15 December 1025 (aged 66–67) Constantinople, Byzantine Empire
Burial
Church of St. John the Theologian, Constantinople
Names
Basil Βασίλειος
Greek
Βασίλειος
Dynasty
Macedonian
Father
Romanos II
Mother
Theophano
Religion
Chalcedonian Christianity[note 1]
Basil II Porphyrogenitus (Greek: Βασίλειος ΠορφυρογέννητοςBasileios Porphyrogennetos;[note 2] 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (Greek: ὁ Βουλγαροκτόνος, ho Boulgaroktónos),[note 3] was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII[note 4] were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but they were too young to rule. The throne thus went to two generals, Nikephoros Phokas (r. 963–969) and John Tzimiskes (r. 969–976) before Basil became senior emperor, though his influential great-uncle Basil Lekapenos remained as the de facto ruler until 985.[note 5] His reign of 49 years and 11 months was the longest of any Roman emperor.[note 6]
The early years of Basil's reign were dominated by civil wars against two powerful generals from the Byzantine Anatolian aristocracy: first Bardas Skleros and later Bardas Phokas, which ended shortly after Phokas' death and Skleros' submission in 989. Basil then oversaw the stabilization and expansion of the eastern frontier of the Byzantine Empire and the complete subjugation of the First Bulgarian Empire, its foremost European foe, after a long struggle. Although the Byzantines had made a truce with the Fatimid Caliphate in 987–988, Basil led a campaign against the Caliphate that ended with another truce in 1000. He also conducted a campaign against the Khazar Khaganate that gained the Byzantine Empire part of Crimea and a series of successful campaigns against the Kingdom of Georgia.
Despite near-constant warfare, Basil distinguished himself as an administrator, reducing the power of the great land-owning families who dominated the Empire's administration and military, filling its treasury, and leaving it with its greatest expanse in four centuries. Although his successors were largely incapable rulers, the Empire flourished for decades after Basil's death. One of the most important decisions taken during his reign was to offer the hand of his sister Anna Porphyrogenita to Vladimir I of Kiev in exchange for military support, thus forming the Byzantine military unit known as the Varangian Guard. The marriage of Anna and Vladimir led to the Christianization of the Kievan Rus' and the incorporation of later successor states of Kievan Rus' within the Byzantine cultural and religious tradition. Basil is seen as a Greek national hero but is a despised figure among Bulgarians.
^Sue 2014.
^ abFoss 2005, pp. 93–102.
^ abPMBZ, Basileios II. (#20838).
^Stephenson 2010, pp. 66–80.
^Stephenson 2000, p. 62.
^Stephenson 2010, pp. 89–96.
^Whittow 1996, p. 348.
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The Menologion, Menologium, or Menology of BasilII is an illuminated manuscript designed as a church calendar or Eastern Orthodox Church service book...
(e-book). History of the Great Feudal War Bain, Robert Nisbet (1911). "Basil s.v. BasilII." . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed...
Basil I, nicknamed "the Macedonian" (Greek: Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών, translit. Basíleios ō Makedṓn; 811 – 29 August 886), was Byzantine emperor from 867 to...
His wife Theophano helped their sons BasilII and Constantine VIII to ultimately succeed him in 976. Romanos II was a son of the Emperor Constantine VII...
crowned as co-emperors his two sons BasilII and Constantine VIII. At the time that Romanos died, however, Basil was five years old and Constantine only...
BasilII Kamateros (Greek: Βασίλειος Καματηρός; died after 1186) was the Patriarch of Constantinople from August 1183 to February 1186. Basil was a member...
citizens. In 980, the emperor BasilII received an unusual gift from Prince Vladimir of Kiev: 6,000 Varangian warriors, which Basil formed into a new bodyguard...
(his brother-in-law), Romanos II (his nephew), Nikephoros II Phokas, John I Tzimiskes, and BasilII (his great nephew). Basil was the illegitimate son of...
Mezzogiorno would be the eventual beneficiaries. Upon his appointment by Emperor BasilII in December 1017, he immediately requested reinforcements from Constantinople...
Emperor BasilII (976–1025) saw continuous warfare in both East (against the Arabs) and West (against the Bulgarians). A true soldier-emperor, Basil led most...
brother-in-law of Romanos II, lover of Nikephoros's wife but banned from marriage, regent for BasilII and Constantine VIII BasilII (Βασίλειος Β') the Bulgar-slayer...
the theme system and the neglect of the military. Nikephoros II, John Tzimiskes, and BasilII shifted the emphasis of the military divisions (τάγματα, tagmata)...
consolidate his position, he tried to negotiate truce with the Byzantine emperor BasilII. After the failure of the negotiations he continued the resistance, attempting...
in 923 and 924. The Byzantines eventually recovered, and in 1014, under BasilII "the Bulgar Slayer", a crushing defeat was inflicted on the Bulgarians...
Bulgarian Empire lasted until the early 11th century, when Byzantine emperor BasilII conquered and dismantled it. A successful Bulgarian revolt in 1185 established...
general inflicting a major defeat on the Byzantine army, commanded by BasilII at the Gates of Trajan and retaking north-eastern Bulgaria. His successful...
stepfather, Nikephoros II Phokas; uncle, John I Tzimiskes; and brother, BasilII. Basil's death in 1025 left Constantine as the sole emperor. He occupied the...
as early as 874. The Guard was first formally constituted under Emperor BasilII in 988, following the Christianization of Kievan Rus' by Vladimir I of...
brother, BasilII. After a marriage to Holy Roman Emperor Otto III in 996 failed to materialise, Zoe spent subsequent years in the imperial palace. Basil died...
was involved in the 976–979 rebellion of Bardas Skleros against Emperor BasilII (r. 976–1025), but the sons were later pardoned and resumed their careers...
dynasty, but the new emperor BasilII (reigned 976–1025 AD) made the submission of the Bulgarians his primary goal. Basil's first expedition against Bulgaria...
BasilII (Bulgarian: Василий) was a Patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the mid 13th century. His name is known only from the medieval Book of...
constant warfare against the Byzantines and their equally ambitious ruler BasilII. In his early years, Samuel managed to inflict several major defeats on...
culmination of the nearly half-century struggle between the Byzantine Emperor BasilII and the Bulgarian Emperor Samuel in the late 10th and early 11th centuries...
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