Basil II

After decades of hard fighting he completely conquered Bulgaria and was called the Bulgar-Slayer.

Life

Regents and Seizing Power

Basil II was crowned co-emperor as a child together with his younger brother Constantine VIII, but for many years power lay with eunuch and imperial in-law regents. As an adult he faced one challenge after another from rebellions by powerful ministers and from separatist nobles, and only after putting down several large-scale revolts did he truly take control. Thereafter he abandoned the luxury of earlier reigns, living frugally, attending to every matter personally and spending years leading his armies in the field.

Conquest of Bulgaria

He devoted most of his energy to the First Bulgarian Empire, which had long threatened the empire's Balkan frontier; the seesaw war between the two sides lasted for decades, with victories on both sides. In 1014 he crushed the Bulgar army in the Kleidion valley and, according to the sources, ordered more than ten thousand prisoners blinded, leaving one man in every hundred with one eye to lead the others home. On seeing them, Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria died of grief and rage. Bulgaria then quickly collapsed and in 1018 was fully absorbed into the Eastern Roman Empire, earning Basil II the name "Bulgar-Slayer."

Zenith Without Heirs

During his reign the territory and power of the Eastern Roman Empire reached their peak for the middle Byzantine period. But he never married and left no heir, and after his death the empire quickly fell into succession turmoil and bureaucratic corruption, declining sharply over the next half century and paving the way for the later disastrous defeat at the Battle of Manzikert. Although the account of his blinding of prisoners is widely told, the numbers given vary greatly among the sources and were likely exaggerated over time.

Legacy

Basil II brought the Eastern Roman Empire to its middle-period zenith, with territory stretching from the Danube to Armenia and a full treasury. His policies of curbing the great landowners and protecting smallholders and military lands are also often praised. But he never married, had no children and groomed no reliable heir, and after his death the empire declined rapidly amid palace struggles. The epithet "Bulgar-slayer" became popular mainly in later times, and the number of prisoners he is said to have blinded varies widely among the sources.

Major works & achievements

• Puts down the revolts of Skleros, Phokas and others
• 1014: Great victory at the Battle of Kleidion
• Annexed Bulgaria in 1018
• Left behind an overflowing treasury

Did you know? Counting from his coronation as a child, he nominally reigned for more than sixty years, the longest of any Eastern Roman emperor.

Key dates

• 958Born in Constantinople
• 976Begins his personal rule and puts down the nobles' revolts
• 991Began long campaigns against Bulgaria
• 1014Crushed Bulgaria at Kleidion
• 1018Annexed all of Bulgaria
• 1021Campaigned in Transcaucasia
• 1025Dies without an heir