Basil II Basil II ( , " Basileios II " ; 958 – 15 December 1025 ) was a Byzantine Emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025 . He was known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his supposed ancestor , Basil I the Macedonian . The early years of his long reign were dominated by civil war against powerful generals from the Anatolian aristocracy . Following their submission , Basil oversaw the stabilization and expansion of the eastern frontier of the Byzantine Empire , and above all , the final and complete subjugation of Bulgaria , the Empire ' s foremost European foe , after a prolonged struggle . For this he was nicknamed by later authors as " the Bulgar - slayer " ( , " Boulgaroktonos " ) , by which he is popularly known . At his death , the Empire stretched from Southern Italy to the Caucasus and from the Danube to the borders of Palestine , its greatest territorial extent since the Muslim conquests four centuries earlier . Despite near - constant warfare , Basil also showed himself a capable administrator , reducing the power of the great land - owning families who dominated the Empire ' s administration and military , while filling the Empire ' s treasury . Of far - reaching importance was Basil ' s decision to offer the hand of his sister Anna to Vladimir I of Kiev in exchange for military support , which led to the Christianization of the Kievan Rus ' and the incorporation of later successor nations of Kievan Rus ' within the Byzantine cultural and religious tradition . Birth and childhood . Basil was the son of Emperor Romanos II and Empress Theophano , whose maternal family was of Laconian Greek origin from the Peloponnesian region of Laconia , possibly from the city of Sparta . His paternal ancestry is of uncertain origins , his putative ancestor Basil I , the founder of the dynasty , being variously attributed as Armenian , Slavic , or Greek . Indeed the biological father of Leo VI the Wise ( Basil IIs great - grandfather ) was possibly not Basil I , but Michael III . The family of Michael III were Anatolians from Phrygia and of Greek speech and culture , though originally of the Melchisedechian heretical faith . In 960 , Basil was associated on the throne by his father , who then died in 963 when Basil was only five years old . Because he and his brother , the future Emperor Constantine VIII ( ruled 1025 – 1028 ) , were too young to reign in their own right , Basil ' s mother Theophano married one of Romanos ' leading generals , who took the throne as the Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas several months later in 963 . Nikephoros was murdered in 969 by his nephew John I Tzimisces , who then became emperor and reigned for seven years . When Tzimisces died on 10 January 976 , Basil II finally took the throne as senior emperor . Anatolia rebellions and alliance with Rus ' . Basil was a brave soldier and a superb horseman , and he would prove himself as an able general and strong ruler . In the early years of his reign , administration remained in the hands of the eunuch Basil Lekapenos ( an illegitimate son of Emperor Romanos I ) , President of the Senate , a wily and gifted politician who hoped that the young emperors would be his puppets . Basil waited and watched without interfering , devoting himself to learning the details of administrative business and military science . Even though Nikephoros II Phokas and John I Tzimiskes were brilliant military commanders , both had proven to be lax administrators . Towards the end of his reign Tzimiskes had belatedly planned to curb the power of the great landowners , and his death , coming soon after his speaking out against them , led to rumours that he had been poisoned by Basil Lekapenos , who had acquired vast estates illegally and feared an investigation and punishment . As a result of the failures of his immediate predecessors , Basil II found himself with a serious problem at the outset of his reign as two members of the wealthy military elite of Anatolia , Bardas Skleros and Bardas Phokas , had sufficient means to undertake open rebellion against his authority . The chief motive of these men , both of whom were experienced generals , was to assume the Imperial position that Nikephoros II and John I had held , and thus return Basil to the role of impotent cypher . Basil , showing the penchant for ruthlessness that would become his trademark , took the field himself and suppressed the rebellions of both Skleros ( 979 ) and Phokas ( 989 ) but not without the help of 12 , 000 Georgians of Tornikios and David III Kuropalates of Tao . The relationship between the two generals was interesting : Phokas was instrumental in defeating the rebellion of Skleros , but when Phokas himself later rebelled , Skleros returned from exile to support his old enemy . When Phokas dropped dead and fell from his horse in battle , Skleros , who had been imprisoned by his erstwhile accomplice , assumed the leadership of the rebellion , before being forced into surrendering to Basil in 989 . Skleros was allowed to live , but he ended his days blind , perhaps through disease , though he may have been punished by blinding . These rebellions had a profound effect on Basil ' s outlook and methods of governance . The historian Psellus describes the defeated Bardas Skleros giving Basil the following advice : " Cut down the governors who become over - proud . Let no generals on campaign have too many resources . Exhaust them with unjust exactions , to keep them busied with their own affairs . Admit no woman to the imperial councils . Be accessible to no one . Share with few your most intimate plans . " Basil , it would appear , took this advice to heart . In order to defeat these dangerous revolts , Basil formed an alliance with Prince Vladimir I of Kiev , who in 988 had captured Chersonesos , the main Imperial base 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 ( 963 – 1011 ) . At first , Basil hesitated . The Byzantines viewed all the nations of Northern Europe , be they Franks or Slavs , as barbarians . Anna herself objected to marrying a barbarian ruler , as such a marriage would have no precedence in imperial annals . Vladimir had conducted long - running research into different religions , including sending delegates to various countries . Marriage was not his primary reason for choosing the Orthodox religion . When Vladimir promised to baptize himself and to convert his people to Christianity , Basil finally agreed . Vladimir and Anna were married in the Crimea in 989 . The Rus ' recruitments were instrumental in ending the rebellion , and they were later organized into the Varangian Guard . This marriage had important long - term implications , marking the beginning of the process by which the Grand Duchy of Moscow many centuries later would proclaim itself " The Third Rome " and claim the political and cultural heritage of the Byzantine Empire . The fall of Basil Lekapenos followed the rebellions . He was accused of plotting with the rebels and punished with exile and the confiscation of his enormous property . Seeking to protect the lower and middle classes , Basil II made ruthless war upon the system of immense estates in Asia Minor , which his predecessor , Romanos I , had endeavored to check . Campaigns against the Fatimid Caliphate . The internal strife quelled , Basil II turned his attention to other enemies of the Empire . The Byzantine civil wars had weakened the Empire ' s position in the east , and the gains of Nikephoros II Phokas and John I Tzimiskes had nearly been lost to the Fatimids . In 987 / 988 , a seven - year truce was signed with the Fatimids , stipulating an exchange of prisoners , the recognition of the Byzantine emperor as protector of the Christians under Fatimid rule and of the Fatimid Caliph as protector of the Muslims under Byzantine control , and the replacement of the name of the Abbasid Caliph by that of the Fatimid Caliph in the Friday prayer in the mosque of Constantinople . Nevertheless , in 991 the Fatimids launched a campaign against the Hamdanid Emirate of Aleppo , a Byzantine protectorate , perhaps in the belief that Byzantium would not interfere . Under the governor of Damascus , Manjutakin , the Fatimids scored a series of successes against the Hamdanids and their Byzantine allies , including a major victory at the Battle of the Orontes against the " doux " of Antioch , Michael Bourtzes , in September 994 . The latter forced Basil to intervene personally in the East : in a lightning campaign he rode with his army through Asia Minor in sixteen days and reached Aleppo in April 995 , forcing the Fatimid army to retreat without giving battle . The Byzantines besieged Tripolis unsuccessfully and occupied Tartus , which they refortified and garrisoned with Armenian troops . The Fatimid caliph Al - Aziz now prepared to take the field in person against the Byzantines and initiated large - scale preparations , but they were cut short upon his death . Warfare between the two powers continued as the Byzantines supported an anti - Fatimid uprising in Tyre . In 998 , the Byzantines under the successor of Bourtzes , Damian Dalassenos , launched an attack on Apamea , but the Fatimid general Jaush ibn al - Samsama defeated them in battle on 19 July 998 . This new defeat brought Basil II once again to Syria in October 999 . Basil spent three months in Syria , during which the Byzantines raided as far as Baalbek , took and garrisoned Shaizar , and captured three minor forts in its vicinity ( Abu Qubais , Masyath , and ' Arqah ) , and sacked Rafaniya . Hims was not seriously threatened , but a month - long siege of Tripoli in December failed . However , as Basil ' s attention was diverted to developments in Armenia , he departed for Cilicia in January and dispatched another embassy to Cairo . In 1000 a ten - year truce was concluded between the two states . For the remainder of the reign of al - Hakim bi - Amr Allah ( r . 996 – 1021 ) , relations remained peaceful , as Hakim was more interested in internal affairs . Even the acknowledgement of Fatimid suzerainty by Lu ' lu ' of Aleppo in 1004 and the Fatimid - sponsored installment of Fatik Aziz al - Dawla as the city ' s emir in 1017 did not lead to a resumption of hostilities , especially since Lu ' lu ' continued to pay tribute to Byzantium , and Fatik quickly began acting as an independent ruler . Nevertheless , Hakim ' s persecution of Christians in his realm , and especially the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at his orders in 1009 , strained relations and would , along with Fatimid interference in Aleppo , provide the main focus of Fatimid - Byzantine diplomatic relations until the late 1030s . Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria . Basil also sought to restore territories the Empire had lost long before . At the start of the second millennium , he took on his greatest adversary , Samuel of Bulgaria . Bulgaria had been partly subjugated by John I Tzimiskes after the invasion of Svyatoslav I of Kiev , but parts of the country had remained outside Byzantine control , under the leadership of Samuel and his brothers . As the Bulgars had been raiding Byzantine lands since 976 , the Byzantine government sought to cause dissension amongst them by allowing the escape of their captive emperor Boris II of Bulgaria . This ploy failed , so Basil used a respite from his conflict with the nobility to lead an army of 30 , 000 men into Bulgaria and besiege Sredets ( Sofia ) in 986 . Taking losses and worried about the loyalty of some of his governors , Basil lifted the siege and headed back for Thrace , but he fell into an ambush and suffered a serious defeat at the Battle of the Gates of Trajan . Basil escaped with the help of his Varangian Guard and attempted to make up his losses by turning Samuel ' s brother Aaron against him . Aaron was tempted with Basil ' s offer of his sister Anna in marriage ( the same Anna who wed Vladimir I of Kiev two years later ) , but the negotiations failed when Aaron discovered that the bride he was sent was a fake . By 987 Aaron had been eliminated by Samuel , and Basil was busy fighting both Skleros and Phokas in Asia Minor . Although the titular emperor Roman of Bulgaria was captured in 991 , Basil lost Moesia to the Bulgarians . In 992 , Basil II concluded a treaty with Pietro Orseolo II under terms reducing Venice ' s custom duties in Constantinople from 30 " nomismata " to 17 " nomismata " . In return the Venetians agreed to transport Byzantine troops to southern Italy in times of war . During the years when Basil was distracted with internal rebellions and recovering the military situation on his eastern frontier , Samuel had extended his rule from the Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea , recovering most of the lands that had been Bulgarian before the invasion of Svyatoslav . He also conducted damaging raids into Byzantine territory as far as central Greece . The tide turned in 996 when the Byzantine general Nikephoros Ouranos inflicted a crushing defeat on a raiding Bulgarian army at a decisive battle on the River Spercheios in Thessaly . Samuel and his son Gabriel were lucky to escape capture . Beginning in 1000 , Basil II was free to focus on a war of outright conquest against Bulgaria , a war he prosecuted with grinding persistence and strategic insight . In 1000 the Byzantine generals Nikephoros Xiphias and Theodorokan took the old Bulgarian capital of Great Preslav and the towns of Lesser Preslav and Pliskova . In 1001 , Basil himself , operating from Thessalonica , was able to regain control of Vodena , Verrhoia , and Servia . The following year he based his army in Philippopolis and occupied the length of the military road from the western Haemus Mountains to the Danube , thereby cutting off communications between Samuel ' s Macedonian heartland and Moesia . Following this success Basil laid siege to Vidin , which eventually fell following a prolonged resistance . Samuel reacted to the Byzantine campaign with a daring stroke ; he launched a large - scale raid into the heart of Byzantine Thrace and surprised the major city of Adrianople . On returning homeward with his extensive plunder Samuel was intercepted near the town of Skopje by a Byzantine army commanded by the emperor . Basil ' s forces stormed the Bulgarian camp , inflicting a severe defeat on the Bulgarians and recovering the plunder of Adrianople . Skopje surrendered shortly after the battle , and its governor , Romanos , was treated with overt kindness by the Emperor . In 1005 , the governor of Dyrrhachium , Ashot Taronites , surrendered his city to the Byzantines . The defection of Dyrrhachium to the Byzantines completed the isolation of Samuel ' s core territories in the highlands of western Macedonia . Samuel was forced into an almost entirely defensive stance . He extensively fortified the passes and routes from the coastlands and valleys held by the Byzantines to the territory remaining in his possession . During the next few years , the Byzantine offensive slowed and no significant gains were made , though in 1009 an attempt by the Bulgarians to counterattack was defeated at the Battle of Kreta , which was fought to the east of Thessalonica . In 1014 Basil was ready to launch a campaign aimed at destroying Bulgarian resistance . On 29 July 1014 , Basil II and his general Nikephoros Xiphias outmanoeuvred the Bulgarian army , which was defending one of the fortified passes , in the Battle of Kleidion . Samuel avoided capture only through the valour of his son Gabriel . Having crushed the Bulgarians , Basil was said to have captured 15 , 000 prisoners and blinded 99 of every 100 men , leaving one one - eyed man in each cohort to lead the rest back to their ruler . Samuel was physically struck down by the dreadful apparition of his blinded army , and he died two days later after suffering a stroke . Although the extent of Basil ' s mistreatment of the Bulgarian prisoners may have been exaggerated , this incident helped give rise to Basil ' s Greek epithet of " Boulgaroktonos , " meaning " the Bulgar - slayer " , in later tradition . The first recorded coupling of the term " Boulgaroktonos " with Basil II dates from a number of generations after his death , when it is used in a poem from the reign of Manuel I Komnenos , dating to around 1166 . Bulgaria fought on for four more years , its resistance fired by Basil ' s cruelty , but it finally submitted in 1018 . This submission was the result of continued military pressure and a successful diplomatic campaign aimed at dividing and suborning the Bulgarian leadership . This victory over the Bulgarians , and the later submission of the Serbs , fulfilled one of Basil ' s goals , as the Empire regained its ancient Danubian frontier for the first time in 400 years . The neighbouring rulers of Croatia , Krešimir III and Gojslav , who were previously allies of Bulgaria , accepted Basil ' s supremacy in order to avoid the same fate as Bulgaria , the emperor warmly received their offers of vassalage and awarded them the honorary title of patrician . Croatia remained a tributary state to Basil until his death in 1025 . Before returning to Constantinople , Basil II celebrated his triumph in Athens . He showed considerable statesmanship in his treatment of the defeated Bulgarians , giving many former Bulgarian leaders court titles , positions in provincial administration , and high commands in the army . In this way he sought to absorb the Bulgarian elite into Byzantine society . Bulgaria did not have a monetary economy to the same extent as was found in Byzantium , and Basil made the wise decision to accept Bulgarian taxes in kind . Basil ' s successors reversed this policy , a decision that led to considerable Bulgarian discontent , and rebellion , later in the 11th century . Khazar campaign . Although the power of the Khazar Khaganate had been broken by the Kievan Rus ' in the 960s , the Byzantines had not been able to fully exploit the power vacuum and restore their dominion over the Crimea and other areas around the Black Sea . In 1016 , Byzantine armies , in conjunction with Mstislav of Chernigov , attacked the Crimea , much of which had fallen under the sway of the Khazar successor kingdom of George Tzoul , based at Kerch . Kedrenos reports that George Tzoul was captured and the Khazar successor - state was destroyed . Subsequently the Byzantines occupied the southern Crimea . Later years . Basil II returned in triumph to Constantinople , then promptly went east and attacked the Georgian Kingdom of Tao - Klarjeti . He later secured the annexation of the sub - kingdoms of Armenia along with a promise that its capital and surrounding regions would be willed to Byzantium following the death of its king Hovhannes - Smbat . In 1021 , he also secured the cession of the Kingdom of Vaspurakan by its king , Seneqerim - John , in exchange for estates in Sebasteia . Basil created in those highlands a strongly fortified frontier , which , if his successors had been capable , should have proved an effective barrier against the invasions of the Seljuk Turks . In the meantime , other Byzantine forces restored much of Southern Italy , lost over the previous 150 years . Basil was preparing a military expedition to recover the island of Sicily when he died , on 15 December 1025 . Basil was to be buried in the last sarcophagus available in the rotunda of Constantine I in the Church of the Holy Apostles . However , he had later asked his brother and successor Constantine VIII to be buried in the Church of St . John the Theologian ( i . e . the Evangelist ) , at the Hebdomon Palace complex , outside the walls of Constantinople . The epitaph on his tomb celebrated Basil ' s campaigns and victories . During the pillage of 1204 , Basil ' s grave was desecrated by the invading Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade . Assessment . Basil was a stocky man of less than average stature who , nevertheless , cut a majestic figure on horseback . He had light blue eyes and strongly arched eyebrows ; in later life his beard became scant but his sidewhiskers were luxuriant and he had a habit of rolling his whiskers between his fingers when deep in thought or angry . He was not a fluent speaker and had a loud laugh that convulsed his whole frame . As a mature man he had ascetic tastes and cared little for the pomp and ceremony of the Imperial court , typically holding court dressed in military regalia . Still , he was a capable administrator , who , uniquely among the soldier - emperors , left a full treasury upon his death . Basil despised literary culture and affected an utter scorn for the learned classes of Byzantium ; however , numerous orators and philosophers were active during his reign . He was worshipped by his army , as he spent most of his reign campaigning with them instead of sending orders from the distant palaces of Constantinople , as had most of his predecessors . He lived the life of a soldier to the point of eating the same daily rations as any other member of the army . He also took the children of deceased officers of his army under his protection and offered them shelter , food , and education . Many of them later became his soldiers and officers and came to think of him as a father . Besides being called the " Father of the Army " , he was also popular with country farmers . This class produced most of his army ' s supplies and soldiers . To assure that this continued , Basil ' s laws protected small agrarian property owners and lowered their taxes . His reign was considered an era of relative prosperity for the class , despite the almost constant wars . On the other hand , Basil increased the taxes on the nobility and the church , seeking to decrease their power and wealth . Though understandably unpopular with them , neither had the power to effectively oppose the army - supported Emperor . Basil never married or had children . As a young man he was a womanizer , but when he became emperor , he chose to devote himself to the duties of state . Psellus ascribes Basil ' s radical change from a dissolute youth to a grim autocrat to the circumstances of the rebellions of Bardas Skleros and Bardas Phokas . Unfortunately , Basil ' s asceticism meant that he was succeeded by his brother and his family , who proved to be ineffective rulers . Nevertheless , fifty years of prosperity and intellectual growth followed because the funds of state were full , the borders were not in danger from exterior intruders , and the Empire remained the most powerful political entity of the age . The Byzantine Empire under Basil II probably had a population of about 18 million people . By 1025 , Basil II ( with an annual revenue of 7 , 000 , 000 " nomismata " ) was able to amass 14 , 400 , 000 " nomismata " ( or 200 , 000 pounds of gold ) for the Imperial treasury due to his prudent management . In literature . During the 20th century in Greece , interest in the prominent emperor led to a number of biographies and historical novels about him . Arguably the most popular is " Basil Bulgaroktonus " ( 1964 ) by historical fiction writer Kostas Kyriazis ( b . 1920 ) . Written as a sequel to his previous work " Theophano " ( 1963 ) , focusing on Basil ' s mother , it examines Basil ' s life from childhood till his death at an advanced age , through the eyes of three fictional narrators . It has been continuously reprinted since 1964 . For his part , commentator Alexander Kiossev , wrote in " Understanding the Balkans : " The hero of one nation might be the villain of its neighbour ( . . . ) The Byzantine emperor Basil the Murderer ( sic ) of Bulgarians , a crucial figure in the Greek pantheon of heroes , is no less important as a subject of hatred for our [ Bulgarian ] national mythology " . Penelope Delta ' s second novel , " Ton Kairo tou Voulgaroktonou " ( " In the Years of the Bulgar - Slayer " ) , is also set during the reign of Basil II . It was inspired by correspondence with the historian Gustave Schlumberger , a renowned specialist on the Byzantine Empire , and published in the early years of the 20th Century , a time when the Struggle for Macedonia once again set Greeks and Bulgarians in bitter enmity with each other . Ion Dragoumis , who was Delta ' s lover and was deeply involved in that struggle , in 1907 published the book " Martyron kai Iroon Aima " ( Martyrs ’ and Heroes ’ Blood ) , which was full of resentment towards everything Bulgarian . He urges Greeks to follow the example of Basil II : " ( . . . ) Instead of blinding so many people , Basil should have better killed them instead . On one hand these people would not suffer as eyeless survivors , on the other the sheer number of Bulgarians would have diminished by 15 000 , which is something very useful . " Later in the same book , Dragoumis foresaw the appearance of " new Basils " who would " cross the entire country and will look for Bulgarians in mountains , caves , villages and forests and will make them flee in refuge or kill them " . Rosemary Sutcliff ' s 1976 historical fiction novel " Blood Feud " depicts Basil II from the point of view of a member of his recently created Varangian Guard .