Basil II (958-1025) was Byzantine emperor from 976 until his death in 1025, presiding over the empire at what many historians consider its greatest territorial extent and military strength since the reign of Justinian. A capable and often personally ruthless military commander, he spent decades campaigning to suppress internal rebellions and expand imperial control, most notably in his prolonged wars against the Bulgarian Empire, which he ultimately conquered and annexed in 1018. He earned the epithet 'Bulgar Slayer' from later Byzantine tradition, associated with an account in which he ordered thousands of captured Bulgarian soldiers blinded after a decisive victory, leaving one eye intact in every hundredth man to lead the rest home. He left the Byzantine treasury unusually full and the empire militarily dominant, a position that began to erode within decades of his death.
Facts
RoleByzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty 1 BirthplaceConstantinople, Byzantine Empire 1 Death PlaceConstantinople, Byzantine Empire 1 Role
Role (category) FAQs
Why is Basil II called the Bulgar-Slayer?
Encyclopedia.com ties the name to the 1014 campaign against the Bulgarians and the blinding of captured soldiers.
The name is tied to Basil II's wars against the Bulgarians. Encyclopedia.com's biography says that in 1014 Basil attacked from the rear, capturing about fourteen thousand soldiers, and that he dealt them an extraordinarily harsh punishment. In its telling, Byzantine soldiers blinded ninety-nine out of every 100 Bulgarian soldiers, leaving the last man with one good eye so that he could lead the others home. The same source says he was forever after known as the Bulgar-Slayer and that he went on to incorporate Bulgarian lands into his empire.
Connections
In Era
Preceded By
On John I Tzimiskes's death in 976 the throne reverted to the legitimate porphyrogennetoi, with Basil II as senior emperor.
Ruled
Succeeded By
Basil II died childless in 1025; his brother and long-time co-emperor Constantine VIII then ruled alone.
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Basil II
Wikipedialead sentence: role clause
Basil II Porphyrogenitus (Greek: Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος, romanized: Basíleios Porphyrogénnētos; 958 - 15 December 1025), given the epithet the Bulgar Slayer, was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025.
infobox: born
birth_date = 958
infobox: died
Basil was preparing a military expedition to recover the island of Sicily when he died on 15 December 1025, having had the longest reign among any Byzantine or Roman emperor. 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.
lead sentence: epithet clause
Basil II Porphyrogenitus (Greek: Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος, romanized: Basíleios Porphyrogénnētos; 958 - 15 December 1025), given the epithet the Bulgar Slayer, was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025.
Basil II: Gender
Basil II (958-1025) was Byzantine emperor from 976 until his death in 1025, presiding over the empire at what many historians consider its greatest territorial extent and military strength since the reign of Justinian.
View the Source Wikidata: Basil II
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