Basil II

Basil II
Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans
Replicated depiction of Basil II from the Menologion of Basil II
Emperor of the Byzantine Empire
Reign	10 January 976 – 15 December 1025
Coronation	960 as co-emperor[a]
Predecessor	John I Tzimiskes
Successor	Constantine VIII
Born	957/958 Constantinople, Byzantine Empire
Died	15 December 1025 (1025-12-16) (aged 67–68) Constantinople, Byzantine Empire
Burial	Church of St. John the Theologian, Constantinople (now Istanbul)
Greek	Βασίλειος
Dynasty	Macedonian
Father	Romanos II
Mother	Theophano
Religion	Chalcedonian[b]

Basil II (Greek: Βασίλειος Β΄, Basileios II; 957/958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (Greek: Βουλγαροκτόνος, Boulgaroktonos),^[3] was a Byzantine Emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025. He had been associated with the throne since 960, under Romanos II (r. 960–963), Nikephoros II Phokas (r. 963–969), and John I Tzimiskes (r. 969–976). His brother Constantine VIII (r. 1025–1028), who succeeded Basil, was nominal co-emperor.

The early years of his long reign were dominated by civil wars against powerful generals from the Anatolian aristocracy. Following their submission, Basil oversaw the stabilization and expansion of the eastern frontier of the Byzantine Empire, and above all, the final and complete subjugation of Bulgaria, the Empire's foremost European foe, after a prolonged struggle.

Despite near-constant warfare, Basil also distinguished himself as an administrator, reducing the power of the great land-owning families who dominated the Empire's administration and military, while filling the Empire's treasury. One of the most important decisions during his reign was to offer the hand of his sister Anna Porphyrogenita to Vladimir I of Kiev in exchange for military support. This led to the Christianization of the Kievan Rus' and the incorporation of later successor nations of Kievan Rus' within the Byzantine cultural and religious tradition.

Physical appearance and personality[edit]

Basil was a stocky man of less than average stature who, nevertheless, cut an impressive figure on horseback. He had light blue eyes and strongly arched eyebrows; in later life his beard became scant but his sidewhiskers were luxuriant and he had a habit of rolling his whiskers between his fingers when deep in thought or angry. He was not a fluent speaker, putting little breaks between words when speaking, and he had a loud laugh that convulsed his whole frame.^[4] As a mature man he had ascetic tastes and cared little for the pomp and ceremony of the Imperial court, typically holding court in a sombre dark purple robe, furnished with few of the gems that usually decorated imperial costume. Still, he was a capable administrator, who, uniquely among the soldier-emperors, left a well stocked treasury upon his death.^[5] Basil despised literary culture and affected an utter scorn for the learned classes of Byzantium; however, numerous orators and philosophers were active during his reign.^[6]

Background[edit]

Gold solidus with Constantine VII (left) and Romanos II (right) on the reverse

Born in 957 or 958,^[1] Basil was the son of Emperor Romanos II and Empress Theophano. His maternal family was of Laconian Greek origin.^{[7][8][9][10][11]} Theophano was suspected, possibly on spurious grounds, of poisoning her father-in-law Constantine VII and of hastening her husband Romanos' death.^[12][c] She originated from the Peloponnese,^[16] possibly from the city of Sparta.^[17] Basil's paternal ancestry is of uncertain origins; his putative ancestor Basil I, the founder of the dynasty, is variously ascribed Armenian, Slavic, or Greek origins. The biological father of Leo VI the Wise (Basil II's great-grandfather) was possibly not Basil I, but Michael III.^[18] The family of Michael III were Anatolian Greeks from Phrygia, though originally of the heretical Melchisedechian faith.^[19]

In 960, Basil, along with his younger brother Constantine, was crowned co-emperor by his father. In 963, when Basil was only five years old, his father died. Because Basil and his brother, the future Emperor Constantine VIII (ruled 1025–1028), were too young to reign in their own right, Basil's mother Theophano married one of Romanos' leading generals, Nikephoros Phokas. As Nikephoros II, he took the throne as senior emperor. Nikephoros was murdered in 969 by John I Tzimiskes, who then became emperor and reigned for seven years. When John I died on 10 January 976, Basil II finally took the throne as effective ruler and senior emperor.^[20]

Rebellions in Anatolia and alliance with Rus'[edit]

Coronation of Basil as Co-emperor, from the Madrid Skylitzes

Basil II and Constantine VIII, holding cross. Nomisma histamenon.

Basil was a very successful soldier on horseback, and he proved himself as an able general and strong ruler through his achievements. In the early years of his reign, administration remained in the hands of Basil Lekapenos, a eunuch who was an illegitimate son of Emperor Romanos I.^[21] President of the Byzantine Senate, Lekapenos was a wily and gifted politician who hoped that the young emperors would be his puppets. The younger Basil waited and watched without interfering, devoting himself to learning the details of administrative business and military science.^[22]

Even though Nikephoros II and John I were brilliant military commanders, both had proven to be lax administrators. Towards the end of his reign, John I had belatedly planned to curb the power of the great landowners, and his death, coming soon after his speaking out against them, led to rumors that he had been poisoned by Basil Lekapenos, who had acquired vast estates illegally and feared an investigation and punishment.^[22] As a result of the failures of his immediate predecessors, Basil II found himself with a serious problem at the outset of his reign as two members of the wealthy military elite of Anatolia, Bardas Skleros and Bardas Phokas, had sufficient means to undertake open rebellion against his authority.^[20]

The chief motive of these men, both experienced generals, was to assume the Imperial position that Nikephoros II and John I had held, and thus return Basil to the role of impotent cypher. Basil, showing the penchant for ruthlessness that would become his trademark, took the field himself and suppressed the rebellions of both Skleros (979) and Phokas (989)^[23] with the help of 12,000 Georgians of Tornikios and David III Kuropalates of Tao.^[24]

The relationship between the two generals was complicated: Phokas was instrumental in defeating the rebellion of Skleros, but when Phokas himself later rebelled, Skleros returned from exile to support his old enemy. When Phokas died in battle,^[25] Skleros, who had been imprisoned by his erstwhile accomplice, assumed the leadership of the rebellion, before being forced into surrendering to Basil in 989.^[26] Skleros was allowed to live, but he ended his days blind, perhaps through disease, though he may have been punished by blinding.^[27]

These rebellions had a profound effect on Basil's outlook and methods of governance. The historian Psellus describes the defeated Bardas Skleros giving Basil the following advice: "Cut down the governors who become over-proud. Let no generals on campaign have too many resources. Exhaust them with unjust exactions, to keep them busied with their own affairs. Admit no woman to the imperial councils. Be accessible to no one. Share with few your most intimate plans." Basil would take this advice to heart.^[28]

In order to defeat these dangerous revolts, Basil formed an alliance with Prince Vladimir I of Kiev,^[29] who in 988 had captured Chersonesos, the main Imperial base in the Crimea. Vladimir offered to evacuate Chersonesos and to supply 6,000 of his soldiers as reinforcements to Basil. In exchange, he demanded to be married to Basil's younger sister Anna (963–1011).^[30] At first, Basil hesitated. The Byzantines viewed all the nations of Northern Europe, be they Franks or Slavs, as barbarians. Anna herself objected to marrying a barbarian ruler, as such a marriage would have no precedence in Imperial annals.^[31]

Vladimir had conducted long-running research into different religions, including sending delegates to various countries. Marriage was not his primary reason for choosing the Christian religion. When Vladimir promised to baptize himself and to convert his people to Christianity, Basil finally agreed. Vladimir and Anna were married in the Crimea in 989. The Rus' recruitments were instrumental in ending the rebellion, and they were later organized into the Varangian Guard.^[32] This marriage had important long-term implications, marking the beginning of the process by which the Grand Duchy of Moscow many centuries later would proclaim itself "The Third Rome" and claim the political and cultural heritage of the Byzantine Empire.^[33]

The rebellions were followed by the fall of Basil Lekapenos.^[20] He was accused of plotting with the rebels and was punished with exile and confiscation of his property. Seeking to protect the lower and middle classes, Basil II made ruthless war upon the system of immense estates in Asia Minor, which his predecessor, Romanos I, had endeavored to check.^[34]

Campaigns against the Fatimid Caliphate[edit]

The internal strife quelled, Basil II turned his attention to the other enemies of the Empire. The Byzantine civil wars had weakened the Empire's position in the east, and the gains of Nikephoros II and John I had nearly been lost to the Fatimid Caliphate.^[20]

In 987–988, a seven-year truce was signed with the Fatimids, stipulating an exchange of prisoners, the recognition of the Byzantine emperor as protector of the Christians under Fatimid rule and of the Fatimid Caliph as protector of the Muslims under Byzantine control, and the replacement of the name of the Abbasid caliph by that of the Fatimid caliph in the Friday prayer in the mosque of Constantinople.^[35][36] This lasted until 991, when the long-time vizier Yaqub ibn Killis died, where Fatimid caliph Al-Aziz Billah, chose to pursue a more aggressive stance in Syria, and appointed Manjutakin as governor of Damascus.^[37]

Manjutakin's attacks on Aleppo and Basil's first expedition to Syria[edit]

Encouraged by the defectors after the death of emir Sa'd al-Dawla, al-Aziz decided to renew his attacks on the Hamdanid Emirate of Aleppo, a Byzantine protectorate, perhaps in the belief that Basil would not interfere. Manjutakin invaded the emirate, defeated a Byzantine force under the doux of Antioch, Michael Bourtzes, in June 992, and laid siege to Aleppo. However, he failed to pursue the siege with vigor and the city was easily able to resist. Eventually, in the spring of 993, after thirteen months of campaigning, Manjutakin was forced to return to Damascus due to lack of supplies.^[36][38]

In 994, Manjutakin resumed his offensive and in September scored a major victory at the Battle of the Orontes against Bourtzes.^[39] Bourtzes' defeat forced Basil to intervene personally in the East: "(...)in a lightning campaign he rode with his army through Asia Minor in sixteen days and reached Aleppo in April 995."^[39] Basil's sudden arrival, and the exaggerated numbers circulating in the Fatimid camp about his army, caused panic in the Fatimid army, especially since Manjutakin, expecting no threat, had ordered his cavalry horses to be dispersed around the city for pasture. Despite having a considerably larger and well-rested army, Manjutakin was thus at a disadvantage. He burned his camp and retreated to Damascus without battle.^[39] The Byzantines besieged Tripoli unsuccessfully and occupied Tartus, which they refortified and garrisoned with Armenian troops. The Fatimid caliph al-Aziz now prepared to take the field in person against the Byzantines and initiated large-scale preparations, but they were cut short upon his death.^[40][41][42]

Second expedition to Syria and the conclusion of peace[edit]

Warfare between the two powers continued as the Byzantines supported an anti-Fatimid uprising in Tyre.^[39] In 998, the Byzantines under the successor of Bourtzes, Damian Dalassenos, launched an attack on Apamea, but the Fatimid general Jaysh ibn al-Samsama defeated them in battle on 19 July 998.^[39] This defeat drew Basil II again into the fray. The emperor arrived in Syria in October 999, and remained there for three months. Basil's troops raided as far as Baalbek, placing a garrison at Shaizar,^[43] while burning three minor forts in the vicinity of Abu Qubais, Masyath, and 'Arqah. The siege of Tripoli in December failed, while Hims was not threatened.^[44] However, as Basil's attention was diverted to developments in Armenia following the murder of David III Kuropalates, he departed for Cilicia in January and dispatched another embassy to Cairo.^[45]

In 1000, a ten-year truce was concluded between the two states.^[46][47] For the remainder of the reign of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (r. 996–1021), relations remained peaceful, as al-Hakim was more interested in internal affairs. Even the acknowledgement of Fatimid suzerainty by Lu'lu' of Aleppo in 1004 and the Fatimid-sponsored installment of Aziz al-Dawla as the city's emir in 1017 did not lead to a resumption of hostilities, especially since Lu'lu' continued to pay tribute to the Byzantines, and Aziz al-Dawla quickly began acting as an independent ruler.^[48][49] Nevertheless, al-Hakim's persecution of Christians in his realm, and especially the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at his orders in 1009, strained relations, and would, along with Fatimid interference in Aleppo, provide the main focus of Fatimid–Byzantine diplomatic relations until the late 1030s.^[50]

Conquest of Bulgaria[edit]

Basil also sought to restore territories the Empire had lost long before. At the start of the second millennium, he took on his greatest adversary, Samuel of Bulgaria. Bulgaria had been partly subjugated by John I after the invasion of Svyatoslav I of Kiev, but parts of the country had remained outside Byzantine control, under the leadership of Samuel and his brothers.^[51]

As the Bulgars had been raiding Byzantine lands since 976, the Byzantine government sought to cause dissension amongst them by allowing the escape of their captive emperor, Boris II of Bulgaria. This ploy failed, so Basil used a respite from his conflict with the nobility to lead an army of 30,000 men into Bulgaria and besiege Sredets (Sofia) in 986.^[52][53] Taking losses and worried about the loyalty of some of his governors, Basil lifted the siege and headed back for Thrace, but he fell into an ambush and suffered a serious defeat at the Battle of the Gates of Trajan.^[53] Basil escaped with the help of his Varangian Guard and attempted to make up his losses by turning Samuel's brother, Aaron, against him. Aaron was tempted with Basil's offer of his sister Anna in marriage (the same Anna who wed Vladimir I of Kiev two years later), but the negotiations failed when Aaron discovered that the bride he was sent was a fake. By 987, Aaron had been eliminated by Samuel, and Basil was busy fighting both Skleros and Phokas in Asia Minor. Although the titular emperor Roman of Bulgaria was captured in 991, Basil lost Moesia to the Bulgarians. In 992, Basil II concluded a treaty with Pietro Orseolo II under terms reducing Venice's custom duties in Constantinople from 30 nomismata to 17 nomismata. In return, the Venetians agreed to transport Byzantine troops to southern Italy in times of war.^[54][45]

During the years when Basil was distracted with internal rebellions and recovering the military situation on his eastern frontier, Samuel had extended his rule from the Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea, recovering most of the lands that had been Bulgarian before the invasion of Svyatoslav. He also conducted damaging raids into Byzantine territory as far as central Greece. The tide turned in 996, when the Byzantine general Nikephoros Ouranos inflicted a crushing defeat on a raiding Bulgarian army at a battle on the River Spercheios in Thessaly. Samuel and his son Gabriel were barely able to escape capture.^[55]

Triumph of Basil II through the Forum of Constantine, from the Madrid Skylitzes.

Beginning in 1000, Basil II was free to focus on a war of outright conquest against Bulgaria, a war he prosecuted with grinding persistence and strategic insight. In 1000 the Byzantine generals Nikephoros Xiphias and Theodorokanos took the old Bulgarian capital of Great Preslav and the towns of Lesser Preslav and Pliskova.^[56] In 1001, Basil himself, operating from Thessalonica, was able to regain control of Vodena, Verrhoia, and Servia.^[57] The following year he based his army in Philippopolis and occupied the length of the military road from the western Haemus Mountains to the Danube, thereby cutting off communications between Samuel's Macedonian heartland and Moesia. Following this success, Basil laid siege to Vidin, which eventually fell after a prolonged resistance.^[58] Samuel reacted to the Byzantine campaign with a daring stroke; he launched a large-scale raid into the heart of Byzantine Thrace and surprised the major city of Adrianople.^[59]

On returning homeward with his extensive plunder, Samuel was intercepted near the town of Skopje by a Byzantine army commanded by the emperor. Basil's forces stormed the Bulgarian camp, inflicting a severe defeat on the Bulgarians and recovering the plunder from Adrianople. Skopje surrendered shortly after the battle,^[20] and its governor, Romanos, was treated with overt kindness by the Emperor.^[60] In 1005, the governor of Dyrrhachium, Ashot Taronites, surrendered his city to the Byzantines.^[20] The defection of Dyrrhachium to the Byzantines completed the isolation of Samuel's core territories in the highlands of western Macedonia. Samuel was forced into an almost entirely defensive stance. He extensively fortified the passes and routes from the coastlines and valleys held by the Byzantines to the territory remaining in his possession. During the next few years, the Byzantine offensive slowed and no significant gains were made, though in 1009 an attempt by the Bulgarians to counter-attack was defeated at the Battle of Kreta, which was fought to the east of Thessalonica.^[45]

Byzantine victory over the Bulgarians at the Battle of Kleidion, from the John Skylitzes.

Victorious Byzantine cataphracts pursuing the fleeing Bulgarian heavy cavalry, from the John Skylitzes.

In 1014, Basil was ready to launch a campaign aimed at destroying Bulgarian resistance. On 29 July 1014, Basil II and his general, Nikephoros Xiphias, outmaneuvered the Bulgarian army,^[61] which was defending one of the fortified passes, in the Battle of Kleidion.^[62] Samuel avoided capture only through the valor of his son, Gabriel.^[61] Having crushed the Bulgarians, Basil exerted his vengeance by cruelty - he was said to have captured 15,000 prisoners and fully blinded 99 of every 100 men, leaving one one-eyed man in each cohort to lead the rest back to their ruler.^[61] Samuel was physically struck down by the dreadful apparition of his blinded army and died two days later, on 6 October 1014, after suffering a stroke.^[61] Although the mistreatment of the Bulgarian prisoners may have been exaggerated, this incident helped give rise to Basil's Greek epithet of Boulgaroktonos, meaning "the Bulgar-slayer", in later tradition.^[63][64] The first recorded coupling of the term Boulgaroktonos with Basil II dates from a number of generations after his death. It appears to have entered common usage among the Byzantines at the end of the 12th century, when the Second Bulgarian Empire broke away from Byzantine rule and the martial exploits of Basil against the Bulgarians became a theme of Imperial propaganda.^[65][66] Thus it was used by the historian Niketas Choniates and the writer Nicholas Mesarites, and consciously inverted by the Bulgarian ruler Kaloyan, who called himself "Roman-slayer" (Rhomaioktonos).^[67] Prior to this, during Basil's own lifetime as well as in the works of the 11th and early 12th centuries, Basil was usually distinguished from Basil I the Macedonian by the sobriquets "the Younger" (ho neos) or "the Purple-born" (ho porphyrogennetos).^[68]

Bulgaria fought on for four more years, its resistance fired by Basil's cruelty, but it finally submitted in 1018.^[45][69] This submission was the result of continued military pressure and a successful diplomatic campaign aimed at dividing and suborning the Bulgarian leadership. This victory over the Bulgarians, and the later submission of the Serbs, fulfilled one of Basil's goals, as the Empire regained its ancient Danubian frontier for the first time in 400 years.^[45]

The neighbouring rulers of Croatia, Krešimir III and Gojslav, who were previously allies of Bulgaria, accepted Basil's supremacy in order to avoid the same fate as Bulgaria;^[70] the emperor warmly received their offers of vassalage and awarded them the honorary title of patrician.^[71] Croatia remained a tributary state to Basil until his death in 1025.^[72] Before returning to Constantinople, Basil II celebrated his triumph in Athens.^{[73][74][75][45]} He showed considerable statesmanship in his treatment of the defeated Bulgarians, giving many former Bulgarian leaders court titles, positions in provincial administration, and high commands in the army. In this way he sought to absorb the Bulgarian elite into Byzantine society. Bulgaria did not have a monetary economy to the same extent as was found in Byzantium, and Basil made the wise decision to accept Bulgarian taxes in kind.^[76] Basil's successors reversed this policy, a decision that led to considerable Bulgarian discontent, and rebellion, later in the 11th century.^[77]

The Pontic steppes, c. 1015. The areas in blue are those possibly still under Khazar control.

Khazar campaign[edit]

Although the power of the Khazar Khaganate had been broken by the Kievan Rus' in the 960s, the Byzantines had not been able to fully exploit the power vacuum and restore their dominion over Crimea and other areas around the Black Sea. In 1016, Byzantine armies, in conjunction with Mstislav of Chernigov, attacked the Crimea,^[45] much of which had fallen under the sway of the Khazar successor kingdom of George Tzoul, based at Kerch. Kedrenos reports that George Tzoul was captured and the Khazar successor-state was destroyed. Subsequently, the Byzantines occupied the southern Crimea.^[78]

Campaigns against Georgia[edit]

The integrity of the Byzantine Empire itself was under serious threat after a full-scale rebellion, led by Bardas Skleros, broke out in 976. Following a series of successful battles, the rebels swept across Asia Minor. In the urgency of a situation, Georgian prince David III of Tao aided Basil II, and after decisive loyalist victory at the Battle of Pankalia, he was rewarded by lifetime rule of key imperial territories in eastern Asia Minor. However, David’s rebuff of Basil in Bardas Phocas’ revolt of 987 evoked Constantinople’s distrust of the Georgian rulers. After the failure of the revolt, David was forced to make Basil II the legatee of his extensive possessions. In 1001, after the death of David of Tao, hither Tao, Phasiane and Speri was inherited by Basil II,^[79] These provinces were then organized into the theme of Iberia, with the capital at Theodosiopolis. This forced the successor Georgian Bagratid ruler, Bagrat III, to recognize the new rearrangement. Bagrat’s son, George I, however, inherited a longstanding claim to David’s succession. Young and ambitious, George launched a campaign to restore the Kuropalates’ succession to Georgia and occupied Tao in 1015–1016. He also entered in an alliance with the Fatimid caliph of Egypt, al-Hakim (c.996–1021). This would put Basil in a difficult situation, forcing him to refrain from an acute response to Giorgi’s offensive. Beyond that, the Byzantines were at that time involved in a relentless war with the Bulgarians, limiting their actions to the west. But as soon as Bulgaria was conquered in 1018, and al-Hakim was no longer alive, Basil led his army against Georgia.^[45] Preparations for a larger-scale campaign against Kingdom of Georgia were set, beginning with the re-fortification of Theodosiopolis.^[45]

A miniature depicting the defeat of the Georgian king George I ("Georgios of Abasgia") by the Byzantine emperor Basil. Skylitzes Matritensis, fol. 195v. George is shown as fleeing on horseback on the right and Basil holding a shield and lance on the left.

In the autumn of 1021, Basil, at the head of a large Byzantine army, reinforced by the Varangian Guard, attacked the Georgians and their Armenian allies, recovering Phasiane and pushing on beyond the frontiers of Tao into inner Georgia.^[80] King George burned the city of Oltisi to keep it out of the enemy’s hands and retreated to Kola. A bloody battle was fought near the village Shirimni at the Lake Palakazio on September 11. The emperor won a costly victory, forcing George I to retreat northwards into his kingdom. Plundering the country on his way, Basil withdrew for winter at Trebizond.^[81]

Several attempts to negotiate the conflict went in vain and, in the meantime, George received reinforcements from the Kakhetians, and allied himself with the Byzantine commanders Nicephorus Phocas and Nicephorus Xiphias, in their abortive insurrection in the emperor’s rear. In December, George’s ally, the Armenian king Senekerim of Vaspurakan, being harassed by the Seljuk Turks, surrendered his kingdom to the emperor.^[82] During the spring of 1022, Basil launched a final offensive, winning a crushing victory over the Georgians at Svindax. Menaced both by land and sea, King George handed over Tao, Phasiane, Kola, Artaan and Javakheti, and left his infant son Bagrat a hostage in Basil's hands.^[83]

Later years[edit]

He later secured the annexation of the sub-kingdoms of Armenia, along with a promise that its capital and surrounding regions would be willed to Byzantium following the death of its king Hovhannes-Smbat.^[84] In 1021, he also secured the cession of the Kingdom of Vaspurakan by its king, Seneqerim-John, in exchange for estates in Sebasteia.^[83] Basil created, in those highlands, a strongly fortified frontier, which, if his successors had been capable, should have proved an effective barrier against the invasions of the Seljuk Turks. In the meantime, other Byzantine forces restored much of Southern Italy, lost over the previous 150 years.^[1]

Basil was preparing a military expedition to recover the island of Sicily when he died, on 15 December 1025.^{[85][45][69][1]} At the time of his death, the Empire stretched from southern Italy to the Caucasus and from the Danube to the Levant, which was its greatest territorial extent since the Muslim conquests four centuries earlier.^[86] Basil was to be buried in the last sarcophagus available in the rotunda of Constantine I in the Church of the Holy Apostles.^[45][69] However, he had later asked his brother and successor, Constantine VIII, to be buried in the Church of St. John the Theologian (i.e. the Evangelist), at the Hebdomon Palace complex, outside the walls of Constantinople.^[45][69] The epitaph on his tomb celebrated Basil's campaigns and victories. His final resting place carried the following inscription: "From the day that the King of Heaven called upon me to become the Emperor, the great overlord of the world, no one saw my spear lie idle. I stayed alert throughout my life and protected the children of the New Rome, valiantly campaigning both in the West and at the outposts of the East…O, man, seeing now my tomb here, reward me for my campaigns with your prayers".^[87] During the pillage of 1204, Basil's grave was desecrated by the invading Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade.^[69]

Assessment[edit]

The Byzantine Empire at the death of Basil II in 1025.

He was praised by his army,^[88] as he spent most of his reign campaigning with them instead of sending orders from the distant palaces of Constantinople, as had most of his predecessors. This allowed his army to be largely supportive of him, often making his stance in political and church matters unquestionable. He lived the life of a soldier to the point of eating the same daily rations as any other member of the army. He also took the children of deceased officers of his army under his protection and offered them shelter, food, and education.^[87] Many of them even became his soldiers and officers, taking the place of their fathers in service.^[89]

He was also popular with the country farmers.^[90] This class produced most of his army's supplies and soldiers. To assure that this continued, Basil's laws protected small agrarian property owners and lowered their taxes. His reign was considered an era of relative prosperity for the class, despite the almost constant wars.^[45][91] On the other hand, Basil increased the taxes on the nobility and the church, seeking to decrease their power and wealth. Though understandably unpopular with them, neither had the power to effectively oppose the army-supported Emperor. Basil never married or had children. As a young man he was a womanizer, but when he became emperor, he chose to devote himself to the duties of state. Psellus ascribes Basil's radical change from a dissolute youth to a grim autocrat to the circumstances of the rebellions of Bardas Skleros and Bardas Phokas.^[92]

His reign would be one of the most significant in Byzantine history. His constant military campaigns lead to the zenith of Byzantine power in the Middle Ages.^[20][93] The restoration of the Danubian frontier helped establish a more stable and secure border for the empire in Europe, maintaining a stronger frontier against the raids of the countryside and towns by the Hungarians and Pechenegs. The conquest of Bulgaria and the submission of the Southern Slavs created relative peace for the empire's Balkan frontier, keeping larger cities, including Constantinople, safe from sieges and looting that occurred often before. Basil's military experiences that would allow him to eventually turn the tides of war against Bulgaria in favor of the Byzantine Empire were gained through the revolts of Phokas and Skleros in Anatolia that challenged his throne, and even at times, got close to depose him.^[94] This is also supported by the discipline and organization of the army during the reign of Basil II, becoming an efficient fighting force. Modern historian John Julius Norwich quotes: "Success for Basil depended on faultless organisation. The army must act as a single, perfectly coordinated body. When battle began, he forbade any soldier to break ranks. Heroics were punished with instant dismissal. His men complained about their master’s endless inspections; but they gave him their trust because they knew that he never undertook an operation until he was certain of victory".^[95] Basil's creation of the Varangian Guard allowed him and his successors to possess an elite mercenary force capable of changing battle outcomes and boosting morale, becoming feared by the enemies of the emperor, by their presence alone.^[96]

At this time, the Macedonian Renaissance was taking affect, seeing the rise of classical scholarship, being assimilated into Christian artwork, and the study of ancient philosophy.^[97][98] The studies of these would greatly expand the library of the University of Constantinople, assisted by the enlargement projects by the emperors, establishing itself as the main source of learning for its day once again.^[99] Though not a man of literature, he was a relatively pious ruler, involving himself in the construction of churches, monasteries, and even to some extent, cities.^[100]

The Byzantine army would be substantially grown during his reign, especially with the help of land reforms, something that many of his successors would not enforce. This would help him keep the loyalty of his army in his campaigns, a force that approximately reached the manpower of 110,000 soldiers,^[101] which is a size that had not been seen since the late days of Justinian I.^[102] Historian E. R. A. Sewter translates and describes his reign from the biographies made by Psellus, who was alive during the reign of Basil II, as the following: "Basil had devoted all his energies to the business of ruling; he had never married, spent most of his time on or near the frontiers, developed a war-machine of terrifying efficiency, coveted autocracy, but despised its outward symbols. He crushed rebellions, subdued the feudal landowners, conquered the enemies of the Empire, notably in the Danubian provinces and the East. Everywhere the might of Roman arms was respected and feared. The treasury was overflowing with the accumulated plunder of Basil’s campaigns. Even the lamp of learning, despite the emperor’s known indifference, was burning still, if somewhat dimly. The lot of ordinary folk in Constantinople must have been pleasant enough. For most of them life was gay and colourful, and if the city’s defensive fortifications were at some points in disrepair they had no cause to dread attacks".^[103]

As a result of Basil's asceticism, he was succeeded by his brother and his family, who proved to be ineffective rulers. Nevertheless, fifty years of prosperity and intellectual growth followed because the funds of state were full, the borders were not in danger from exterior intruders, and the Empire remained the most powerful political entity of the age. At the end of his reign, the Byzantine Empire had a population of approximately 12 million people.^[104] By 1025, Basil II (with an annual revenue of 7,000,000 nomismata) was able to amass 14,400,000 nomismata (or 200,000 pounds of gold) for the Imperial treasury due to his prudent management.^[105][106]

Ultimately, though being beneficial, these achievements were reversed very quickly. Many of the Georgian, Armenian, and Fatimid campaigns were undone after the succession crisis and eventual civil war after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071.^[107] As many of the governors of the empire began to head to the capital with their soldiers to seize power after the capture of emperor Romanos IV,^[108] the Anatolian frontier was largely left undefended against the Seljuk Empire.^[109] The Normans would also permanently push the Byzantines out of Southern Italy in April 1071,^[110] further undoing what was achieved during the reign of Basil II.

In literature[edit]

During the 20th century in Greece, interest in the prominent emperor led to a number of biographies and historical novels about him. Arguably the most popular is Basil Bulgaroktonus (1964) by historical fiction writer Kostas Kyriazis (born 1920). Written as a sequel to his previous work Theophano (1963), focusing on Basil's mother, it examines Basil's life from childhood till his death at an advanced age, through the eyes of three fictional narrators. It has been continuously reprinted since 1964.^[111]

For his part, commentator Alexander Kiossev, wrote in Understanding the Balkans: "The hero of one nation might be the villain of its neighbour (...) The Byzantine emperor Basil the Murderer [sic] of Bulgarians, a crucial figure in the Greek pantheon of heroes, is no less important as a subject of hatred for our [Bulgarian] national mythology".^[112]

Penelope Delta's second novel, Ton Kairo tou Voulgaroktonou (In the Years of the Bulgar-Slayer),^[113] is also set during the reign of Basil II.^[114] It was inspired by correspondence with the historian Gustave Schlumberger, a renowned specialist on the Byzantine Empire, and published in the early years of the 20th Century, a time when the Struggle for Macedonia once again set Greeks and Bulgarians in bitter enmity with each other.^[115]

Ion Dragoumis, who was Delta's lover and was deeply involved in that struggle, in 1907 published the book Martyron kai Iroon Aima (Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Blood), which was full of resentment towards everything Bulgarian. He urges Greeks to follow the example of Basil II: "(...)Instead of blinding so many people, Basil should have better killed them instead. On one hand these people would not suffer as eyeless survivors, on the other the sheer number of Bulgarians would have diminished by 15 000, which is something very useful." Later in the same book, Dragoumis foresaw the appearance of "new Basils" who would "cross the entire country and will look for Bulgarians in mountains, caves, villages and forests and will make them flee in refuge or kill them".^[116]

Rosemary Sutcliff's 1976 historical fiction novel Blood Feud depicts Basil II from the point of view of a member of his recently created Varangian Guard.^[117]

Ancestry[edit]

See also[edit]

• List of Byzantine emperors

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

Primary sources

• Thurn, Hans, ed. (1973). Ioannis Scylitzae Synopsis historiarum. Berlin-New York: De Gruyter.
• Michael Psellus, Chronographia, also published under the title Fourteen Byzantine Rulers, ed. E.R.A. Sewter. London 1953. (English translation)
• Nestor, The Russian Primary Chronicle: Laurentian Text,, Samuel Hazzard Cross, Olgerd P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor, Published by Mediaeval Academy of America, 1953

Secondary sources

• Fine, John Van Antwerp (1991). The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-47-208149-3.
• Brooke, Z. N.; Tanner, J. R.; Previte-Orton, C. W. (1968). The Cambridge Medieval History:Contest of Empire and Papacy. V. Cambridge University Press.
• George Finlay, (1856), History of the Byzantine Empire from DCCXVI to MLVII, 2nd Edition, Published by W. Blackwood.
• Gregory, Timothy, E., A History of Byzantium. Blackwell Publishing, 2005 ISBN 0-631-23512-4
• Kaldellis, Anthony (2017). Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood: The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955 A.D. to the First Crusade. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0190253226.
• Kennedy, Hugh N. (2004). The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates: The Islamic Near East from the 6th to the 11th Century (2nd ed.). Harlow, England: Longman. ISBN 978-0-58-240525-7.
• Lev, Yaacov (1995). "The Fatimids and Byzantium, 10th–12th Centuries". Graeco-Arabica. 6: 190–208. OCLC 183390203.
• Norwich, John Julius; Knopf, Alfred A. (1997). History of Byzantium. ISBN 978-0-679-45088-7.
• The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1991.
• Stephenson, Paul (2003). The Legend of Basil the Bulgar-Slayer. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81530-7.
• Stevenson, William B. (1926). "Chapter VI. Islam in Syria and Egypt (750–1100)". In Bury, John Bagnell. The Cambridge Medieval History: Contest of Empire and Papacy. V. New York: The Macmillan Company. pp. 242–264.
• Riccardi, Lorenzo, «Un altro cielo»: l’imperatore Basilio II e le arti, in “Rivista dell’Istituto Nazionale di Archeologia e Storia dell’Arte”, 61 (III serie, XXIX), 2006 [2011] (ISSN 0392-5285), pp. 103–146.
• Riccardi, Lorenzo, Observations on Basil II as Patron of the Arts, in Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art, I, Collection of articles. Materials of the Conference of Young Specialists (St. Petersburg State University,1–5 December 2010), St. Petersburg 2011 (ISBN 978-5-288-05174-6), pp. 39–45.
• Whittow, Mark (1996). The Making of Byzantium, 600–1025. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-20496-6.

Further reading[edit]

• Holmes, Catherine (2005). Basil II and the Governance of Empire (976–1025). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-927968-5.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Basil II.

• A more detailed profile of the Emperor: http://www.roman-emperors.org/basilii.htm
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Basil II". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.