Revolutionary Iliya Dzhagarov

Iliya Lazarov Dzhagarov was a Bulgarian revolutionary and member of Botev's detachment.

He worked in Sofia as a craftsman, weaving coarse coverings and making pack saddles. He was one of the two patriots who carried the Apostle's body from the place of execution to St Petka Church. He joined Botev's detachment at Turnu Măgurele and reached his native village after the voivode's death. He was sentenced to death but released under an amnesty proclaimed on 1 August 1876. He volunteered in the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885 and received a silver medal and a cross for bravery.

Iliya Lazarov Dzhagarov was born in 1843 in the village of Lokorsko near Sofia. He left his native village in 1862. He was over two metres tall and exceptionally strong. He witnessed Turks attacking a Bulgarian woman in Lokorsko and could not bear to stand aside. From that moment his life changed direction, and he joined the Lokorsko Local Revolutionary Committee founded by Vasil Levski. On the freezing night of 7 February 1873, he performed the heroic deed of stealing the Apostle's body and burying it according to Orthodox custom. This involved great risk, as Bulgarians at the time faced Turkish violence. He later became the only man from the Shop region in Botev's detachment. After it disbanded, he returned to his native village but was betrayed to the Turkish authorities by a fellow villager. Although sentenced to death, he was later released under the amnesty. He died in 1902 and was buried in Sofia's cemetery, although his grave no longer exists because of poverty.