OCHRID

OCHRID. This city, still standing on the eastern shore of the lake of that name in the southwest corner of former Yugoslavian Macedonia (q.v.), was the capital of one of the earlier Slavic states, the empire of Tsar Samuel (d. 1014). Ochrid was an important early center, under the direction of Naum and Clement of Ochrid (qq.v.), for the translation of Greek Christian texts and their transmission to the Slav lands. After changing hands several times between Byzantine, Serb, and Bulgarian rulers, it came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire (q.v.) in 1394, where it remained until the conclusion of the Balkan Wars in 1912. The city is today little more than a modest resort, though bejeweled with several splendid medieval churches.