agreement and medieval Battle of Plovdiv

On July 31 1938 Bulgaria and Greece signed the Solun Agreement, ending the application of the military clauses of the 1919 Treaty of Neuilly and the Lausanne Conference decisions on Thrace. The pact was signed by Bulgarian Prime Minister Georgi Kyoseivanov and Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas, with Britain and France mediating to ease Balkan tensions and limit German and Italian influence.

On August 1 1208 the medieval Battle of Plovdiv took place, pitting Bulgarian Tsar Boril’s forces against knights of the Latin Empire. Contemporary accounts cite roughly 33,000 Bulgarian troops organized into 36 units confronting 15 Latin cavalry units. Boril’s army withdrew after heavy fighting, ending the engagement without a decisive victory. The same date is also noted for Georgi Rakovski’s 1862 “Call to Revolt” drafted in Belgrade, urging Bulgarians to rise against oppression.

These historical milestones are highlighted as part of Bulgaria’s tradition of remembering key events on their anniversaries.