John I Tzimiskes
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John I Tzimiskes was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general who married into the influential Skleros family, he strengthened and expanded the Byzantine Empire to include Thrace and Syria by warring with the Rus' under Sviatoslav I and the Fatimids respectively.
Detail of the Gunthertuch, a Byzantine silk tapestry depicting John Tzimiskes being greeted by the Blues and Greens at a triumph.
Tentative reproduction of the lost portrait of John I. He's depicted beardless, although literary sources describe him as having a reddish/blonde facial hair.
The coronation of John Tzimiskes, from the Madrid Skylitzes
The Byzantine army under John I lays siege to the Bulgarian capital at Preslav.
Sviatoslav I
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Sviatoslav or Svyatoslav I Igorevich was Prince of Kiev from 945 until his death in 972. He is known for his persistent campaigns in the east and south, which precipitated the collapse of two great powers in Eastern Europe, Khazaria and the First Bulgarian Empire. He conquered numerous East Slavic tribes, defeated the Alans and attacked the Volga Bulgars, and at times was allied with the Pechenegs and Magyars (Hungarians).
Sviatoslav I by Eugene Lanceray (1886)
Sviatoslav's mother, Olga, with her escort in Constantinople, a miniature from the late 11th century chronicle of John Skylitzes.
Sviatoslav's Council of War by Boris Chorikov
Sviatoslav invading Bulgaria, Manasses Chronicle