Why the emperor of Byzantium fought with the Bulgarians, why he ruled for 65 years and other fascinating facts about Vasily II

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Basil II was arguably one of the greatest emperors of the Byzantine Empire. His reign was the longest of all emperors, and during his 65 years on the throne, his achievements were numerous. He expanded the empire to the greatest extent in four centuries, while simultaneously stabilizing the treasury and creating an impressive surplus. He not only defeated two huge uprisings that threatened to overthrow him, but also managed to contain the power of the great eastern aristocrats, which almost led him to fall. After his death, Basil II left a much more prosperous and formidable empire than it was before his reign for several centuries.

1. Birth

Born in 958 by the emperor Roman II and his second wife Theophano, Basil II was considered a porphyrogenetic or "born in purple" (another meaning is purple) - in fact, this meant that he was born when his father was emperor. The origin of this term is probably due to the fact that the Byzantine emperors wore imperial purple, a luxurious paint obtained from sea snails.

Because the dye was extremely difficult to manufacture and therefore very expensive, it became a status symbol during the Roman period. By the 10th century, luxury laws in the Byzantine Empire prohibited anyone other than the imperial court from wearing this color.

Porphyrogenet also had a more literal meaning. In the imperial palace, the empress was assigned a room lined with porphyry, an igneous rock of a deep red-purple color. In particular, this room was used by the reigning empresses for childbirth, which meant that the children born to the reigning emperor were literally "born in purple."

2. Palace intrigues

To ensure continuity, Basil's father, Roman II, crowned his two-year-old son co-regent in April 960. This proved to be a tricky move, as Roman died suddenly in March 963 at the age of only twenty-four. Some historians speculate that his death may have been the result of poison and that his wife Theophano was probably the culprit.

In any case, Basil II and his younger brother Constantine were too young to rule, so the Senate approved them in the status of emperors with their mother as the legal regent, although in practice the power was in the hands of parakoimomen (a position comparable to the chief minister of the empire) Joseph Wring. However, Vring's reign was short-lived, as the popular commander Nikifor Phocas, who had just victoriously conquered Crete, was proclaimed emperor by his army. Vringa fled from Constantinople, and Phoca moved to the city. The people welcomed him, and in August 963 he was crowned emperor.

To legitimize his rule, Foca married Basil's mother, Theophano, probably becoming the godfather of the young co-ruler and his brother. However, this new stability did not last long, as Nicephorus himself was killed in a conspiracy conceived by Theophanos in 969. Phoca's nephew, John Tzimiskes, ascended the throne, exiling the cunning Theophano to the monastery. When John finally died in January 976, Basil was able to assume power as the senior emperor of Byzantium.

3. Nickname

Basil's rather impressive nickname (the Bulgarian-fighter) came from his long and violent conflict with the most formidable European enemy of Byzantium - the First Bulgarian Empire. The Bulgarian king Samuel possessed vast territories stretching from the Adriatic to the Black Sea, some of which once belonged to Byzantium.

Samuel even managed to capture Moesia (an area along the Black Sea coast), while Basil II was distracted by internal uprisings. By the 990s, Bulgarian troops were raiding deep into Byzantine territory, even as far as central Greece. The situation was unbearable, and by 1000, Vasily had suppressed internal disagreement and was finally able to focus on the external threat facing the rule of the Bulgarian king.

Based in the city of Thessalonica in 1000, Basil embarked on a series of campaigns that captured the old Bulgarian capital Veliki Preslav in 1000 and the cities of Vodena, Verroia and Servia in northern Greece in 1001. In 1002, the Byzantines occupied Philippopolis, blocking the east-west roads and cutting off Moesia from Macedonia, the heart of Samuel's Bulgarian empire. After the capture of Vidin by Vasily, Samuel undertook a large-scale surprise raid that captured the main Byzantine city of Adrianople. The returning Bulgarian army was intercepted by Basil and defeated, leading to the return of the looted treasures of Adrianople.

After this setback, Samuel was forced to take a defensive position, and the advance of the Byzantine Empire was slow during the next ten years of conflict. Gathering his resources, Vasily II in 1014 launched a grandiose offensive aimed at finally crushing the Bulgarian resistance. On July 29, 1014, he outwitted and completely annihilated Samuel's army at the Battle of Claydion. It was his actions after the battle that strengthened his reputation as a "Bulgarian assassin" - Vasily blinded nearly fifteen thousand Bulgarian prisoners, sparing one person out of every hundred so that he could bring his comrades back to their king. Samuel was so shocked by this terrible sight that he suffered a stroke and died two days later. By 1018, the Bulgarians finally submitted to Basil, and Byzantium regained its ancient Danube border.

4. Army and campaigns

Unlike many of his predecessors who watched military campaigns from secure Constantinople, such as his grandfather Constantine VII, Basil II was an active emperor. He spent most of his reign accompanying and personally commanding the Byzantine armies.

He not only traveled with his troops, but also shared their hardships, eating standard soldier rations during military campaigns. In addition, he set aside provisions for the dependents of the deceased officers, taking care of their children, giving them shelter, food and education. As a result, Basil's armies were generally very loyal and he was extremely popular with the soldiers.

The actual size of the Byzantine army under Basil is not known, but some estimates suggest that there may have been just over a hundred thousand men, not counting the Imperial Guard, Tagmata, based in Constantinople.

5. Rebellion

At the beginning of his reign, the young and inexperienced Emperor Basil II faced a serious threat to his authority. In the East, powerful Byzantine families for several centuries created vast estates and effectively functioned as feudal overlords, wielding tremendous influence in their territories and throughout the empire as a whole. The greatest of these families had the independent power and wealth to raise the banner of rebellion against the emperor himself.

In 976, the Scleroi family did just that - the experienced and successful commander Bardas Skleros, who was a trusted adviser to the previous emperor John I, raised a revolt after he was removed from the highest military position in the empire. Teaming up with Armenian, Georgian and Muslim rulers, Bardas used his followers to capture most of Asia Minor. To cope with the threat, Basil remembered the exiled Wardus Fock, the general who rebelled against John I.

Foka succeeded in his journey to the east and came to an agreement with David III Kuropalat Tao, with the Georgian prince, who had promised Foka twelve thousand horsemen. Scleros immediately marched against Foka, and on March 24, 979, the troops entered the battle - two generals personally fought in single combat, and Foka managed to wound his opponent in the head. Although Skleros fled, word of his death put his army to flight and his rebellion began to disintegrate.

However, the threat of the great Eastern clans did not end with the defeat of Bardas Skleros. Parakimomenus Vasily Lakapin, who himself acquired large estates in the east, conspired with Phocas and the exiled Skleros to revolt and overthrow Basil. Their inability to influence the energetic Basil, combined with his attempts to curb the power of the Eastern families, prompted them to openly revolt.

Phocas's revolt was very similar to the Scleros revolt - the general gathered his forces in Asia Minor in 987 and laid siege to Abydos on the Hellespont with the intention of blocking the Dardanelles and access to Constantinople. Vasily II was able to gather troops to fight this threat by marrying his sister Anna to the Grand Duke of Russia Vladimir the Great - the Russian leader not only sent a large army of six thousand Varangians, but also agreed to convert to Christianity.

Basil's troops moved slowly towards Foka, which became increasingly desperate as his supply lines were cut off and the allies began to abandon him. In early 989, Basil's troops were rapidly approaching Abydos, and Phoca prepared his troops for battle, but was defeated and died on March 16 before both sides could meet. After his death, Phoca's rebellion quickly ended, and Basil's reign was secured.

6. Challenge and new rules

Over the centuries, the great Eastern families in Anatolia have steadily increased their land holdings, buying land from small farmers and landowners. In the Byzantine Empire during the medieval period, land ownership was accompanied by an annual tax or civic obligation, which forced many landowners to sell their holdings during economic downturns.

The attacks of the great Eastern families not only hurt the lower and middle class Byzantines in the east, but also posed a threat to the emperor, as these large landowners were powerful enough to effectively act as semi-independent rulers. Previous emperors introduced land laws in an attempt to curb the growth of these large estates, and Basil II was no exception. In January 996, he issued a decree according to which all landowners who bought land since the reign of Roman I had to prove that it was obtained legally and without coercion - if the owner of the estate could not provide evidence, the original owners of the land had the right to return it.

In addition, in 1002, Basil imposed a tax on the Allelengion, which forced wealthy landowners (dinatos) to pay additional fees to make up for any shortfalls in poorer taxpayers. Although Basil's actions were clearly unpopular among the wealthy aristocracy of eastern Byzantium, he was well known to the villagers of Anatolia. In addition, these acts significantly increased the empire's treasury.

7. Vachily expanded the borders of Byzantium as much as possible

Between the revolts that pursued him at the beginning of his reign, his vendetta against the Bulgarian king and his numerous foreign campaigns, Basil II was almost always at war throughout his reign. During the uprisings of Bard Scleros and Bard Phocas of Fatimid, the Caliphate seized the opportunity to seize territory in the east conquered by Basil's predecessors when in 994 Caliph Al-Aziz Billah attacked the Hamdanid Emirate of Aleppo (Byzantine protectorate) and defeated the Imperial forces under the command personally led the army to Aleppo. Catching the Caliph's army by surprise, the Fatimids retreated, allowing Basil to occupy Tartus. In 1000, a ten-year truce was signed between the two sides.

Hostilities broke out in the Caucasus mountains in 1015 and 1016, when the Georgian prince George I invaded Tao with the intention of reclaiming territories once controlled by Prince David III of Tao (who many years ago helped Basil II in his war against the rebellious Bard Skleros).

In 1021, Basil launched a full offensive, occupying most of Georgian territory after defeating George and his Armenian allies, before retreating to Asia Minor for the winter. In December 1021, the Armenian king Senekerim, suffering from the raids of the Seljuks, surrendered his kingdom to Basil. At the beginning of 1022, Vasily renewed his offensive, defeating George at the Battle of Svindax and forcing the prince to transfer his kingdom.

During the years of his reign, Basil achieved considerable success, becoming one of the most revered Byzantine rulers. But, unfortunately, after his death, all work done by him began to decline and ultimately failed.

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