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On April 13, 989, at the Battle of Abydos, Byzantine emperor Basil II defeated Bardas Phocas From the article:
"Background story:
After his victory against the usurper Bardas Skleros, General Bardas Phocas had become one of the most powerful figures in the empire. But the young emperor Basil II began to take initiatives and show signs that he wanted to take the administration in his own hands. His growing independence alarmed both Basil Lekapenos (regent and de-facto ruler) and Phocas. In 987, these two entered into secret negotiations with their former enemy, Bardas Skleros to dispose the emperor.
In 987, Skleros was recalled to homeland from Bagdad by Phocas, who took advantage of the Bulgarian wars to aim at the crown. Skleros promptly organized an army to support Phocas’ cause. In a campaign that curiously mimicked Skleros’ own revolt a decade earlier, Bardas Phocas proclaimed himself emperor and overran most of Asia Minor.
Emperor Basil sought aid from Prince Vladimir I of Kiev, who in 988 had captured Chersonesos, the main Byzantine town 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. At first, Basil hesitated. The Byzantines viewed all other nations as barbarians. Plus, Vladimir had already many wives.
When Vladimir promised to baptize himself and to convert his people to Christianity, Basil finally agreed. Vladimir and Anna were married in Crimea in 989 and Vladimir sent his fearsome Varangians to aid Basil.
In the meantime Bardas Phocas had put Skleros in prison (probably because Skleros proclaimed himself emperor too), and moved as sole army leader toward the capital.
The Battle:
The Russian reinforcements disembarked at Chrysopolis, near Constantinople, and this stopped the march of Phocas to the Capital. He then moved to lay siege to Abydos, thus threatening to blockade the Dardanelles.
The two armies were facing each other, when Phocas galloped forward, seeking personal combat with the Emperor who was riding in front of the lines. Just as he prepared to face Basil, however, Phocas suffered a seizure, fell from his horse, and was found to be dead. His head was cut off and brought to Basil.
The army of Phocas after that lost any mood to fight and started to retreat. The retreat became panic and slaughter as the blood-thirsty Varangians pursued.
Noteworthy:
This battle was a milestone for 3 major events in the Byzantine (and medieval) history:
1) the conversion of the Rus to Orthodox Christianity,
2) the introduction of the Varangian guard in military history,
3) the awakening of Basil II who until then was an immature and indifferent king, but the revolt pushed him to take action, to get rid of toxic courtiers and to grow into becoming one of the great Byzantine emperors
Aftermath:
Upon Phocas’ death at Abydos, Skleros succeeded him as the leader of the rebels. But the moment had passed and soon his army fled. He was captured and blinded; the rebellion ended. Lekapenos was exiled and his vast fortune was confiscated. Skleros was pardonned in 991, a few days before his death."
"Background story:
After his victory against the usurper Bardas Skleros, General Bardas Phocas had become one of the most powerful figures in the empire. But the young emperor Basil II began to take initiatives and show signs that he wanted to take the administration in his own hands. His growing independence alarmed both Basil Lekapenos (regent and de-facto ruler) and Phocas. In 987, these two entered into secret negotiations with their former enemy, Bardas Skleros to dispose the emperor.
In 987, Skleros was recalled to homeland from Bagdad by Phocas, who took advantage of the Bulgarian wars to aim at the crown. Skleros promptly organized an army to support Phocas’ cause. In a campaign that curiously mimicked Skleros’ own revolt a decade earlier, Bardas Phocas proclaimed himself emperor and overran most of Asia Minor.
Emperor Basil sought aid from Prince Vladimir I of Kiev, who in 988 had captured Chersonesos, the main Byzantine town 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. At first, Basil hesitated. The Byzantines viewed all other nations as barbarians. Plus, Vladimir had already many wives.
When Vladimir promised to baptize himself and to convert his people to Christianity, Basil finally agreed. Vladimir and Anna were married in Crimea in 989 and Vladimir sent his fearsome Varangians to aid Basil.
In the meantime Bardas Phocas had put Skleros in prison (probably because Skleros proclaimed himself emperor too), and moved as sole army leader toward the capital.
The Battle:
The Russian reinforcements disembarked at Chrysopolis, near Constantinople, and this stopped the march of Phocas to the Capital. He then moved to lay siege to Abydos, thus threatening to blockade the Dardanelles.
The two armies were facing each other, when Phocas galloped forward, seeking personal combat with the Emperor who was riding in front of the lines. Just as he prepared to face Basil, however, Phocas suffered a seizure, fell from his horse, and was found to be dead. His head was cut off and brought to Basil.
The army of Phocas after that lost any mood to fight and started to retreat. The retreat became panic and slaughter as the blood-thirsty Varangians pursued.
Noteworthy:
This battle was a milestone for 3 major events in the Byzantine (and medieval) history:
1) the conversion of the Rus to Orthodox Christianity,
2) the introduction of the Varangian guard in military history,
3) the awakening of Basil II who until then was an immature and indifferent king, but the revolt pushed him to take action, to get rid of toxic courtiers and to grow into becoming one of the great Byzantine emperors
Aftermath:
Upon Phocas’ death at Abydos, Skleros succeeded him as the leader of the rebels. But the moment had passed and soon his army fled. He was captured and blinded; the rebellion ended. Lekapenos was exiled and his vast fortune was confiscated. Skleros was pardonned in 991, a few days before his death."
Byzantine Battles: Battle of Abydos
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Basil II the Bulgar Slayer, 976-1025 CE (Part I: The Apprenticeship, 976-989)
Basil II's early reign featured a young and inexperienced emperor trying to find his way and often not meeting with much success. Forged by the fire of failu...
Thank you my friend SGT (Join to see) for making us aware that on April 13, 989, Byzantine emperor Basil II defeated Bardas Phocas at the Battle of Abydos,
Basil II the Bulgar Slayer, 976-1025 CE (Part I: The Apprenticeship, 976-989)
Basil II's early reign featured a young and inexperienced emperor trying to find his way and often not meeting with much success. Forged by the fire of failure and frustration, Basil defended his throne from a pair of usurpers and claimed control of his government, emerging as the willful force of nature who would become a major figure in world history. It was also during this period that Basil's long and storied rivalry with Samuel of Bulgaria began.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YW9uKmTmYk
Images
1. Emperor II Basil II (left), holding a lance and shield, sends his troops in pursuit of the defeated King of Georgia.
2. Patriarch Polyeuctus of Constantinople leads the coronation of Byzantine Emperor Basil II
3. Basil the Bulgar Slayer
4. The Cavalry component of the Byzantine Army was more prominent than it had been in the Roman Army.
Background from {[https://www.pressreader.com/uk/history-of-war/20191031/ [login to see] 87242]}
Basil the Bulgar Slayer
Background from {[https://www.pressreader.com/uk/history-of-war/20191031/ [login to see] 87242]}
Basil the Bulgar Slayer
Basil II waged total war against rival Tsar Samuel of the Bulgarians whose aggression posed a mortal threat to the Byzantine Empire
History of War · 31 Oct 2019 · by WILLIAM E. WELSH
How this Byzantine emperor became feared during his conquests of the Balkans
THE BULGAR STREAMED DOWN FROM THE HILLTOPS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE DEFILE. THE ROUT WAS SWIFT AND COMPLETE; HOW EVER BASIL ESCAPED ON HORSEBACK. BACK IN CONSTANTINOPLE, HE VOWED TO GET REVENGE AGAINST SAMUEL”
Hundreds of brawny Varangians surged against the camp of the Byzantine pretender Bardas Phokas the Younger at Chrysopolis on the Asian shore of the Bosphorous – it was in late February, 989CE. Led by 30-year-old Emperor Basil II, the Vikings had slipped across the strait under the cover of darkness the previous night. Before the rebels could form up, the bloodthirsty Varangians waded into the disordered mob swinging their swords and battleaxes. After butchering the rebels, the Varangians presented Basil with three captured leaders. Basil then ordered the three men to be hanged, impaled, and crucifix
The massacre at Chrysopolis was a key episode in the second civil war that occurred during Basil’s reign. Phokas, who was not present at Chrysopolis, had more rebels a short distance south at Abydos on the Hellespont. This meant Basil and his Varangians had more work to do to crush the rebellion. Unstable realm Basil was crowned emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, at the age of 18 upon the death of John I Tzimiskes in January 976. Despite his shortness in stature, the young emperor had a robust constitution that would serve him well in the long campaigns he would undertake in his prime years. As a result of the impressive conquests of his two predecessors, Nikephoros II Phokas and Tzimiskes, Basil inherited a realm more powerful than its rivals. Basil initially was unable to expand upon its gains because for the because for the first thirteen years of his reign he was bogged down defending his throne against the attacks by two former generals, each of whom believed he would make a better emperor. These two magnates, Phokas and Bardas Sclerus, derived their wealth from their vast estates in Anatolia
The first civil war erupted in 936 when Sclerus was removed from command of Byzantine forces in the eastern frontier.
Upset at being dismissed, Sclerus declared himself emperor in 976. It took three years to stamp out his rebellion.
Bulgar uprising
While the bulk of Byzantine forces were bogged down fighting Sclerus’s rebels self-proclaimed Western Bulgarian Tsar Samuel Cometopulos took advantage of the situation by invading the Byzantine Theme (district) of Thessaly. Samuel had risen to power in the vacuum created by the Byzantine defeat of the Danube Bulgars during the reign of John I Tzimiskes. Samuel’s capital was situated on Lake Prespa in Macedonia.
Samuel besieged the Thessalian capital of Larissa in 985, and it fell to his forces the following year. He drafted the hardiest men into his army and sold the rest of the inhabitants into slavery. He then raided deep into the Byzantine themes of Hellas and the Peloponnesus in search of plunder. Basil mobilised his forces for an expedition into Bulgaria. He planned to lead the invasion in person to further his military experience.
A bitter lesson
Basil would wage war intermittently over the course of three decades against Tsar Samuel. His July 986. Basil’s initial objective was the town of Sardica a (Sofia) in Eastern Bulgaria. From Adrianople, the Byzantine army marched west along the Maritsa River and then turned north, crossing the Sredna Gora Mountains by way of Trajan’s Gate. Basil besieged Sardica on 26 July.
The Byzantine emperor soon realised that his army lacked sufficient provisions for a lengthy siege and that his artillery corps was incompetent. Basil raised the siege on 15 August and then withdrew along the same route by which he had arrived.
While the siege was under way, Samuel’s army had arrived by forced marches from Thessaly. As the Byzantines began their withdrawal, Samuel laid an ambush at Trajan’s Gate. When the Byzantine army entered the pass on 17 August, the Bulgar streamed down from the hilltops on both sides of the defile. The rout was swift and complete; however Basil escaped on horseback. Back in Constantinople, Basil vowed to get revenge against Samuel. “IN RE TURN FOR THE TROOPS HE WANTED BASIL’S SISTER, PRINCESS ANNA, AS HIS BRIDE. BASIL AGREED”
Second civil war
Phokas, who was the nephew of an earlier Byzantine emperor, Nicephorous II, had a burning desire to be emperor. He proclaimed himself emperor in 987 and marched on Constantinople. Basil was reluctant to recall his troops from Thrace where they were attempting to contain Bulgar expansion eastward. He decided to ask Prince Vladimir of Kiev for military assistance. The prince had recently visited Constantinople, and he was favourably disposed towards the Byzantines. Envoys from Constantinople travelled to the Byzantine colony of Cherson on the Dnieper River. Vladimir, who met with them in that location, offered to send 6,000 Varangians. In return for the troops, he wanted Basil’s sister, Princess Anna, as his bride. Basil agreed. The Varangians set sail from Cherson in December 988, and before the end of the month they had weighed anchor in the Golden Horn. After the loss of his detachment at Chrysopolis, Phokas besieged the town of Abydos with his remaining troops. He hoped to find enough boats to ferry his troops across the Sea of Marmara for an attack on Constantinople. Basil had no intention of allowing Abydos to fall. In late March he led the Varangians across the straits a second time. They landed a few miles north of Abydos at Lampascus. Phokas fell dead from a stroke in the midst of a battle fought on 13 April. His death ended the second civil war. When Basil tried to avoid sending his sister to become Vladimir’s bride, the Kievan prince took possession of Cherson. When Basil finally sent his sister to Kiev, Vladimir withdrew his troops from Cherson.
Balkan campaign
After the conclusion of the second civil war in 989, Basil once again turned his attention to the Bulgars. He spent nearly two years overhauling his army. His commanders drilled his men and he inspected them regularly to monitor their progress.
Once these tasks were completed the Byzantine emperor led his troops in spring 991 into Thessaly. One of his top priorities was to recover the Byzantine towns in Thessaly. One by one he liberated them. Those towns that showed themselves favourable to returning to the Byzantine fold he garrisoned, but if the inhabitants of a town resisted the Byzantines, he razed the town leaving it a smoking ruin. Basil knew the campaign of reconquest would be a long one, but he resolved to proceed slowly and methodically. He intended to maintain steady pressure on Tsar Samuel, therefore forcing him to fall back in the face of the larger Byzantine army.
Crisis in Syria
While campaigning against Samuel, Basil received an urgent message in 995 from the Emir of Aleppo who was a Byzantine vassal. The emir said that his city was besieged by an Egyptian Fatimid army. He informed Basil that if help did not arrive soon, it would fall to the Egyptians. Basil faced a quandary. If his army marched overland on foot, Aleppo might fall before it ar rived. In a stroke of pure genius he decided to mount his entire army so that it might move swiftly to the rescue of Aleppo and also prevent the Egyptians from threatening Byzantine Antioch as well. Basil gave every infantryman two mules, one to ride and one to carry his equipment. Basil then led his 17,000-man force on a forced march to Syria. The Byzantine troops arrived in April 995 after covering 600 miles in 26 days. After saving Aleppo and recovering northern Syria, Basil chased the retreating Egyptians as far south as Tripoli before breaking off his pursuit As a result Aleppo remained in Byzantine hands.
Basil’s revenge
While Basil was engaged in the east, the Byzantine general had won a key victory over Tsar Samuel on the Spercheios River in Greece that put an end to Bulgar raids into both Hellas and the Peloponnesus. Basil returned to the battlefront in Bulgaria in 1000. Over the course of the next four years he conquered Eastern Bulgaria and garrisoned its towns. Afterwards, Basil fought his way to Skopje in northern Macedonia. When Basil reached Skopje the two opposing armies faced each other across the Vardar River which flowed through the town. In a well-executed sneak attack the Byzantine army forded the river under cover of night. The Byzantines fell upon the Bulgarians at first light and routed them.
By 1014 Basil had secured northern, central, and eastern Bulgaria. However, he still needed a decisive victory that would result in the capture or death of Samuel. That year Basil marched against Western Bulgaria from the south. The Byzantine advance ground to a halt when they encountered the Bulgarian army in a blocking position in the primary mountain pass leading through the Belasitsa Mountains near Kleidion. Basil instructed his second-in-command, General Nicephorus Xiphias, to march half of the army around the Bulgarian flank in order to strike the Bulgarians in the rear. Basil would remain facing the Bulgarians to prevent them from escaping to the south. Xiphias’s at-4/17/2021 Basil the Bulgar Slayer attack on 29 July took the Bulgarians by surprise. In the rout that unfolded at the Battle of Kleidion, 15,000 Bulgarians were slain and 15,000 captured. Basil then ordered his troops to blind each one of the captured soldiers. Specifically he ordered the eyes of 99 men out of 100 to be blinded. He left the remaining soldier in each group of 100 with one eye in order to lead his fellows back to their tsar.
The Byzantines spent the next four years mopping up the remaining resistance in Bulgaria. Through his overwhelming victory over the Bulgarians Basil was able to expand further north in the Balkans. The Byzantines acquired all of the land south of the middle and lower Danube, including the principalities of Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia.
Expansion in the east
After the war in the west was over, Basil had a pressing score to settle with King Giorgi I of the Caucasian Christian kingdom of Georgia. Giorgi had invaded, with the aid of the Armenians, the Byzantine-controlled principalities of Tao and Phasiane. The Byzantines valued these lands from an economic standpoint because key trade routes passed thorough them. In 1021 Basil embarked on what would be his last expedition to the east to compel Giorgi to relinquish these lands. He led his armies as far as Iberia in the Caucasus region. Basil preferred to use diplomacy to settle matters with the Georgians and Armenians. Realising that Basil was stronger than he was, Giorgi capitulated. While he was in the region, Basil persuaded King John Smbat III of Bagratuni Armenia to bequeath his entire kingdom to the Byzantines upon his death. From the lands acquired from these agreements, Basil then established eight new themes for the empire. These provinces stretched in a swooping arc from Antioch in the south to the Caucasus further north-east. After he returned from the east, Basil turned his attention to the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy. The 69-year-old emperor was in the process of making plans to invade Arabcontrolled Sicily when he died on 15 December 1025 in Constantinople. Basil had ruled the empire for nearly half a century. At the time of his death, the Byzantine Empire stretched from the Upper Mesopotamia to Italy. The Byzantine Empire would never again reach so high a pinnacle
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarter SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.D GySgt Thomas Vick SGT Denny Espinosa SPC Matthew Lamb LTC (Join to see)Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. PO1 William "Chip" Nagel PO2 (Join to see) SSG Franklin Briant SPC Woody Bullard TSgt David L. SPC Michael Terrell SFC Chuck Martinez CSM Charles HaydenSSG Bill McCoy SGT Herbert Bollum
Basil II the Bulgar Slayer, 976-1025 CE (Part I: The Apprenticeship, 976-989)
Basil II's early reign featured a young and inexperienced emperor trying to find his way and often not meeting with much success. Forged by the fire of failure and frustration, Basil defended his throne from a pair of usurpers and claimed control of his government, emerging as the willful force of nature who would become a major figure in world history. It was also during this period that Basil's long and storied rivalry with Samuel of Bulgaria began.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YW9uKmTmYk
Images
1. Emperor II Basil II (left), holding a lance and shield, sends his troops in pursuit of the defeated King of Georgia.
2. Patriarch Polyeuctus of Constantinople leads the coronation of Byzantine Emperor Basil II
3. Basil the Bulgar Slayer
4. The Cavalry component of the Byzantine Army was more prominent than it had been in the Roman Army.
Background from {[https://www.pressreader.com/uk/history-of-war/20191031/ [login to see] 87242]}
Basil the Bulgar Slayer
Background from {[https://www.pressreader.com/uk/history-of-war/20191031/ [login to see] 87242]}
Basil the Bulgar Slayer
Basil II waged total war against rival Tsar Samuel of the Bulgarians whose aggression posed a mortal threat to the Byzantine Empire
History of War · 31 Oct 2019 · by WILLIAM E. WELSH
How this Byzantine emperor became feared during his conquests of the Balkans
THE BULGAR STREAMED DOWN FROM THE HILLTOPS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE DEFILE. THE ROUT WAS SWIFT AND COMPLETE; HOW EVER BASIL ESCAPED ON HORSEBACK. BACK IN CONSTANTINOPLE, HE VOWED TO GET REVENGE AGAINST SAMUEL”
Hundreds of brawny Varangians surged against the camp of the Byzantine pretender Bardas Phokas the Younger at Chrysopolis on the Asian shore of the Bosphorous – it was in late February, 989CE. Led by 30-year-old Emperor Basil II, the Vikings had slipped across the strait under the cover of darkness the previous night. Before the rebels could form up, the bloodthirsty Varangians waded into the disordered mob swinging their swords and battleaxes. After butchering the rebels, the Varangians presented Basil with three captured leaders. Basil then ordered the three men to be hanged, impaled, and crucifix
The massacre at Chrysopolis was a key episode in the second civil war that occurred during Basil’s reign. Phokas, who was not present at Chrysopolis, had more rebels a short distance south at Abydos on the Hellespont. This meant Basil and his Varangians had more work to do to crush the rebellion. Unstable realm Basil was crowned emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, at the age of 18 upon the death of John I Tzimiskes in January 976. Despite his shortness in stature, the young emperor had a robust constitution that would serve him well in the long campaigns he would undertake in his prime years. As a result of the impressive conquests of his two predecessors, Nikephoros II Phokas and Tzimiskes, Basil inherited a realm more powerful than its rivals. Basil initially was unable to expand upon its gains because for the because for the first thirteen years of his reign he was bogged down defending his throne against the attacks by two former generals, each of whom believed he would make a better emperor. These two magnates, Phokas and Bardas Sclerus, derived their wealth from their vast estates in Anatolia
The first civil war erupted in 936 when Sclerus was removed from command of Byzantine forces in the eastern frontier.
Upset at being dismissed, Sclerus declared himself emperor in 976. It took three years to stamp out his rebellion.
Bulgar uprising
While the bulk of Byzantine forces were bogged down fighting Sclerus’s rebels self-proclaimed Western Bulgarian Tsar Samuel Cometopulos took advantage of the situation by invading the Byzantine Theme (district) of Thessaly. Samuel had risen to power in the vacuum created by the Byzantine defeat of the Danube Bulgars during the reign of John I Tzimiskes. Samuel’s capital was situated on Lake Prespa in Macedonia.
Samuel besieged the Thessalian capital of Larissa in 985, and it fell to his forces the following year. He drafted the hardiest men into his army and sold the rest of the inhabitants into slavery. He then raided deep into the Byzantine themes of Hellas and the Peloponnesus in search of plunder. Basil mobilised his forces for an expedition into Bulgaria. He planned to lead the invasion in person to further his military experience.
A bitter lesson
Basil would wage war intermittently over the course of three decades against Tsar Samuel. His July 986. Basil’s initial objective was the town of Sardica a (Sofia) in Eastern Bulgaria. From Adrianople, the Byzantine army marched west along the Maritsa River and then turned north, crossing the Sredna Gora Mountains by way of Trajan’s Gate. Basil besieged Sardica on 26 July.
The Byzantine emperor soon realised that his army lacked sufficient provisions for a lengthy siege and that his artillery corps was incompetent. Basil raised the siege on 15 August and then withdrew along the same route by which he had arrived.
While the siege was under way, Samuel’s army had arrived by forced marches from Thessaly. As the Byzantines began their withdrawal, Samuel laid an ambush at Trajan’s Gate. When the Byzantine army entered the pass on 17 August, the Bulgar streamed down from the hilltops on both sides of the defile. The rout was swift and complete; however Basil escaped on horseback. Back in Constantinople, Basil vowed to get revenge against Samuel. “IN RE TURN FOR THE TROOPS HE WANTED BASIL’S SISTER, PRINCESS ANNA, AS HIS BRIDE. BASIL AGREED”
Second civil war
Phokas, who was the nephew of an earlier Byzantine emperor, Nicephorous II, had a burning desire to be emperor. He proclaimed himself emperor in 987 and marched on Constantinople. Basil was reluctant to recall his troops from Thrace where they were attempting to contain Bulgar expansion eastward. He decided to ask Prince Vladimir of Kiev for military assistance. The prince had recently visited Constantinople, and he was favourably disposed towards the Byzantines. Envoys from Constantinople travelled to the Byzantine colony of Cherson on the Dnieper River. Vladimir, who met with them in that location, offered to send 6,000 Varangians. In return for the troops, he wanted Basil’s sister, Princess Anna, as his bride. Basil agreed. The Varangians set sail from Cherson in December 988, and before the end of the month they had weighed anchor in the Golden Horn. After the loss of his detachment at Chrysopolis, Phokas besieged the town of Abydos with his remaining troops. He hoped to find enough boats to ferry his troops across the Sea of Marmara for an attack on Constantinople. Basil had no intention of allowing Abydos to fall. In late March he led the Varangians across the straits a second time. They landed a few miles north of Abydos at Lampascus. Phokas fell dead from a stroke in the midst of a battle fought on 13 April. His death ended the second civil war. When Basil tried to avoid sending his sister to become Vladimir’s bride, the Kievan prince took possession of Cherson. When Basil finally sent his sister to Kiev, Vladimir withdrew his troops from Cherson.
Balkan campaign
After the conclusion of the second civil war in 989, Basil once again turned his attention to the Bulgars. He spent nearly two years overhauling his army. His commanders drilled his men and he inspected them regularly to monitor their progress.
Once these tasks were completed the Byzantine emperor led his troops in spring 991 into Thessaly. One of his top priorities was to recover the Byzantine towns in Thessaly. One by one he liberated them. Those towns that showed themselves favourable to returning to the Byzantine fold he garrisoned, but if the inhabitants of a town resisted the Byzantines, he razed the town leaving it a smoking ruin. Basil knew the campaign of reconquest would be a long one, but he resolved to proceed slowly and methodically. He intended to maintain steady pressure on Tsar Samuel, therefore forcing him to fall back in the face of the larger Byzantine army.
Crisis in Syria
While campaigning against Samuel, Basil received an urgent message in 995 from the Emir of Aleppo who was a Byzantine vassal. The emir said that his city was besieged by an Egyptian Fatimid army. He informed Basil that if help did not arrive soon, it would fall to the Egyptians. Basil faced a quandary. If his army marched overland on foot, Aleppo might fall before it ar rived. In a stroke of pure genius he decided to mount his entire army so that it might move swiftly to the rescue of Aleppo and also prevent the Egyptians from threatening Byzantine Antioch as well. Basil gave every infantryman two mules, one to ride and one to carry his equipment. Basil then led his 17,000-man force on a forced march to Syria. The Byzantine troops arrived in April 995 after covering 600 miles in 26 days. After saving Aleppo and recovering northern Syria, Basil chased the retreating Egyptians as far south as Tripoli before breaking off his pursuit As a result Aleppo remained in Byzantine hands.
Basil’s revenge
While Basil was engaged in the east, the Byzantine general had won a key victory over Tsar Samuel on the Spercheios River in Greece that put an end to Bulgar raids into both Hellas and the Peloponnesus. Basil returned to the battlefront in Bulgaria in 1000. Over the course of the next four years he conquered Eastern Bulgaria and garrisoned its towns. Afterwards, Basil fought his way to Skopje in northern Macedonia. When Basil reached Skopje the two opposing armies faced each other across the Vardar River which flowed through the town. In a well-executed sneak attack the Byzantine army forded the river under cover of night. The Byzantines fell upon the Bulgarians at first light and routed them.
By 1014 Basil had secured northern, central, and eastern Bulgaria. However, he still needed a decisive victory that would result in the capture or death of Samuel. That year Basil marched against Western Bulgaria from the south. The Byzantine advance ground to a halt when they encountered the Bulgarian army in a blocking position in the primary mountain pass leading through the Belasitsa Mountains near Kleidion. Basil instructed his second-in-command, General Nicephorus Xiphias, to march half of the army around the Bulgarian flank in order to strike the Bulgarians in the rear. Basil would remain facing the Bulgarians to prevent them from escaping to the south. Xiphias’s at-4/17/2021 Basil the Bulgar Slayer attack on 29 July took the Bulgarians by surprise. In the rout that unfolded at the Battle of Kleidion, 15,000 Bulgarians were slain and 15,000 captured. Basil then ordered his troops to blind each one of the captured soldiers. Specifically he ordered the eyes of 99 men out of 100 to be blinded. He left the remaining soldier in each group of 100 with one eye in order to lead his fellows back to their tsar.
The Byzantines spent the next four years mopping up the remaining resistance in Bulgaria. Through his overwhelming victory over the Bulgarians Basil was able to expand further north in the Balkans. The Byzantines acquired all of the land south of the middle and lower Danube, including the principalities of Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia.
Expansion in the east
After the war in the west was over, Basil had a pressing score to settle with King Giorgi I of the Caucasian Christian kingdom of Georgia. Giorgi had invaded, with the aid of the Armenians, the Byzantine-controlled principalities of Tao and Phasiane. The Byzantines valued these lands from an economic standpoint because key trade routes passed thorough them. In 1021 Basil embarked on what would be his last expedition to the east to compel Giorgi to relinquish these lands. He led his armies as far as Iberia in the Caucasus region. Basil preferred to use diplomacy to settle matters with the Georgians and Armenians. Realising that Basil was stronger than he was, Giorgi capitulated. While he was in the region, Basil persuaded King John Smbat III of Bagratuni Armenia to bequeath his entire kingdom to the Byzantines upon his death. From the lands acquired from these agreements, Basil then established eight new themes for the empire. These provinces stretched in a swooping arc from Antioch in the south to the Caucasus further north-east. After he returned from the east, Basil turned his attention to the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy. The 69-year-old emperor was in the process of making plans to invade Arabcontrolled Sicily when he died on 15 December 1025 in Constantinople. Basil had ruled the empire for nearly half a century. At the time of his death, the Byzantine Empire stretched from the Upper Mesopotamia to Italy. The Byzantine Empire would never again reach so high a pinnacle
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarter SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.D GySgt Thomas Vick SGT Denny Espinosa SPC Matthew Lamb LTC (Join to see)Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. PO1 William "Chip" Nagel PO2 (Join to see) SSG Franklin Briant SPC Woody Bullard TSgt David L. SPC Michael Terrell SFC Chuck Martinez CSM Charles HaydenSSG Bill McCoy SGT Herbert Bollum
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Basil II the Bulgar-Slayer, Part II: Securing the East, 989-1002 CE
Basil's main priority for the bulk of his reign was the war against Bulgaria. However, Basil and his generals were also vigilant in the East, where Byzantine...
Basil II the Bulgar-Slayer, Part II: Securing the East, 989-1002 CE
Basil's main priority for the bulk of his reign was the war against Bulgaria. However, Basil and his generals were also vigilant in the East, where Byzantine arms continued to hold the line in Syria and advance deeper into Armenian lands in the north.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qslb-aKJuQ
Images:
1. The Byzantines under General Nikephorus Quranos slay the Bulgarians at the Battle of Spercheios.
2. Psalter of Basil II Unknown Artist
3. Byzantine Empire 1025 AD
4. Byzantine Coin of Basil II - obverse and reverse
Background from {[https://www.worldhistory.org/Basil_II/]}
Basil II by Mark Cartwright
Basil II (aka Basilius II) was the emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 976 to 1025 CE. He became known as the Bulgar-Slayer (Bulgaroktonos) for his exploits in conquering ancient Bulgaria, sweet revenge for his infamous defeat at Trajan's Gate. With a tight hold on Byzantine purse strings and a private army of giant Vikings, Basil got the better of at least two significant usurpers for his throne, reconquered Greece and all of the Balkans, won victories in Syria and doubled the size of the empire. This colossus of Byzantine history is the subject of a biography in the Chronographia of the 11th-century CE Byzantine historian Michael Psellos.
Early Life
Basil, born in 958 CE, was the son of Emperor Romanos II of the Macedonian Dynasty, and when his father died, Basil, aged just five, and his younger brother Constantine jointly inherited the throne. The Empress Theophano, wife of Romanos, acted as their regent and married the general Nikephoros Phokas, who became Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas. It was not a happy marriage, and Theophano conspired to murder her husband in his bed in December 969 CE. The general John Tzimiskes then made himself emperor and banished Theophano to a monastery in the same year. John I Tzimiskes continued to act as guardian for the two young emperors and embarked on a series of successful campaigns in the Middle East. When Tzimiskes died of illness in 976 CE, Basil took his rightful place on the throne of the Byzantine Empire. At least on paper, Basil shared the role with his sibling Cecil, but it was very much Basil who ruled in practice.
THERE WAS A LACK OF THE RAZZMATAZZ THAT ONE WOULD EXPECT FROM AN EMPEROR - NO LAVISH PARTIES, FINE ROBES OR FLASHY RINGS.
The young Basil was not a particularly fine physical specimen, although he was skilful at riding a horse. He shunned fine living and was not much interested in literature; in many ways, he lived the life of an austere monk. Basil was certainly a pious man and was known to carry a statue of the Virgin in battle. These qualities, along with his dour nature, abruptness, and quick temper, combined with a complete lack of trust in anyone, unsurprisingly, did not foster much love and admiration from his subjects. There seemed to be a lack of the razzmatazz that one would expect from an emperor - no lavish parties, fine robes or flashy rings; even when he did wear the purple robes of his office, they were of a duller shade than they might have been. In warfare, too, Basil's campaigns, for all their success, were resolute rather than dashing, but his adroit skills of empire management would earn him respect from his people and fear from his enemies.
Domestic Policies
Basil's immediate problem on gaining the throne was to quash a rebellion led by the aristocrat Bardas Skleros, a general who was keen to continue in the privileged position he had enjoyed under previous emperors. Basil prevailed, despite some initial defeats to Skleros in Asia Minor, and was greatly helped by his namesake chief administrator, the gifted eunuch Basil Lecapenus, the parakoimomenos (emperor's chamberlain). Basil II then had to foil another coup, this time involving his disloyal and corrupt chamberlain, which attempted to make Bardas Phokas, an aristocratic clan leader, emperor. Basil the eunuch was exiled in 985 CE. The emperor was now ready to concentrate all his efforts on ruling alone and magnificently, not even marriage or family were allowed to distract him.
Basil sought to further consolidate his rule by reducing the ever-increasing power of the landed aristocracy and monasteries. Both these groups were expanding their landed interests at the expense of the poorer peasantry, either by purchase or conquest. More importantly for the state, the larger landowners often avoided tax or were simply given exemptions. Basil came up with the simple idea that the large landowners, or dynatoi as they were known, pay the tax arrears of the poor. The new tax plan, known as the allelengyon, met with robust opposition, was not successful and was abandoned by Romanos III in 1028 CE.
Another strategy to further centralise power was to permit payment instead of military service in the provinces, greatly reducing the manpower of local leaders. Basil could withstand the reduction in a wider military force because of his elite troops loaned to him by allied states and, rather cleverly, he used the new tax revenue to pay a new army more loyal to his own interests. This force would come in handy in the second half of his reign.
Military Campaigns
Basil's first and worst military expedition was in August 986 CE when he suffered a resounding loss to the forces of Samuel of Bulgaria (r. 976-1014 CE) in a narrow Bulgarian mountain pass known as Trajan's Gate. The emperor's army of 60,000 had already suffered an ignominious episode in their failed siege of the Bulgar capital Serdica (Sofia) but now it was wiped out, the colours lost, and Basil forced to flee back to Constantinople. The emperor would have to wait 28 years to gain his revenge, although when it came it would be total.
The consequences of the defeat at Trajan's Gate were the further expansion of Samuel's kingdom into Byzantine lands and the encouragement of two rebellions back home led by Bardas Skleros and Bardas Phokas (him again) respectively. Bardas Phokas even declared himself emperor in 987 CE. Basil, fortunately, could call on the help of Vladimir I of Kiev (r. 980-1015 CE), whose force of 6,000 Vikings bolstered his naval force and assured that the emperor restored order by 989 CE. The rebel army was routed, and three commanders were each given a uniquely tailored death: hanged, crucified, and impaled. There was a price for the assistance from Kiev, and it came in the form of Basil promising that his sister Anna would marry Vladimir, on condition that the latter agreed to be baptised. Both parties honoured their promise, useful as they were to each other as allies. The adoption of Christianity and its promotion by St Vladimir, as he would become, was a momentous action of long-lasting consequence for the Russian peoples.
There were other matters to attend to besides Samuel the Bulgar. Both Antioch and Aleppo in Syria had to be protected from Arab rule and especially the increasingly ambitious Fatimids. Basil himself led a victory in northern Syria in 995 CE when his army had arrived in super-quick time out of nowhere because Basil had issued each man with two mules, one for himself and one for his baggage. The emperor then settled on a long-term policy of hurting the Arabs in their pockets by restricting all trade with the caliph.
Basil's main focus, though, was the west and revenge on the Bulgars. His approach to warfare is here described by the historian J. J. Norwich:
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. (211)
The emperor was relentless, and after years of campaigns in both summer and winter, he won back Greece for Byzantium (997 CE), and then Pliska (1000 CE), Skopje (1004 CE) and Dyracchion (c. 1005 CE), amongst many other cities. In 1014 CE Basil finally won a great and decisive victory against the Bulgars at, appropriately enough, another mountain pass, this time at Kleidion in the Belasica Mountains. Over 15,000 of the enemy army were captured. The emperor, remembering his defeat to Samuel, carried the Byzantine tradition of mutilating the enemy to the extreme and blinded his captives, sending them back to their leader in groups of 100, each led by a one-eyed guide. Samuel was said to have died of a shock-induced stroke shortly after receiving this ominous sign of Basil's pitiless wrath.
After some limited resistance led by Samuel's sons, ultimately, the Bulgar lands were incorporated into the blossoming Byzantine Empire, and Basil marched victorious into Serdica in 1018 CE. The unpleasant memory of Trajan's Gate was finally erased. Basil proved more generous with his new subjects than their army. He kept taxes low - allowing payment in kind instead of the usual gold, allowed certain provinces to remain under local, princely rule, gave certain nobles high office within the empire, and permitted the Bulgarian Church to remain independent from Constantinople with the only proviso that Basil select the archbishop.
Death
Basil kept on campaigning to the end, with more successful adventures in Georgian Iberia and Armenia in 1021-22 CE, where he captured Vaspurkan. His territories stretched even into Mesopotamia and were consolidated by dividing the conquered regions into new provinces of the empire. Italy, too, was reorganised, and a campaign was prepared to once more face the Arabs, this time in their last stronghold in the West, Sicily. Before these plans could come to fruition, though, Basil died on the 13th or 15th of December 1025 CE. He had almost doubled the empire which now "stretched from Crete to the Crimea, and from the Straits of Messina and the River Danube to the Araxes, Euphrates, and Orontes rivers" (Mango, 80) or, to put it another way, Byzantium was now "a superpower on two continents" (ibid, 176).
The emperor should have been buried in a splendid sarcophagus waiting for him alongside his predecessors in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, but Basil preferred a more simple tomb in a smaller church outside the city. 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.
(Herrin, 219)
Legacy
Basil's near-50-year reign had ensured the Byzantine Empire was at its very zenith, as the historian E. R. A. Sewter here explains in his introduction to his translation of the emperor's biography by Psellus:
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. (12)
With Basil having no children, the title of emperor resorted back to his brother Constantine, who ruled as Constantine VIII from 1025 to 1028 CE, and his daughters Zoe and Theodora. Unfortunately, Basil's successors would squander their inheritance within a generation or two. The once-great empire's fortunes would wain, with none more tangible and symbolic an indicator than the ever-dwindling gold content of Byzantine coins. The 24-carat halcyon days of Basil II would, alas, never be repeated.
EDITORIAL REVIEWThis article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication.
Bibliography
• Brownworth, L. Lost to the West. Broadway Books, 2010.
• Gregory, T.E. A History of Byzantium. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
• Herrin, J. Byzantium. Princeton University Press, 2009.
• Mango, C. The Oxford History of Byzantium. Oxford University Press, 2002.
• Norwich, J.J. A Short History of Byzantium. Vintage, 1998.
• Psellus, M. Fourteen Byzantine Rulers. Penguin Classics, 1979.
• Rosser, J.H. Historical Dictionary of Byzantium. Scarecrow Press, 2001.
• Shephard, J. The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire. CUP, 2011
Translations
FYI SSG Paul HeadleeCPL Michael PeckSgt (Join to see)PO1 Steve DittoCPL Douglas ChryslerSSG Michael Noll Maj Marty HoganSPC Michael Oles SRTSgt George RodriguezPO3 Charles Streich SGT (Join to see)SGT David A. 'Cowboy' GrothSFC (Join to see)SGT Steve McFarlandSPC Margaret Higgins PO1 H Gene Lawrence 1SG Fred BucciPO2 Frederick Dunn SMSgt David A Asbury CSM (Join to see)
Basil's main priority for the bulk of his reign was the war against Bulgaria. However, Basil and his generals were also vigilant in the East, where Byzantine arms continued to hold the line in Syria and advance deeper into Armenian lands in the north.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qslb-aKJuQ
Images:
1. The Byzantines under General Nikephorus Quranos slay the Bulgarians at the Battle of Spercheios.
2. Psalter of Basil II Unknown Artist
3. Byzantine Empire 1025 AD
4. Byzantine Coin of Basil II - obverse and reverse
Background from {[https://www.worldhistory.org/Basil_II/]}
Basil II by Mark Cartwright
Basil II (aka Basilius II) was the emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 976 to 1025 CE. He became known as the Bulgar-Slayer (Bulgaroktonos) for his exploits in conquering ancient Bulgaria, sweet revenge for his infamous defeat at Trajan's Gate. With a tight hold on Byzantine purse strings and a private army of giant Vikings, Basil got the better of at least two significant usurpers for his throne, reconquered Greece and all of the Balkans, won victories in Syria and doubled the size of the empire. This colossus of Byzantine history is the subject of a biography in the Chronographia of the 11th-century CE Byzantine historian Michael Psellos.
Early Life
Basil, born in 958 CE, was the son of Emperor Romanos II of the Macedonian Dynasty, and when his father died, Basil, aged just five, and his younger brother Constantine jointly inherited the throne. The Empress Theophano, wife of Romanos, acted as their regent and married the general Nikephoros Phokas, who became Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas. It was not a happy marriage, and Theophano conspired to murder her husband in his bed in December 969 CE. The general John Tzimiskes then made himself emperor and banished Theophano to a monastery in the same year. John I Tzimiskes continued to act as guardian for the two young emperors and embarked on a series of successful campaigns in the Middle East. When Tzimiskes died of illness in 976 CE, Basil took his rightful place on the throne of the Byzantine Empire. At least on paper, Basil shared the role with his sibling Cecil, but it was very much Basil who ruled in practice.
THERE WAS A LACK OF THE RAZZMATAZZ THAT ONE WOULD EXPECT FROM AN EMPEROR - NO LAVISH PARTIES, FINE ROBES OR FLASHY RINGS.
The young Basil was not a particularly fine physical specimen, although he was skilful at riding a horse. He shunned fine living and was not much interested in literature; in many ways, he lived the life of an austere monk. Basil was certainly a pious man and was known to carry a statue of the Virgin in battle. These qualities, along with his dour nature, abruptness, and quick temper, combined with a complete lack of trust in anyone, unsurprisingly, did not foster much love and admiration from his subjects. There seemed to be a lack of the razzmatazz that one would expect from an emperor - no lavish parties, fine robes or flashy rings; even when he did wear the purple robes of his office, they were of a duller shade than they might have been. In warfare, too, Basil's campaigns, for all their success, were resolute rather than dashing, but his adroit skills of empire management would earn him respect from his people and fear from his enemies.
Domestic Policies
Basil's immediate problem on gaining the throne was to quash a rebellion led by the aristocrat Bardas Skleros, a general who was keen to continue in the privileged position he had enjoyed under previous emperors. Basil prevailed, despite some initial defeats to Skleros in Asia Minor, and was greatly helped by his namesake chief administrator, the gifted eunuch Basil Lecapenus, the parakoimomenos (emperor's chamberlain). Basil II then had to foil another coup, this time involving his disloyal and corrupt chamberlain, which attempted to make Bardas Phokas, an aristocratic clan leader, emperor. Basil the eunuch was exiled in 985 CE. The emperor was now ready to concentrate all his efforts on ruling alone and magnificently, not even marriage or family were allowed to distract him.
Basil sought to further consolidate his rule by reducing the ever-increasing power of the landed aristocracy and monasteries. Both these groups were expanding their landed interests at the expense of the poorer peasantry, either by purchase or conquest. More importantly for the state, the larger landowners often avoided tax or were simply given exemptions. Basil came up with the simple idea that the large landowners, or dynatoi as they were known, pay the tax arrears of the poor. The new tax plan, known as the allelengyon, met with robust opposition, was not successful and was abandoned by Romanos III in 1028 CE.
Another strategy to further centralise power was to permit payment instead of military service in the provinces, greatly reducing the manpower of local leaders. Basil could withstand the reduction in a wider military force because of his elite troops loaned to him by allied states and, rather cleverly, he used the new tax revenue to pay a new army more loyal to his own interests. This force would come in handy in the second half of his reign.
Military Campaigns
Basil's first and worst military expedition was in August 986 CE when he suffered a resounding loss to the forces of Samuel of Bulgaria (r. 976-1014 CE) in a narrow Bulgarian mountain pass known as Trajan's Gate. The emperor's army of 60,000 had already suffered an ignominious episode in their failed siege of the Bulgar capital Serdica (Sofia) but now it was wiped out, the colours lost, and Basil forced to flee back to Constantinople. The emperor would have to wait 28 years to gain his revenge, although when it came it would be total.
The consequences of the defeat at Trajan's Gate were the further expansion of Samuel's kingdom into Byzantine lands and the encouragement of two rebellions back home led by Bardas Skleros and Bardas Phokas (him again) respectively. Bardas Phokas even declared himself emperor in 987 CE. Basil, fortunately, could call on the help of Vladimir I of Kiev (r. 980-1015 CE), whose force of 6,000 Vikings bolstered his naval force and assured that the emperor restored order by 989 CE. The rebel army was routed, and three commanders were each given a uniquely tailored death: hanged, crucified, and impaled. There was a price for the assistance from Kiev, and it came in the form of Basil promising that his sister Anna would marry Vladimir, on condition that the latter agreed to be baptised. Both parties honoured their promise, useful as they were to each other as allies. The adoption of Christianity and its promotion by St Vladimir, as he would become, was a momentous action of long-lasting consequence for the Russian peoples.
There were other matters to attend to besides Samuel the Bulgar. Both Antioch and Aleppo in Syria had to be protected from Arab rule and especially the increasingly ambitious Fatimids. Basil himself led a victory in northern Syria in 995 CE when his army had arrived in super-quick time out of nowhere because Basil had issued each man with two mules, one for himself and one for his baggage. The emperor then settled on a long-term policy of hurting the Arabs in their pockets by restricting all trade with the caliph.
Basil's main focus, though, was the west and revenge on the Bulgars. His approach to warfare is here described by the historian J. J. Norwich:
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. (211)
The emperor was relentless, and after years of campaigns in both summer and winter, he won back Greece for Byzantium (997 CE), and then Pliska (1000 CE), Skopje (1004 CE) and Dyracchion (c. 1005 CE), amongst many other cities. In 1014 CE Basil finally won a great and decisive victory against the Bulgars at, appropriately enough, another mountain pass, this time at Kleidion in the Belasica Mountains. Over 15,000 of the enemy army were captured. The emperor, remembering his defeat to Samuel, carried the Byzantine tradition of mutilating the enemy to the extreme and blinded his captives, sending them back to their leader in groups of 100, each led by a one-eyed guide. Samuel was said to have died of a shock-induced stroke shortly after receiving this ominous sign of Basil's pitiless wrath.
After some limited resistance led by Samuel's sons, ultimately, the Bulgar lands were incorporated into the blossoming Byzantine Empire, and Basil marched victorious into Serdica in 1018 CE. The unpleasant memory of Trajan's Gate was finally erased. Basil proved more generous with his new subjects than their army. He kept taxes low - allowing payment in kind instead of the usual gold, allowed certain provinces to remain under local, princely rule, gave certain nobles high office within the empire, and permitted the Bulgarian Church to remain independent from Constantinople with the only proviso that Basil select the archbishop.
Death
Basil kept on campaigning to the end, with more successful adventures in Georgian Iberia and Armenia in 1021-22 CE, where he captured Vaspurkan. His territories stretched even into Mesopotamia and were consolidated by dividing the conquered regions into new provinces of the empire. Italy, too, was reorganised, and a campaign was prepared to once more face the Arabs, this time in their last stronghold in the West, Sicily. Before these plans could come to fruition, though, Basil died on the 13th or 15th of December 1025 CE. He had almost doubled the empire which now "stretched from Crete to the Crimea, and from the Straits of Messina and the River Danube to the Araxes, Euphrates, and Orontes rivers" (Mango, 80) or, to put it another way, Byzantium was now "a superpower on two continents" (ibid, 176).
The emperor should have been buried in a splendid sarcophagus waiting for him alongside his predecessors in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, but Basil preferred a more simple tomb in a smaller church outside the city. 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.
(Herrin, 219)
Legacy
Basil's near-50-year reign had ensured the Byzantine Empire was at its very zenith, as the historian E. R. A. Sewter here explains in his introduction to his translation of the emperor's biography by Psellus:
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. (12)
With Basil having no children, the title of emperor resorted back to his brother Constantine, who ruled as Constantine VIII from 1025 to 1028 CE, and his daughters Zoe and Theodora. Unfortunately, Basil's successors would squander their inheritance within a generation or two. The once-great empire's fortunes would wain, with none more tangible and symbolic an indicator than the ever-dwindling gold content of Byzantine coins. The 24-carat halcyon days of Basil II would, alas, never be repeated.
EDITORIAL REVIEWThis article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication.
Bibliography
• Brownworth, L. Lost to the West. Broadway Books, 2010.
• Gregory, T.E. A History of Byzantium. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
• Herrin, J. Byzantium. Princeton University Press, 2009.
• Mango, C. The Oxford History of Byzantium. Oxford University Press, 2002.
• Norwich, J.J. A Short History of Byzantium. Vintage, 1998.
• Psellus, M. Fourteen Byzantine Rulers. Penguin Classics, 1979.
• Rosser, J.H. Historical Dictionary of Byzantium. Scarecrow Press, 2001.
• Shephard, J. The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire. CUP, 2011
Translations
FYI SSG Paul HeadleeCPL Michael PeckSgt (Join to see)PO1 Steve DittoCPL Douglas ChryslerSSG Michael Noll Maj Marty HoganSPC Michael Oles SRTSgt George RodriguezPO3 Charles Streich SGT (Join to see)SGT David A. 'Cowboy' GrothSFC (Join to see)SGT Steve McFarlandSPC Margaret Higgins PO1 H Gene Lawrence 1SG Fred BucciPO2 Frederick Dunn SMSgt David A Asbury CSM (Join to see)
(6)
(0)
LTC Stephen F.
Basil II the Bulgar-Slayer, Part III: Basil's Bulgarian War, 991-1003 CE
In this video, I trace the course of Basil II's Bulgarian War from 991, when he embarked upon a strategy of ceaseless war against the Bulgarians to 1003, whe...
Basil II the Bulgar-Slayer, Part III: Basil's Bulgarian War, 991-1003 CE
Thersites the Historian "
In this video, I trace the course of Basil II's Bulgarian War from 991, when he embarked upon a strategy of ceaseless war against the Bulgarians to 1003, when Tsar Samuel's fortunes were at low ebb, his "empire" seems to have been confined to the immediate vicinity of Ohrid, and Basil appeared to be on the cusp of victory. Here, we look at how Basil brought Samuel to the brink of defeat. Next time, we look at how Samuel revived his fortunes, only for Basil to crush his spirit at Kleidion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rmG32r6-Qw
Images:
1. Basil II the Bulgar Slayer
2. Facial reconstruction of Emperor Samuel of Bulgaria based on his remains
3. The blinding of Samuel's army on orders of Basil II and their return to Prilep.
4. Emperor Symeon I of Bulgaria.
Background from {[ https://byzantium.filminspector.com/2019/12/basil-ii-blinds-15000-bulgarian-soldiers.html]}
Basil II Blinds 15,000 Bulgarian Soldiers
Byzantine history is full of memorable moments that almost seem unimaginable to modern readers. One of the oddest was the savage punishment meted out by Emperor Basil II to one of the Empire's arch-enemies, the Bulgars. The dominant historical position, adopted by scholars including Edward Gibbon, George Ostrogorsky, and John Julius Norwich, is that this incident did, in fact, occur. This view derives from the writings of contemporary historian John Skylitzes. There is a minority position held by some such as historian Mark Whittow that there isn't enough evidence to prove it actually happened. We're going with the weight of authority that Basil II earned his title "The Bulgar Slayer" from the events described below: the blinding of 14,000 Bulgarian soldiers by Emperor Basil II in 1014 A.D.
Why Bulgaria Was the Byzantine Empire's Mortal Enemy For Many Years
While the Romans chose the location of Constantinople based in part on its strategic and defensible position, the Byzantine Empire acquired a variety of deadly enemies over the centuries. One of these was the Bulgarian Empire. Relations between the Byzantines and the Bulgars ebbed and flowed, but when things got hot, they got very hot indeed.
The Byzantines did a very good job of proselytizing their Christian faith to the Bulgars. However, religion caused a lot of dissension amongst the Bulgars, with many preferring the "old ways" of paganism. The first Christian ruler was Boris-Michael, who was forced to abdicate in 889, had two sons, Vladimir and Symeon. As the eldest, Vladimir succeeded Boris, but he turned out to prefer paganism. This upset the pious Boris, who had retired to a monastery. Boris came storming out of retirement, reclaimed his authority, and had Vladimir imprisoned and blinded. We're going to see that blinding is a theme in this article.
The old man didn't want to really rule anymore, so he turned things over to his younger son, Symeon (sometimes spelled Simeon) who ruled from 893-927. Symeon soon picked a quarrel with Constantinople about trade practices (Constantinople increased tariffs and removed Bulgarian merchants from the capital to Thessaloniki). Symeon promptly invaded Byzantine territory in 894 The Byzantines then pulled one of their typical crafty moves and called in the Magyars to attack Bulgaria from the rear. The Byzantines and Magyars then squeezed Bulgaria between them, Magyars in the north and Byzantines in the south. Symeon knew how to play this game, however. He concluded a truce with the Byzantines and then called in his own allies, the Patzinaks, to attack the Magyars from their rear. After defeating the Magyars, Symeon then resumed the war against Byzantium and defeated them at Bulgarophygon in 896. The Byzantines under Leo VI sued for peace and had to pay tribute.
Things stayed quiet until a new Byzantine emperor, Alexander, decided to stop paying the tribute in 912. Symeon quickly invaded again. The Byzantine position was weakened by the fact that Alexander promptly died (913) and the rightful successor, Constantine, was only seven years old. A committee led by the Patriarch, Nicholas Mysticus, wound up running things against the bitter opposition of Alexander's widow, Zoe. All of this led to a disastrous Byzantine defeat, with the Bulgarians only stopped by Constantinople's walls. Symeon was power-mad and wanted to take over the entire Byzantine Empire and rule it himself, somewhat audacious for a Balkan ruler. The Theodosian Walls of Constantinople finally stifled this ambition, however, and he had to accept the consolation prize of being crowned Emperor of Bulgaria. He also forced the Byzantines to marry the boy Emperor, Constantine, to his daughter. This, he thought, would eventually make him the de facto Emperor of Byzantium.
After Symeon marched back to Bulgaria, however, the Byzantines essentially repudiated the deal. Zoe used the Patriarch's concessions to Symeon to grab power from Mysticus and she forbade any marriage to some Balkan princess. Symeon was enraged and invaded Byzantine territory again, taking Adrianople in 924 and basically occupying all of the Balkan portions of Byzantium (Thrace). The new war went back and forth, with devastating Byzantine defeats at Achelous (near Anchialus) and Catasyrtae. Symeon even invaded Greece all the way down to the Gulf of Corinth. Everyone knew that Constantinople could only be captured if blockaded by both land and sea, and Symeon had no fleet. Since Empress Zoe proved to be completely incompetent, the master of the Byzantine fleet, Romanus Lecapenus, wound up as co-emperor. Symeon once again invested Constantinople in 924, but failed again. He had to content himself with the empty title of Emperor of Bulgaria, and Symeon soon was distracted by a war against the Serbs.
After Symeon's death in 927, things quieted down again. However, the Byzantines deeply resented the idea that there was another emperor in Bulgaria. The whole idea of being an emperor in the Eastern Emperor was soaked in a religious justification that the emperor was God's sole representative on earth. There really couldn't be two emperors under this reasoning - why would God need two? The idea that some minor king in the Balkans was posing as an emperor was too much for the Byzantines. However, being masterful diplomats, the Byzantines placated the Bulgarian kings by calling them emperor, but inwardly they seethed.
Things remained basically unchanged for the next sixty years. The Byzantines focused on various adventures to the south, while the Bulgarians had internal issues to deal with. Things did not change until Basil II came on the scene.
Emperor Basil II
Basil II (765-925) was one of the most capable of Byzantine Emperors. After disposing of some rivals to the throne, Basil II attacked Bulgaria. Now, Bulgaria was far from innocent, as it had been taking advantage of Byzantium's internal issues for some time. After the death of Basil II's predecessor John Tzimisces, the entire Macedonian region broke out in revolt. All of this led to the elevation of Samuel, who helped things along by killing one of his own brothers.
Samuel, like Symeon, had vast pretensions. He formed again his own Patriarchate (a previous one had been abolished by Tzimisces), a calculated affront to the Byzantines. His kingdom was based at Ochrida, which, in the grand scheme of things, was uncomfortably close to Constantinople. Samuel began raiding Byzantine territory, attacking Thessaloniki and other areas attacked by Symeon. Basically, it was the Symeon situation all over again. Everybody knew that Samuel had to be dealt with and the Bulgarians put in their place once and for all. This was up to Basil II.
However, nobody in Byzantium really thought that Basill II had it in him. Revolts broke out, and Basil II had to resort to an old Byzantine trick. He called in the Russians, specifically Prince of Kiev Vladimir, who arrived in 988 with the famous Varangian Druzina (almost always just called Varangian Guard). The Varangians like the Byzantines and Basil II and stuck around as his personal guard. They quickly dealt with the rebels, and Basil II now had a crack military and a free hand.
By this point, Basil II was sick of all the revolts and foreign states taking advantage of his empire. This made him mean and hardened. Nowadays, that may seem like a bad thing, but around 1000 A.D. that was exactly what you needed to be like in order to succeed. An emperor had to be cold and pitiless or his kingdom would not last very long and his people would become slaves. Basil II decided to pay back some of the people who had been making his life miserable, and chief among them were the Bulgarians, who were considered the Empire's most dangerous enemies anyway. And, as it turned out, he had a vivid imagination as to how to do that.
So, Basil II set about not just defeating the Bulgarians, but eliminating them. They had made his accession to the throne miserable and their leader fancied himself his equal. The Byzantines had had enough. It was high time to swat down these insolent upstarts and return things to the way they ought to be - with the Emperor of Constantinople the only emperor and master of God's kingdom on earth. Basil II, it turned out, was the right man for the job.
The takeaway from all this is that Basil II both personally and as a patriot deeply resented the Bulgars and was determined to end their threat permanently. What followed was a devastating war of annihilation which went back and forth at times, but with the Byzantines generally gaining the upper hand. The war was constant, with no breaks for winter as was customary at the time, perhaps the first time in history this was done. Anyone who doubts the quality of the Byzantine military can study these campaigns in detail to reorient their thinking in the proper direction.
The Blinding of the Bulgarian Army
This has been a lengthy and involved leadup to the topic of this article, but it was necessary. It is important to understand the depth of hate and resentment felt by the Byzantines in general and Basil II in particular toward the Bulgars to appreciate what happened next.
As Basil II made inroads on Samuel's kingdom, Samuel's supporters started to become scarce. Basil II recovered long-lost Byzantine possessions such as Dyrrachium on the Adriatic and gradually squeezed the Bulgars into a mountain stronghold. In July 1014, Basil II surrounded Samuel's remaining army in the Belasica mounts (the Battle of Kleidion) near the upper Struma River. The army was captured largely intact in a valley. Samuel escaped to Prilep, but the Bulgarian army did not. There were about 14,000 or 15,000 Bulgarian survivors - accounts differ. Having defeated the Bulgars, Basil II now adopted the title Bulgaroctonus, or Bulgar-Slayer. However, what he did next is what went down into history.
Basil II ordered that the captured Bulgars be blinded and then put into groups of one hundred men each. Each of these groups was given a single one-eyed man as a guide and sent back to Prilep to see Samuel. According to the historical accounts, when Samuel saw the blinded men approaching, he had a stroke or similar ailment and died two days later (6 October 914).
A natural question is why Basil II blinded the soldiers and didn't just make them slaves or even recruit them into Imperial service. Of course, that depends on what he was thinking, and we will never know that. There are various theories. One is that Basil II was retaliating for the loss of one of his favorite generals, Theophylact Botaneiates, and his son in an ambush right after the victory at the Battle of Kleidion. The circumstances of Botaneiates' death were murky, but one account said that Samuel's own son ran him through with a spear. Another theory is that blinding was just a typical punishment of the times according to this theory. However, while some barbaric punishments including the cutting off of noses were in fashion at the time, blinding was not generally carried out on prisoners except in rare cases where royalty was involved.
My own view is that Basil II decided that he wanted to send a very clear and unmistakable message to Samuel, and Western Union wasn't available.
Conclusion
Due to the events described in this article, Basil II is a very controversial figure among students of history. He is not particularly beloved in Bulgaria and other Balkan nations. There are some who simply don't like what Basil II did and try to find creative ways to demean him or deny what he did entirely. You might think that the politics of events disappear after a thousand years, but they don't. That is just how things work when there isn't video or photographic proof and few reliable written sources. But, as noted above, this article takes the mainstream position that Basil II did defeat the Bulgars, blind its captured soldiers, and thereby end the Bulgarian Empire.
Basil II virtually ended the Bulgars as a threat to his kingdom. It was one of the decisive defeats of the Middle Ages, completely wiping out what had been considered the main threat to the Byzantine state. The Bulgarian Empire ceased to exist within a few years, and Basil II treated the conquered people magnanimously. All of this cemented his victory. Never again did the Bulgars threaten Constantinople. Instead, they became just another minor player in the Balkans. However, they did retain their Patriarch and continued their acceptance of Eastern Orthodoxy as their enduring religion.
FYI LTC John Shaw 1SG Steven ImermanGySgt Gary CordeiroSMSgt Tom BurnsSgt Jim BelanusSGM Bill FrazerMSG Tom EarleySGT Randell Rose[SGT Denny EspinosaA1C Riley SandersSSgt Clare MaySSG Robert WebsterCSM Chuck StaffordPFC Craig KarshnerSFC (Join to see)SPC Nancy GreenePVT Mark Zehner Lt Col Charlie BrownSP5 Dennis Loberger SSG Robert Mark Odom
Thersites the Historian "
In this video, I trace the course of Basil II's Bulgarian War from 991, when he embarked upon a strategy of ceaseless war against the Bulgarians to 1003, when Tsar Samuel's fortunes were at low ebb, his "empire" seems to have been confined to the immediate vicinity of Ohrid, and Basil appeared to be on the cusp of victory. Here, we look at how Basil brought Samuel to the brink of defeat. Next time, we look at how Samuel revived his fortunes, only for Basil to crush his spirit at Kleidion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rmG32r6-Qw
Images:
1. Basil II the Bulgar Slayer
2. Facial reconstruction of Emperor Samuel of Bulgaria based on his remains
3. The blinding of Samuel's army on orders of Basil II and their return to Prilep.
4. Emperor Symeon I of Bulgaria.
Background from {[ https://byzantium.filminspector.com/2019/12/basil-ii-blinds-15000-bulgarian-soldiers.html]}
Basil II Blinds 15,000 Bulgarian Soldiers
Byzantine history is full of memorable moments that almost seem unimaginable to modern readers. One of the oddest was the savage punishment meted out by Emperor Basil II to one of the Empire's arch-enemies, the Bulgars. The dominant historical position, adopted by scholars including Edward Gibbon, George Ostrogorsky, and John Julius Norwich, is that this incident did, in fact, occur. This view derives from the writings of contemporary historian John Skylitzes. There is a minority position held by some such as historian Mark Whittow that there isn't enough evidence to prove it actually happened. We're going with the weight of authority that Basil II earned his title "The Bulgar Slayer" from the events described below: the blinding of 14,000 Bulgarian soldiers by Emperor Basil II in 1014 A.D.
Why Bulgaria Was the Byzantine Empire's Mortal Enemy For Many Years
While the Romans chose the location of Constantinople based in part on its strategic and defensible position, the Byzantine Empire acquired a variety of deadly enemies over the centuries. One of these was the Bulgarian Empire. Relations between the Byzantines and the Bulgars ebbed and flowed, but when things got hot, they got very hot indeed.
The Byzantines did a very good job of proselytizing their Christian faith to the Bulgars. However, religion caused a lot of dissension amongst the Bulgars, with many preferring the "old ways" of paganism. The first Christian ruler was Boris-Michael, who was forced to abdicate in 889, had two sons, Vladimir and Symeon. As the eldest, Vladimir succeeded Boris, but he turned out to prefer paganism. This upset the pious Boris, who had retired to a monastery. Boris came storming out of retirement, reclaimed his authority, and had Vladimir imprisoned and blinded. We're going to see that blinding is a theme in this article.
The old man didn't want to really rule anymore, so he turned things over to his younger son, Symeon (sometimes spelled Simeon) who ruled from 893-927. Symeon soon picked a quarrel with Constantinople about trade practices (Constantinople increased tariffs and removed Bulgarian merchants from the capital to Thessaloniki). Symeon promptly invaded Byzantine territory in 894 The Byzantines then pulled one of their typical crafty moves and called in the Magyars to attack Bulgaria from the rear. The Byzantines and Magyars then squeezed Bulgaria between them, Magyars in the north and Byzantines in the south. Symeon knew how to play this game, however. He concluded a truce with the Byzantines and then called in his own allies, the Patzinaks, to attack the Magyars from their rear. After defeating the Magyars, Symeon then resumed the war against Byzantium and defeated them at Bulgarophygon in 896. The Byzantines under Leo VI sued for peace and had to pay tribute.
Things stayed quiet until a new Byzantine emperor, Alexander, decided to stop paying the tribute in 912. Symeon quickly invaded again. The Byzantine position was weakened by the fact that Alexander promptly died (913) and the rightful successor, Constantine, was only seven years old. A committee led by the Patriarch, Nicholas Mysticus, wound up running things against the bitter opposition of Alexander's widow, Zoe. All of this led to a disastrous Byzantine defeat, with the Bulgarians only stopped by Constantinople's walls. Symeon was power-mad and wanted to take over the entire Byzantine Empire and rule it himself, somewhat audacious for a Balkan ruler. The Theodosian Walls of Constantinople finally stifled this ambition, however, and he had to accept the consolation prize of being crowned Emperor of Bulgaria. He also forced the Byzantines to marry the boy Emperor, Constantine, to his daughter. This, he thought, would eventually make him the de facto Emperor of Byzantium.
After Symeon marched back to Bulgaria, however, the Byzantines essentially repudiated the deal. Zoe used the Patriarch's concessions to Symeon to grab power from Mysticus and she forbade any marriage to some Balkan princess. Symeon was enraged and invaded Byzantine territory again, taking Adrianople in 924 and basically occupying all of the Balkan portions of Byzantium (Thrace). The new war went back and forth, with devastating Byzantine defeats at Achelous (near Anchialus) and Catasyrtae. Symeon even invaded Greece all the way down to the Gulf of Corinth. Everyone knew that Constantinople could only be captured if blockaded by both land and sea, and Symeon had no fleet. Since Empress Zoe proved to be completely incompetent, the master of the Byzantine fleet, Romanus Lecapenus, wound up as co-emperor. Symeon once again invested Constantinople in 924, but failed again. He had to content himself with the empty title of Emperor of Bulgaria, and Symeon soon was distracted by a war against the Serbs.
After Symeon's death in 927, things quieted down again. However, the Byzantines deeply resented the idea that there was another emperor in Bulgaria. The whole idea of being an emperor in the Eastern Emperor was soaked in a religious justification that the emperor was God's sole representative on earth. There really couldn't be two emperors under this reasoning - why would God need two? The idea that some minor king in the Balkans was posing as an emperor was too much for the Byzantines. However, being masterful diplomats, the Byzantines placated the Bulgarian kings by calling them emperor, but inwardly they seethed.
Things remained basically unchanged for the next sixty years. The Byzantines focused on various adventures to the south, while the Bulgarians had internal issues to deal with. Things did not change until Basil II came on the scene.
Emperor Basil II
Basil II (765-925) was one of the most capable of Byzantine Emperors. After disposing of some rivals to the throne, Basil II attacked Bulgaria. Now, Bulgaria was far from innocent, as it had been taking advantage of Byzantium's internal issues for some time. After the death of Basil II's predecessor John Tzimisces, the entire Macedonian region broke out in revolt. All of this led to the elevation of Samuel, who helped things along by killing one of his own brothers.
Samuel, like Symeon, had vast pretensions. He formed again his own Patriarchate (a previous one had been abolished by Tzimisces), a calculated affront to the Byzantines. His kingdom was based at Ochrida, which, in the grand scheme of things, was uncomfortably close to Constantinople. Samuel began raiding Byzantine territory, attacking Thessaloniki and other areas attacked by Symeon. Basically, it was the Symeon situation all over again. Everybody knew that Samuel had to be dealt with and the Bulgarians put in their place once and for all. This was up to Basil II.
However, nobody in Byzantium really thought that Basill II had it in him. Revolts broke out, and Basil II had to resort to an old Byzantine trick. He called in the Russians, specifically Prince of Kiev Vladimir, who arrived in 988 with the famous Varangian Druzina (almost always just called Varangian Guard). The Varangians like the Byzantines and Basil II and stuck around as his personal guard. They quickly dealt with the rebels, and Basil II now had a crack military and a free hand.
By this point, Basil II was sick of all the revolts and foreign states taking advantage of his empire. This made him mean and hardened. Nowadays, that may seem like a bad thing, but around 1000 A.D. that was exactly what you needed to be like in order to succeed. An emperor had to be cold and pitiless or his kingdom would not last very long and his people would become slaves. Basil II decided to pay back some of the people who had been making his life miserable, and chief among them were the Bulgarians, who were considered the Empire's most dangerous enemies anyway. And, as it turned out, he had a vivid imagination as to how to do that.
So, Basil II set about not just defeating the Bulgarians, but eliminating them. They had made his accession to the throne miserable and their leader fancied himself his equal. The Byzantines had had enough. It was high time to swat down these insolent upstarts and return things to the way they ought to be - with the Emperor of Constantinople the only emperor and master of God's kingdom on earth. Basil II, it turned out, was the right man for the job.
The takeaway from all this is that Basil II both personally and as a patriot deeply resented the Bulgars and was determined to end their threat permanently. What followed was a devastating war of annihilation which went back and forth at times, but with the Byzantines generally gaining the upper hand. The war was constant, with no breaks for winter as was customary at the time, perhaps the first time in history this was done. Anyone who doubts the quality of the Byzantine military can study these campaigns in detail to reorient their thinking in the proper direction.
The Blinding of the Bulgarian Army
This has been a lengthy and involved leadup to the topic of this article, but it was necessary. It is important to understand the depth of hate and resentment felt by the Byzantines in general and Basil II in particular toward the Bulgars to appreciate what happened next.
As Basil II made inroads on Samuel's kingdom, Samuel's supporters started to become scarce. Basil II recovered long-lost Byzantine possessions such as Dyrrachium on the Adriatic and gradually squeezed the Bulgars into a mountain stronghold. In July 1014, Basil II surrounded Samuel's remaining army in the Belasica mounts (the Battle of Kleidion) near the upper Struma River. The army was captured largely intact in a valley. Samuel escaped to Prilep, but the Bulgarian army did not. There were about 14,000 or 15,000 Bulgarian survivors - accounts differ. Having defeated the Bulgars, Basil II now adopted the title Bulgaroctonus, or Bulgar-Slayer. However, what he did next is what went down into history.
Basil II ordered that the captured Bulgars be blinded and then put into groups of one hundred men each. Each of these groups was given a single one-eyed man as a guide and sent back to Prilep to see Samuel. According to the historical accounts, when Samuel saw the blinded men approaching, he had a stroke or similar ailment and died two days later (6 October 914).
A natural question is why Basil II blinded the soldiers and didn't just make them slaves or even recruit them into Imperial service. Of course, that depends on what he was thinking, and we will never know that. There are various theories. One is that Basil II was retaliating for the loss of one of his favorite generals, Theophylact Botaneiates, and his son in an ambush right after the victory at the Battle of Kleidion. The circumstances of Botaneiates' death were murky, but one account said that Samuel's own son ran him through with a spear. Another theory is that blinding was just a typical punishment of the times according to this theory. However, while some barbaric punishments including the cutting off of noses were in fashion at the time, blinding was not generally carried out on prisoners except in rare cases where royalty was involved.
My own view is that Basil II decided that he wanted to send a very clear and unmistakable message to Samuel, and Western Union wasn't available.
Conclusion
Due to the events described in this article, Basil II is a very controversial figure among students of history. He is not particularly beloved in Bulgaria and other Balkan nations. There are some who simply don't like what Basil II did and try to find creative ways to demean him or deny what he did entirely. You might think that the politics of events disappear after a thousand years, but they don't. That is just how things work when there isn't video or photographic proof and few reliable written sources. But, as noted above, this article takes the mainstream position that Basil II did defeat the Bulgars, blind its captured soldiers, and thereby end the Bulgarian Empire.
Basil II virtually ended the Bulgars as a threat to his kingdom. It was one of the decisive defeats of the Middle Ages, completely wiping out what had been considered the main threat to the Byzantine state. The Bulgarian Empire ceased to exist within a few years, and Basil II treated the conquered people magnanimously. All of this cemented his victory. Never again did the Bulgars threaten Constantinople. Instead, they became just another minor player in the Balkans. However, they did retain their Patriarch and continued their acceptance of Eastern Orthodoxy as their enduring religion.
FYI LTC John Shaw 1SG Steven ImermanGySgt Gary CordeiroSMSgt Tom BurnsSgt Jim BelanusSGM Bill FrazerMSG Tom EarleySGT Randell Rose[SGT Denny EspinosaA1C Riley SandersSSgt Clare MaySSG Robert WebsterCSM Chuck StaffordPFC Craig KarshnerSFC (Join to see)SPC Nancy GreenePVT Mark Zehner Lt Col Charlie BrownSP5 Dennis Loberger SSG Robert Mark Odom
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LTC Stephen F.
Byzantium, 843-1095 CE: Development, Apogee, Crisis, Crusade
In this video, I take Byzantine history from the accession of Michael III the Drunkard through to the end of the 11th Century when the First Crusade began at...
Byzantium, 843-1095 CE: Development, Apogee, Crisis, Crusade
In this video, I take Byzantine history from the accession of Michael III the Drunkard through to the end of the 11th Century when the First Crusade began at the behest of the Emperor Alexius I Comnenus. I look at some of the policies pursued by the Byzantine Empire during this time as well as key figures like Basil II the Bulgar-Slaye
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcwVnL67WhQ
Images:
1. the walls of Constantinople, which humbled the most powerful people in the world for a thousand years.
2. The Byzantines under General Nikephorus Quranos slay the Bulgarians at the Battle of Spercheios
3. Map of the Bulgarian Empire under Symeon at its greatest extent
4. Basil II [from rulers of the byzantine empire published by kibea]
Background from {[https://biography.yourdictionary.com/basil-ii]}
Basil II
The Byzantine emperor Basil II (ca. 958-1025) ruled from 963 to 1025 and was called Bulgaroctonus (Bulgar-Slayer). He was the last and greatest of the emperors who brought Byzantium to its military zenith.
The elder son of Emperor Romanus II, Basil and his younger brother, Constantine, succeeded in title as children upon their father's death in 963. Their position was exploited by two successive military usurpers, Nicephorus Phocas (963-969) and John I Tzimisces (969-976). Upon John's death, while Constantine remained in the background, Basil attempted to rule but became dependent upon his great-uncle, the eunuch Basil the Chamberlain. A cunning politician of long experience, the chamberlain helped Basil face the challenges of two more would-be usurpers, the aristocrats Bardas Sclerus and Bardas Phocas. Amid these struggles the chamberlain's tutelage became intolerable, and Basil drove him from office.
The rebellions of the two Bardases eventually drove Basil to seek military help from Prince Vladimir of Kiev; this alliance led to Russia's subsequent conversion to Byzantine Christianity. The unit of Russian soldiers sent by Vladimir helped Basil stop Bardas Phocas in 989, and Bardas Sclerus capitulated shortly afterward. These long struggles to guarantee his throne left deep scars on Basil's personality. Easygoing and dissipated in his youth, he was turned by his ordeals into a dour, stern, self-denying ascetic. His experiences with ambitious warlords also bred in him a passionate hatred for the aristocrats and a determination to curb them.
With the aristocracy dominating the military high commands, Basil decided early to establish his own reputation as a soldier. An initial attempt at campaigning against Bulgaria, the deadly northern enemy of Byzantium, in 986 had proved an embarrassing failure. In 990, however, Basil resumed his efforts against Bulgaria, which would become the prime target of his mature military efforts. The 25 years of bitter war between King Samuel of Bulgaria and Basil that followed became both a personal duel and a fight to the death between the two enemy states.
With victories, devastation, and bold strategy, Basil wore Samuel down, segmented his territories, and crippled Bulgarian strength. The climax was reached in 1014, when the Byzantines captured the main Bulgarian army of some 14, 000 men. Basil had these men blinded but left one in every hundred with one eye to serve as a guide. He sent them back to Samuel, who died from shock at the sight. Basil completed the annexation of Bulgaria and its incorporation into the empire with singular moderation and pragmatic wisdom.
The next years of the tireless Emperor's reign were spent in settling the empire's interests in eastern Asia Minor and the Caucasus. He began the dismemberment and annexation of independent Armenia. Then, still restless, Basil turned his attentions further westward. He planned an expedition to reconquer Sicily and expand Byzantine authority in Italy; but before he could undertake this campaign, Basil suddenly took ill and died on Dec. 15, 1025. A bachelor, Basil left the throne to his younger brother, Constantine VIII, during whose reign (1025-1028) began the rapid erosion of the strength Basil had built up.
FYI LTC Stephan PorterSSG Robert PrattSGT Robert PryorTSgt George RodriguezSGT Randell RoseSGM Major StroupeCSM Bruce TregoCWO3 Randy WestonSPC Randy ZimmermanSPC Daniel RankinMSG (Join to see)1SG Mark Rudoplh LTC Ken ConnollyCpl Robert Russell PayneCPT Richard TrionePo2 David DunlapSP5 Gary NelsonSP5 Jeannie CarleSSgt Marian MitchellSSG Pete Fish
In this video, I take Byzantine history from the accession of Michael III the Drunkard through to the end of the 11th Century when the First Crusade began at the behest of the Emperor Alexius I Comnenus. I look at some of the policies pursued by the Byzantine Empire during this time as well as key figures like Basil II the Bulgar-Slaye
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcwVnL67WhQ
Images:
1. the walls of Constantinople, which humbled the most powerful people in the world for a thousand years.
2. The Byzantines under General Nikephorus Quranos slay the Bulgarians at the Battle of Spercheios
3. Map of the Bulgarian Empire under Symeon at its greatest extent
4. Basil II [from rulers of the byzantine empire published by kibea]
Background from {[https://biography.yourdictionary.com/basil-ii]}
Basil II
The Byzantine emperor Basil II (ca. 958-1025) ruled from 963 to 1025 and was called Bulgaroctonus (Bulgar-Slayer). He was the last and greatest of the emperors who brought Byzantium to its military zenith.
The elder son of Emperor Romanus II, Basil and his younger brother, Constantine, succeeded in title as children upon their father's death in 963. Their position was exploited by two successive military usurpers, Nicephorus Phocas (963-969) and John I Tzimisces (969-976). Upon John's death, while Constantine remained in the background, Basil attempted to rule but became dependent upon his great-uncle, the eunuch Basil the Chamberlain. A cunning politician of long experience, the chamberlain helped Basil face the challenges of two more would-be usurpers, the aristocrats Bardas Sclerus and Bardas Phocas. Amid these struggles the chamberlain's tutelage became intolerable, and Basil drove him from office.
The rebellions of the two Bardases eventually drove Basil to seek military help from Prince Vladimir of Kiev; this alliance led to Russia's subsequent conversion to Byzantine Christianity. The unit of Russian soldiers sent by Vladimir helped Basil stop Bardas Phocas in 989, and Bardas Sclerus capitulated shortly afterward. These long struggles to guarantee his throne left deep scars on Basil's personality. Easygoing and dissipated in his youth, he was turned by his ordeals into a dour, stern, self-denying ascetic. His experiences with ambitious warlords also bred in him a passionate hatred for the aristocrats and a determination to curb them.
With the aristocracy dominating the military high commands, Basil decided early to establish his own reputation as a soldier. An initial attempt at campaigning against Bulgaria, the deadly northern enemy of Byzantium, in 986 had proved an embarrassing failure. In 990, however, Basil resumed his efforts against Bulgaria, which would become the prime target of his mature military efforts. The 25 years of bitter war between King Samuel of Bulgaria and Basil that followed became both a personal duel and a fight to the death between the two enemy states.
With victories, devastation, and bold strategy, Basil wore Samuel down, segmented his territories, and crippled Bulgarian strength. The climax was reached in 1014, when the Byzantines captured the main Bulgarian army of some 14, 000 men. Basil had these men blinded but left one in every hundred with one eye to serve as a guide. He sent them back to Samuel, who died from shock at the sight. Basil completed the annexation of Bulgaria and its incorporation into the empire with singular moderation and pragmatic wisdom.
The next years of the tireless Emperor's reign were spent in settling the empire's interests in eastern Asia Minor and the Caucasus. He began the dismemberment and annexation of independent Armenia. Then, still restless, Basil turned his attentions further westward. He planned an expedition to reconquer Sicily and expand Byzantine authority in Italy; but before he could undertake this campaign, Basil suddenly took ill and died on Dec. 15, 1025. A bachelor, Basil left the throne to his younger brother, Constantine VIII, during whose reign (1025-1028) began the rapid erosion of the strength Basil had built up.
FYI LTC Stephan PorterSSG Robert PrattSGT Robert PryorTSgt George RodriguezSGT Randell RoseSGM Major StroupeCSM Bruce TregoCWO3 Randy WestonSPC Randy ZimmermanSPC Daniel RankinMSG (Join to see)1SG Mark Rudoplh LTC Ken ConnollyCpl Robert Russell PayneCPT Richard TrionePo2 David DunlapSP5 Gary NelsonSP5 Jeannie CarleSSgt Marian MitchellSSG Pete Fish
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