Basil II (Βασίλειος Β' ο Βουλγαροκτόνος)
Emperor of the Byzantine Empire
Reign	Nominally from 960 to 976 (co-emperor with his father until 963, Nikephoros II until 969, John I Tzimiskes until 976). Effectively 10 January 976 – 15 December 1025 (&1000000000000004900000049 years, &10000000000000339000000339 days) (65 years nominally)
Born	958 (0958)
Died	15 December 1025 (1025-12-16) (aged 67)
Predecessor	John I Tzimiskes
Successor	Constantine VIII
Dynasty	Macedonian dynasty
Father	Romanos II
Mother	Theophano

Basil II and Constantine VIII, holding cross. Nomisma histamenon.

Basil II (Greek: Βασίλειος Β΄, Basileios II; 958 – December 15, 1025) was a Byzantine Emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from January 10, 976 to December 15, 1025. He was known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian,

The first part of his long reign was dominated by civil war against powerful generals from the Anatolian aristocracy. Following their submission, Basil oversaw the stabilization and expansion of the Byzantine Empire's eastern frontier, 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" (Greek: Βουλγαροκτόνος, 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, and 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^[1] in exchange for military support, which led to the Christianization of the Kievan Rus', and the incorporation of Russia within the Byzantine cultural sphere.

Birth and childhood[link]

Basil was the son of Emperor Romanos II and Empress Theophano, whose maternal family was of Laconian Greek origin^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} originating in the Peloponnesian region of Laconia,^[8] possibly from the city of Sparta.^[9] His paternal ancestry is of uncertain origins, his putative ancestor Basil I, the founder of the dynasty, being variously attributed Armenian, Slavic or Greek ancestry. Indeed the biological father of Leo VI the Wise (Basil IIs great-grandfather) was possibly not Basil I, but Michael III.^[10] 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, but the latter 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. Finally, when John died on January 10, 976, Basil II took the throne as senior emperor.

Asian rebellions and alliance with Rus'[link]

Basil was a brave soldier and a superb horseman; he was to prove himself a strong ruler and an able general. He did not at first display the full extent of his energy. In the early years of his reign, the 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 man, who hoped that the young emperors would be his puppets. Basil waited and watched without interfering, and devoted himself to learning the details of administrative business and instructing himself in 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 John 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 very outset of his effective reign as two members of the wealthy military elite of Anatolia, Bardas Skleros and Bardas Phokas, had sufficient means to undertake open rebellion against central authority. The chief motive of these men, both of whom were experienced generals, was that they wished 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)^[11]

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."^[12] Basil, it would appear, took this advice very much to heart.

In order to defeat these dangerous revolts, Basil formed an alliance with Prince Vladimir I of Kiev, who in 988 CE 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 which had grown up in Asia Minor and which his predecessor, Romanos I, had endeavored to check.

Campaigns against the Arabs[link]

Having put an end to the internal strife, Basil II then turned his attention to the Empire's other enemies. The Byzantine civil wars had weakened the Empire's position in the east and the gains of Nikephoros II Phokas and John I Tzimiskes came close to being lost to the Fatimids. Following two heavy defeats of the doux of Antioch, Michael Bourtzes, in 992 and 994, Aleppo was being besieged and Antioch was threatened by the Fatimid general Majutakin. In 995 Basil II, with an army of 40,000 men (with 80,000 mules),^[13] launched a campaign against the Fatimids, relieving Aleppo, taking over the Orontes valley, and raiding further south, sacking all of the cities from Emesa to Tripoli.

Although he did not have sufficient forces to drive into Palestine and reclaim Jerusalem, his victories did restore much of Syria to the Empire. No emperor since Heraclius had been able to hold these lands for any length of time, and they remained part of the Empire for the next 75 years.

Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria[link]

Basil II and his step-father, Emperor Nikephoros II

Basil also wanted to restore to the Empire territories that it had long lost. 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, but parts of the country had remained outside Byzantine control, under the leadership of Samuel and his brothers.

Since the Bulgars had been raiding Byzantine lands since 976, the Byzantine government sought to cause dissension amongst them by first allowing the escape of their captive emperor Boris II of Bulgaria.

This having failed, 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 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 own sister Anna in marriage (the same Anna wed to 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 by the terms that Venice's custom duties in Constantinople would be reduced from 30 nomismata to 17 nomismata in return for the Venetians agreeing to transport Byzantine troops to southern Italy in times of war.^[14]

Triumph of Basil II through the Forum of Constantine, from the Madrid Skylitzes

In the years of Basil's distraction 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 which had been Bulgarian before the invasion of Svyatoslav I of Kiev. He also conducted damaging raids into Byzantine territory as far as central Greece. The turning of the tide of the conflict occurred in 996 when the Byzantine general Nikephoros Ouranos inflicted a crushing defeat on a raiding Bulgarian army at a battle on the River Spercheios (Sperchius) in Thessaly. Samuel and his son Gabriel were lucky to escape capture.^[15]

From 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.^[16] In 1001 Basil himself, his army operating from Thessalonica, was able to regain control of Vodena, Verrhoia and Servia.^[17] The following year Basil based his army in Philippopolis and occupied the length of the military road from the western Haemus Mountains to the Danube, thereby cutting off Samuel's communications between his Macedonian heartland and Moesia. Following up this success he laid siege to Vidin, which eventually fell following a prolonged resistance.^[18] 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; its governor, Romanos, was treated with overt kindness by the Emperor.^[19] In 1005, the governor of Durazzo, Ashot Taronites, surrendered his city to the Byzantines. The defection of Durazzo 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 and he extensively fortified the passes and routes from the Byzantine held coastlands and valleys into 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 July 29, 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 150 one-eyed men to lead them 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 to give rise to Basil's nickname of Boulgaroktonos, "the Bulgar-slayer", in later tradition.^[20]

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. Before returning to Constantinople, Basil II celebrated his triumph in Athens. Basil showed considerable statesmanship in his treatment of the defeated Bulgarians; he gave 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 which led to considerable Bulgarian discontent, and rebellion, later in the 11th century.

Khazar campaign[link]

The Pontic steppes, c.1015. The areas in blue are those possibly still under Khazar control.

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[link]

Basil II returned in triumph to Constantinople, then promptly went east and attacked the Georgian Kingdom of Tao-Klarjeti, and later secured the annexation of the sub-kingdoms of Armenia (and a promise to have its capital and surrounding regions to be willed to Byzantium following the death of its king Hovhannes-Smbat).^[21] 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, to the Empire's control. When Basil finally died on December 15, 1025, he was planning a military expedition to recover the island of Sicily.

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 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 the 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[link]

The Byzantine Empire at the death of Basil II in 1025

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 which convulsed his whole frame.^[22] As a mature man he had ascetic tastes, and cared little for the pomp and ceremony of the Imperial court, and typically held court dressed in military regalia. Still, he was a capable administrator, who, uniquely among the soldier-emperors, left a full treasury upon his death.^[23] 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.^[24]

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 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 of the nobility and the church and looked to decrease their power and wealth. Though understandably unpopular with them, neither of them 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.^[25] Unfortunately, Basil's asceticism meant that he was succeeded by his brother and his family, who proved to be ineffective rulers. Nevertheless, 50 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 Middle Ages. Also, under Basil II, the Byzantine Empire probably had a population of about 18 million people. By AD 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[link]

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 "[1].

Penelope Delta's second novel, Ton Kairo tou Voulgaroktonou (In the Years of the Bulgar-Slayer),^[26] is also set during the reign of Basil II.^[27] It was inspired by correspondance 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.

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

Primary sources

• Michael Psellus, Chronographia, also published under the title Fourteen Byzantine Rulers, ed. E.R.A. Sewter. London 1953. (English translation)
• Nestor, The Russian Primary Chronicle: Laurentian Text,, Samuel Hazzard Cross, Olgerd P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor, Published by Mediaeval Academy of America, 1953

Secondary sources

• Penelope Delta, The Age of the Bulgar-slayer (In Greek), 1911, ESTIA Publishing Co
• George Finlay, (1856), History of the Byzantine Empire from DCCXVI to MLVII, 2nd Edition, Published by W. Blackwood.
• Gregory, Timothy, E., A History of Byzantium. Blackwell Publishing, 2005 ISBN 0-631-23512-4
• Holmes, Catherine (2005). Basil II and the Governance of Empire (976–1025). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-927968-3. 
• Norwich, John Julius. History of Byzantium. ^[specify]
• The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford University Press. 1991. 
• Stephenson, Paul (2003). The Legend of Basil the Bulgar-Slayer. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81530-4. 

External links[link]

Media related to Basil II at Wikimedia Commons

• A more detailed profile of the Emperor:http://www.roman-emperors.org/basilii.htm
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Basil II.". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Samuel (Samuil)
Tsar (Emperor) of Bulgaria
reconstruction
Reign	997 – 6 October 1014
Died	6 October 1014(1014-10-06)
Place of death	Prilep, First Bulgarian Empire, present-day Republic of Macedonia
Predecessor	Roman of Bulgaria
Successor	Gavril Radomir
Consort	Kosara, Agatha
Offspring	Gavril Radomir Theodora Kosara Miroslava Katun Anastazya
Royal House	Cometopuli
Father	Comita Nikola
Mother	Ripsimia of Armenia

Samuel^[1] (also Samuil, representing Bulgarian: Самуил, pronounced [samuˈil]) was the Emperor (Tsar) of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 980^[2] to 997, he was a general under Roman I of Bulgaria, the second surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria, and co-ruled with him, as Roman bestowed upon him the command of the army and the effective royal authority.^[3] As Samuel struggled to preserve his country's independence from the Byzantine Empire, his rule was characterized by constant warfare against the Byzantines and their equally ambitious ruler Basil II.

In his early years Samuel managed to inflict several major defeats on the Byzantines and to launch offensive campaigns into their territory.^[4] In the late 10th century, the Bulgarian armies conquered the Serb principality of Duklja^[5] and led campaigns against the Kingdoms of Croatia and Hungary. But from 1001, he was forced mainly to defend the Empire against the superior Byzantine armies. Samuel died of a heart attack on 6 October 1014, two months after the catastrophic battle of Kleidion, and Bulgaria was fully subjugated by Basil II four years later, ending the five decades-long Byzantine–Bulgarian conflict.^[6]

Samuel was considered "invincible in power and unsurpassable in strength".^[7][8] Similar comments were made even in Constantinople, where John Kyriotes Geometres penned a poem offering a punning comparison between the Bulgarian Emperor and a comet which appeared in 989.^[9][10]

During Samuel's reign, Bulgaria gained control of most of the Balkans (with the notable exception of Thrace) as far as southern Greece. He moved the capital from Skopje to Ohrid,^[4][11] which had been the cultural and military centre of southwestern Bulgaria since Boris I's rule,^[12] and made the city the seat of the Bulgarian Patriarchate. Because of that, sometimes his realm is called Western Bulgarian Kingdom or Western Bulgarian Empire.^[13][14]

Although Samuel's reign brought the end of the First Bulgarian Empire, he is regarded as a heroic ruler in Bulgaria.^[15][16]

The rise of the Cometopuli[link]

The Byzantines seize the capital Preslav.

The Cometopuli[link]

Samuel was the fourth^[17] and youngest son of count (comita) Nikola, a Bulgarian noble, who might have been the Count of Sredets (Sofia),^[18] although other sources suggest that he was a regional count somewhere in the region of today Macedonia.^[19] His mother was Ripsimia of Armenia.^[20] The actual name of the dynasty is not known. “Cometopuli” is the nickname which is used by Byzantine historians to address rulers from the dynasty as its founder. Samuel and the Cometopuli rose to power, out of the disorder that occurred the Bulgarian Empire from 966 to 971.

Russian invasion and deposition of Boris[link]

During the reign of Peter I, Bulgaria prospered in a long-lasting peace with Byzantium. This was secured by the marriage of Peter with a Byzantine princess Maria Lakapina. However after Maria's death in 963, the truce had been shaken and Peter I sent his sons Boris and Roman in Constantinopole, as honorary hostages, to honor the new terms of the peace treaty.^[21] During these years the Byzantines and Bulgarians had entangled themselves in a war with Kievan Rus prince Sviatoslav, who invaded Bulgaria several times. After a defeat from Sviatoslav, Peter I suffered a stroke and died shortly afterward in 969 (or 970). As both of his heirs were in the Byzantine capital the Bulgarian throne became empty. Boris was allowed back to Bulgaria to take his fathers throne, restore order and oppose Sviatoslav, but had little success. This was allegedly used by Samuil and his brothers, who were contemplating a revolt in 969.^[22]

This forced Byzantine emperor John Tzimiskes to intervene. He quickly invaded Bulgaria, defeated the Rus, and conquered the Bulgarian capital Preslav in 970 (971). Boris II of Bulgaria was ritually divested of his imperial insignia in a public ceremony in Constantinople and he and his brother Roman of Bulgaria remained in captivity. Although the ceremony in 971 had been intended as a symbolic termination of the Bulgarian empire, the Byzantines were unable to assert their control over the western provinces of Bulgaria. Count Nikola, Samuil's father, who had close ties to the royal court in Preslav,^[23] died in 970. In the same year^[2] "the sons of the Count" Samuel, David, Moses and Aaron rebelled against John I Tzimiskes.^[24] The series of events are not clear due to contradicting sources, but it is sure that after 971, Samuil and his brothers were the de facto rulers of the Western Bulgarian lands.

Prespa Fortess

In 973, the Cometopuli sent envoys to the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I in Quedlinburg in an attempt to secure the protection of their lands.^[25] The brothers ruled together in a tetrarchy.^[26] David ruled the southernmost regions and led the defense of one of the most dangerous border areas, around Thessaloniki and Thessaly.^[26] The centres of his possessions were Prespa and Kastoria. Moses ruled from Strumitsa,^[26] which would be an outpost for attacks on the Aegean coast and Serres. Aaron ruled from Sredets,^[26] and was to defend the main road from Adrianople to Belgrade, and to attack Thrace. Samuel ruled northwestern Bulgaria from the strong fortress of Vidin. He was also to organize the liberation of the conquered areas to the east, including the old capital Preslav.^[27] Some records suggest that David played a major role in this tumultuous period of Bulgarian history.^[28]

War with Byzantium[link]

The Byzantine emperor John Tzimiskes returns in triumph in Constantinople with the captured Boris II and the Preslav icons.

After John I Tzimiskes died on 11 January 976, the Cometopuli launched an assault along the whole border. Within a few weeks, however, David was killed by Vlach vagrants and Moses was fatally injured by a stone during the siege of Serres.^[29] The brothers' actions to the south detained many Byzantine troops and eased Samuel's liberation of northeastern Bulgaria; the Byzantine commander was defeated and retreated to Crimea.^[30][31] Any Bulgarian nobles and officials who had not opposed the Byzantine conquest of the region were executed, and the war continued north of the Danube until the enemy was scattered and Bulgarian rule was restored.^[32]

After suffering these defeats in the Balkans, the Byzantine Empire descended into civil war. The commander of the Asian army, Bardas Scleros, rebelled in Asia Minor and sent troops under his son Romanus in Thrace to besiege Constantinople. The new Emperor Basil II did not have enough manpower to fight both the Bulgarians and the rebels and resorted to treason, conspiracy and complicated diplomatic plots.^[33] Basil II made many promises to the Bulgarians and Scleros to divert them from allying against him.^[34] Aaron, the eldest living Cometopulus, was tempted by an alliance with the Byzantines and the opportunity to seize power in Bulgaria for himself. He held land in Thrace, a region potentially subject to the Byzantines threat. Basil reached an agreement with Aaron, who asked to marry Basil's sister to seal it. Basil instead sent the wife of one of his officials with the bishop of Sebaste. However, the deceit was uncovered and the bishop was killed.^[35] Nonetheless, negotiations proceeded and concluded in a peace agreement. The historian Scylitzes wrote that Aaron wanted sole power and "sympathized with the Romans".^[36] Samuel learned of the conspiracy and the clash between the two brothers was inevitable. The quarrel broke out in the vicinity of Dupnitsa on 14 June 976 and ended with the annihilation of Aaron's family. Only his son, Ivan Vladislav, survived because Samuel's son Gavril Radomir pleaded on his behalf.^[37] From that moment on, practically all power and authority in the state was held by Samuel and the danger of an internal conflict was all but eliminated.

However, another theory suggests that Aaron participated in the battle of the Gates of Trajan which took place ten years later. According to that theory Aaron was killed on 14 June 987 or 988.^[38][39]

Co-rule with Roman[link]

After the Byzantine plan to use Aaron to cause instability in Bulgaria failed, they tried to encourage the rightful heirs to the throne,^[40] Boris II and Roman, to oppose Samuel. Basil II hoped that they would win the support of the nobles and isolate Samuel or perhaps even start a Bulgarian civil war.^[41] Boris and Roman were sent back in 977^[42] but while they were passing through a forest near the border, Boris was killed by Bulgarian guards who were misled by his Byzantine clothing. Roman, who was walking some distance behind, managed to identify himself to the guards.^[43]

Roman was taken to Vidin, where he was proclaimed Emperor of Bulgaria.^[44] Samuel became his first lieutenant and general and together they gathered an army and fought the Byzantines.^[45] During his captivity, Roman had been castrated on the orders of John I Tzimiskes so that he would not have heirs. Thus Samuel was certain to eventually succeed Roman. The new emperor entrusted Samuel with the state administration and became occupied with church and religious affairs.^[46]

During the civil wars in the Byzantine Empire, the Bulgarians not only regained their positions in the Balkans, but advanced deep into enemy territory.

As the main effort of Basil II were concentrated against the rebel Skleros, Samuel's armies attacked the European possessions of the Byzantine Empire. Samuel invaded not only Thrace and the area of Thessaloniki, but also Thessaly, Hellas and Peloponnese. Many Byzantine fortresses fell under Bulgarian rule.^[47] Samuel wanted to seize the important fortress of Larissa, which controlled the key routes in Thessaly, and from 977 to 983, the town was blockaded. After starvation forced the Byzantines to surrender,^[11] the population was deported to the interior of Bulgaria and the males were forced to enlist in the Bulgarian army.^[48] Although Basil II sent forces to the region, they were defeated, and the conquest of Larissa marked the loss of an important Byzantine stronghold in that part of the peninsula. With this victory, Bulgaria had gained influence over most of the southwestern Balkans, although it did not occupy these territories. From Larissa, Samuel took the relics of Saint Achilleios, which were laid in a specially built church of the same name on an island in Lake Prespa.^[49][50][51]

The Bulgarian successes in the west raised fears in Constantinople, and after serious preparations, Basil II launched a campaign into the very centre of the Bulgarian Empire^[53] to distract Samuel from southern Greece.^[54][55] The Byzantine army passed through the mountains around Ihtiman and besieged Sofia in 986. For 20 days, the Byzantines assaulted the city, but their attacks proved fruitless and costly: several times, the Bulgarians came out of the city, killed many enemy soldiers and captured draught animals and horses. Eventually, the Bulgarian troops burned the siege equipment of the Byzantine army, forcing Basil II to withdraw to Thrace, but on 17 August 986,^[56] while passing through the mountains, the Byzantine army was routed at the Trajan's Gate Pass. This was a significant blow for Basil,^[57][58] who was one of the few to return to Constantinople; his personal treasure was captured by the victors.^[59][60]

After the defeat, the rebellion of Bardas Phocas diverted the efforts of the Byzantine Empire into another civil war.^[61][62][63] Samuel seized the opportunity and began to exert pressure on Thessaloniki.^[64][65] Basil II sent a large army to the town and appointed a new governor, Gregorios Taronites,^[66] but he was powerless to stop the Bulgarian advance. By 989, the Bulgarian troops had penetrated deep into Byzantine territory,^[67] and seized many fortresses, including such important cities as Veria and Servia. In the south, the Bulgarians marched throughout Epirus and in the west they seized the area of modern Durrës (medieval Dyrrhachium or Drach) on the Adriatic Sea.^[68][69][70]

In 989, Phocas was killed and his followers surrendered, and the following year Basil II reached an agreement with Skleros.^[71] The Byzantines focused their attention on Bulgaria,^[72] and counter-attacked in 991.^[73][74] The Bulgarian army was defeated and Roman was captured while Samuel managed to escape.^[75] The Byzantines conquered some areas; in 995, however, the Arabs invaded Asia Minor and Basil II was forced to move many of his troops to combat this new threat. Samuel quickly regained the lost lands and advanced south. In 996, he defeated the Byzantines in the battle of Thessaloniki. During the battle, Thessaloniki's governor, Gregorios, perished and his son Ashot was captured.^[76] Elated by this success, the Bulgarians continued south. They marched through Thessaly, overcame the defensive wall at Thermopylae and entered the Peloponnese, devastating everything on their way.^[77]

The Bulgarian defeat at Spercheios.

As a response, a Byzantine army under Nikephorus Uranos was sent after the Bulgarians, who returned north to meet it. The two armies met near the flooded river of Spercheios. The Byzantines found a place to ford, and on the night of 19 July 996 they surprised the unprepared Bulgarian army and routed it in the battle of Spercheios.^[78] Samuel's arm was wounded and he barely escaped captivity; he and his son allegedly feigned death.^[79] After nightfall they headed for Bulgaria and walked 400 kilometres (249 mi) home. Research of Samuel's grave suggests that the bone in his arm healed at an angle of 140° but remained crippled.^[80]

Emperor[link]

In 997, Roman died in captivity in Constantinople, ending the line of rulers started by Krum. Because of the war with Byzantium, it was dangerous to leave the throne vacant for long, and Samuel was chosen as the new Emperor of Bulgaria because he had the closest relations to the deceased emperor and was Roman's long-standing military commander.^[81] The presbyter of Duklja also marked the event: "By that time among the Bulgarian people rose one Samuel, who proclaimed himself Emperor. He led a long war against the Byzantines and expelled them from the whole territory of Bulgaria, so that the Byzantines did not dare to approach it."^[82]

Constantinople would not recognize the new emperor, as for the Byzantines Boris II's abdication symbolized the official end of Bulgaria and Samuel was considered a mere rebel. Instead Samuel sought recognition from the Pope, which would be a serious blow to the position of the Byzantines in the Balkans and would weaken the influence of the Patriarch of Constantinople, thereby benefiting both the See of Rome and Bulgaria. Samuel possibly received his imperial crown from Pope Gregory V.^[83]

War against Serbs and Croats[link]

In 998, Samuel launched a major campaign against the Serbian principality of Duklja to prevent an alliance between Prince Jovan Vladimir and the Byzantines. When the Bulgarian troops reached Duklja, the Serbian prince and his people withdrew to the mountains. Samuel left part of the army at the foot of the mountains and led the remaining soldiers to besiege the coastal fortress of Ulcinj. In an effort to prevent bloodshed, he asked Jovan Vladimir to surrender. After the prince refused, some Serb nobles offered their services to the Bulgarians and, when it became clear that further resistance was fruitless, the Serbs surrendered. Jovan Vladimir was exiled to Samuel's palaces in Prespa.^[84]

The wedding of Ashot and Samuel's daughter Miroslava.

The Bulgarian troops proceeded to pass through Dalmatia, taking control of Kotor and journeying to Dubrovnik. Although they failed to take Dubrovnik, they devastated the surrounding villages. The Bulgarian army then attacked Croatia in support of the rebel princes Krešimir III and Gojslav and advanced northwest as far as Split, Trogir and Zadar, then northeast through Bosnia and Raška and returned to Bulgaria.^[84] This Croato-Bulgarian War allowed Samuel to install vassal monarchs in Croatia.^{[citation needed]}

Samuel's daughter Theodora Kosara fell in love with the captive Jovan Vladimir. The couple married after gaining Samuel's approval, and Jovan returned to his lands as a Bulgarian official along with his uncle Dragomir, whom Samuel trusted.^[85] Meanwhile, Princess Miroslava fell in love with the Byzantine noble captive Ashot and threatened to commit suicide if she was not allowed to marry him. Samuel conceded and appointed Ashot governor of Dyrrhachium.^[86] Samuel also sealed an alliance with the Magyars when his eldest son and heir, Gavril Radomir, married the daughter of the Hungarian Grand Prince Géza.^[87]

Advance of the Byzantines[link]

The beginning of the new millennium saw a turn in the course of Byzantine-Bulgarian warfare.^[88] Basil II had amassed an army larger and stronger than that of the Bulgarians: determined to definitively conquer Bulgaria, he moved much of the battle-seasoned military forces from the eastern campaigns against the Arabs to the Balkans^[89][90] and Samuel was forced to defend rather than attack.^[91]

In 1001, Basil II sent a large army under the patrician Theodorokanos and Nicephorus Xiphias to the north of the Balkan Mountains to seize the main Bulgarian fortresses in the area. The Byzantine troops recaptured Preslav and Pliska,^[92] putting north-eastern Bulgaria once again under Byzantine rule. The following year, they struck in the opposite direction, marching through Thessaloniki to tear off Thessaly and the southernmost parts of the Bulgarian Empire. Although the Bulgarian commander of the fortress of Veroia, Dobromir, was married to one of Samuel's nieces, he voluntarily surrendered the fort and joined the Byzantines.^[93] The Byzantines also captured the fortress of Kolidron without a fight, but its commander Dimitar Tihon managed to retreat with his soldiers and join Samuel.^[94] The next town, Servia, did not fall so easily; its governor Nikulitsa organized the defenders well. They fought until the Byzantines penetrated the walls and forced them to surrender.^[95] Nikulitsa was taken to Constantinople and given the high court title of patrician, but he soon escaped and rejoined the Bulgarians. He attempted to retake Servia, but the siege was unsuccessful and he was captured again and imprisoned.^[96]

Meanwhile, Basil II's campaign reconquered many towns in Thessaly. He forced the Bulgarian population of the conquered areas to resettle in the Voleron area between the Mesta and Maritsa rivers. Edessa resisted for weeks but was conquered following a long siege. The population was moved to Voleron and its governor Dragshan was taken to Thessaloniki, where he was betrothed to the daughter of a local noble. Unwilling to be married to an enemy, Dragshan three times tried to flee to Bulgaria and was eventually executed.^[97]

War with Hungary[link]

Map of Bulgaria in its largest extension during Samuel's reign circa 1000.^[25]

The Byzantine-Bulgarian conflict reached its apex in 1003, when Hungary became involved. Since the beginning of the 9th century, the Bulgarian territory had stretched beyond the Carpathian Mountains as far as the Tisza River and the middle Danube. During the reign of Samuel, the governor of these northwestern parts was Duke Ahtum, the grandson of Duke Glad, who had been defeated by the Hungarians in 930s. Ahtum commanded a strong army and firmly defended the northwestern borders of the Empire. He also built many churches and monasteries through which he spread Christianity in Transylvania.^[98][99]

Although Gavril Radomir's marriage to the daughter of the Hungarian ruler had established friendly relations between the two strongest states of the Danube area, the relationship deteriorated after Géza's death. The Bulgarians supported Gyula and Koppány as rulers instead of Géza's son Stephen I. As a result of this conflict, the marriage between Gavril Radomir and the Hungarian princess was dissolved. The Hungarians then attacked Ahtum, who had directly backed the pretenders for the Hungarian crown. Stephen I convinced Hanadin, Ahtum's right-hand man, to help in the attack. When the conspiracy was uncovered Hanadin fled and joined the Hungarian forces.^[100] At the same time, a strong Byzantine army besieged Vidin, Ahtum's seat. Although many soldiers were required to participate in the defense of the town, Ahtum was occupied with the war to the north. After several months he died in battle when his troops were defeated by the Hungarians.^[101] As a result of the war, Bulgarian influence to the northwest of the Danube diminished.

Further Byzantine successes[link]

The first decade of the new millennium was abundant in constant bloody battles, sieges and skirmishes. This picture shows a Byzantine victory in that period.

The Byzantines took advantage of the Bulgarian troubles in the north. In 1003, Basil II led a large army to Vidin, northwestern Bulgaria's most important town. After an eight-month siege, the Byzantines ultimately captured the fortress,^[102] allegedly due to betrayal by the local bishop.^[103] The commanders of the town had repulsed all previous attempts to break their defence, including the use of Greek fire.^[94] While Basil's forces were engaged there, Samuel struck in the opposite direction: on 15 August he attacked Adrianople and plundered the area.^[104]

Basil II decided to return to Constantinople afterwards, but, fearing an encounter with the Bulgarian army on the main road to his capital, he used an alternate route.^{[citation needed]} The Byzantines marched south through the Morava valley and reached a key Bulgarian city, Skopje, in 1004. The Bulgarian army was camping on the opposite side of the Vardar River. After finding a ford and crossing the river, Basil II attacked and defeated Samuel's unsuspecting army, using the same tactics employed at Spercheios.^[105] The Byzantines continued east and besieged the fortress of Pernik. Its governor, Krakra, was not seduced by Basil's promises of a noble title and wealth, and successfully defended the fortress. The Byzantines withdrew to Thrace after suffering heavy losses.^[102][106]

In the same year, Samuel undertook a march against Thessaloniki. His men ambushed and captured its governor, Ioannes Chaldus,^[94][107] but this success could not compensate for the losses the Bulgarians had suffered in the past four years. The setbacks in the war demoralized some of Samuel's military commanders, especially the captured Byzantine nobles. Samuel's son-in-law Ashot, the governor of Dyrrhachium, made contact with the local Byzantines and the influential John Chryselios, Samuel's father-in-law. Ashot and his wife boarded one of the Byzantine ships that were beleaguering the town and fled to Constantinople. Meanwhile, Chryselios surrendered the city to the Byzantine commander Eustathios Daphnomeles in 1005, securing the title of patrician for his sons.^[86][108]

In 1006 – 1007, Basil II penetrated deep into the Bulgarian-ruled lands^[109] and in 1009 Samuel's forces were defeated at Kreta, east of Thessaloniki.^[110] During the next years, Basil launched annual campaigns into Bulgarian territory, devastating everything on his way.^[111] Although there was still no decisive battle, it was clear that the end of the Bulgarian resistance was drawing nearer; the evidence was the fierceness of the military engagements and the constant campaigns of both sides which devastated the Bulgarian and Byzantine realms.^{[110][112][clarification needed]}

Disaster at Kleidion[link]

The battle of Kleidion

Kleidon Aftermath: Manasses Chronicle

In 1014, Samuel resolved to stop Basil before he could invade Bulgarian territory. Since the Byzantines usually used the valley of the Strumitsa River for their invasions into Bulgaria, Samuel built a thick wooden wall in the gorges around the village of Klyuch (also Kleidion, "key") to bar the enemy's way.

When Basil II launched his next campaign in the summer of 1014, his army suffered heavy casualties during the assaults of the wall. Meanwhile, Samuel sent forces under his general Nestoritsa to attack Thessaloniki so as to distract Basil's forces away from this campaign. Nestoritsa was defeated near the city^[113] by its governor Botaniates, who later joined the main Byzantine army near Klyuch.^[114] After several days of continuous attempts to break through the wall, one Byzantine commander, the governor of Plovdiv Nicephorus Xiphias, found a by-pass and, on 29 July, attacked the Bulgarians from the rear.^[111] Despite the desperate resistance the Byzantines overwhelmed the Bulgarian army and captured around 14,000 soldiers,^[115] according to some sources even 15,000^[116] Basil II immediately sent forces under his favourite commander Theophylactus Botaniates to pursue the surviving Bulgarians, but the Byzantines were defeated in an ambush by Gavril Radomir, who personally killed Botaniates. After the Battle of Kleidion, on the order of Basil II the captured Bulgarian soldiers were blinded; one of every 100 men was left one-eyed so as to lead the rest home.^[117][118] The blinded soldiers were sent back to Samuel who reportedly had a heart attack upon seeing them. He died two days later, on 15 October 1014.^[111] This savagery gave the Byzantine emperor his byname Boulgaroktonos ("Bulgar-slayer" in Greek: Βουλγαροκτόνος). Some historians theorize it was the death of his favourite commander that infuriated Basil II to blind the captured soldiers.^[119]

Themes in the Byzantine Empire under Basil II

The battle of Kleidion had major political consequences. Although Samuel's son and successor, Gavril Radomir, was a talented military leader, he was unable to restore the Bulgarian Empire's previous power. After Samuel's death, many of his subordinates, including Krakra, surrendered to the Byzantines. In the deep north-northwest, the duke of Syrmia, Sermon, was deceived and killed by the Byzantines.^[120] After a series of battles, the Bulgarian Empire was thoroughly conquered by the end of 1018, only four years after Samuel's death.^[121] Most of its territory was incorporated within the new Theme of Bulgaria, with Skopje as its capital.^[122] It was more than 150 years before Bulgaria was restored, with the rebellion of the brothers Peter and Asen in 1185.

Family, grave and legacy[link]

The remains of the Basilica of Agios Achillios in Lake Prespa, where Samuil's grave was found

Samuel's wife was called Kosara. The name of his second wife was Agatha. Samuel had five children: the successor Gavril Radomir and four daughters: Theodora Kosara, Miroslava, Katun Anastasiya and Agatha. Gavril Radomir married twice, to Ilona of Hungary and Irina from Larissa; Kosara married the Prince of Duklja, Jovan Vladimir; Miroslava married the captured Byzantine noble Ashot and Katun Anastasiya married the Hungarian noble Vazul.

After the fall of Bulgaria, Samuel's descendants assumed important positions in the Byzantine court after they were resettled and given lands in Asia Minor and Armenia. Оne of his granddaughters, Catherine, became empress of Byzantium. Another grandchild, Peter II Delyan, led an attempt to restore the Bulgarian Empire after a major uprising in 1040 – 1041. Two other women of the dynasty became Byzantine empresses,^[123] while many nobles served in the army as strategos or became governors of various provinces.

There is also another version about Samuel's origin. The 11th-century historian Stepanos Asoghik wrote that Samuel had only one brother, stating they were both Armenians from the district of Derjan, an Armenian land incorporated into the Byzantine Empire. They were sent to fight the Bulgarians in Macedonia but ended up joining them.^[124] This version is supported by the historian Nicholas Adontz, who analyzed the events and facts of the century and concluded that Samuel had only one brother, David.^[125] Asoghik's version is also supported by the historian Jordan Ivanov;^[126] furthermore, according to Samuel's Inscription, he had only one brother called David.

The sarkophaguses of Bulgarian Tsars Samuil, Gavril Radomir and Ivan Vladislav in Agios Achilios, Greece.

The Arab historian Yahya of Antioch claims that the son of Samuel, Gavril, was assassinated by the leader of the Bulgarians, son of Aaron, because Aaron belonged to the race that reigned over Bulgaria. Asoghik and Yahya clearly distinguish the race of Samuel from the one of Aaron or the race of the Cometopuli from the royal race. According to them, Moses and Aaron are not from the family of the Cometopuli. David and Samuel were of Armenian origin and Moses and Aaron were Armenian on their mother's side.^[127]

Samuel's grave was found in 1965 by Greek professor Nikolaos Moutsopoulos in the Church of St Achillios on the eponymous island in Lake Prespa. Samuel had built the church for the relics of the saint of the same name.^[128] What is thought to have been the coat of arms of the House of Cometopuli,^[129] two perched parrots, was embroidered on his funeral garment.

His remains are kept in a secret location in Greece, but according to a recent agreement, they may be returned to Bulgaria and buried in the SS. Forty Martyrs Church in Veliko Tarnovo, to rest with the remains of emperors Kaloyan and Michael Shishman.^[130]

Samuel's face was reconstructed to restore the appearance of the 70-year-old Bulgarian ruler. According to the reconstruction, he was a sharp-faced man, bald-headed, with a white beard and moustache.^[131]

Samuel is among the most renowned Bulgarian rulers. His military struggle with the Byzantine Empire is marked as an epic period of Bulgarian history. The great number of monuments and memorials in Bulgaria and Republic of Macedonia, such as the ones in Petrich and Ohrid, signify the trail this historical figure has left in the memory of the people. Four Bulgarian villages bear his name, as well as Samuel Point^[132] on Livingston Island, Antarctica. Samuel is the main figure in at least three major Bulgarian novels by authors Dimitar Talev,^[133] Anton Donchev and Stefan Tsanev and also stars in the Greek novel "At the Times of the Bulgarian-Slayer" by Penelope Delta, who closely follows the narrative flow of events as presented by St. Runciman;^[134] he is mentioned in the verse of Ivan Vazov,^[135] Pencho Slaveykov,^[136] and Atanas Dalchev as well.^[137]

Nomenclature[link]

Samuel's empire had its heartlands around Ohrid, west and southwest of this earlier cultural center of the First Bulgarian Empire. Thus Yugoslav historian George Ostrogorsky distinguished Samuel's Empire from the earlier Bulgarian Empire, referring to it as a "Macedonian Empire", although he claims that it was politically and ecclesiastically a direct descendant of the empire of Symeon and Peter, and was regarded by Samuel and the Byzantines as being the Bulgarian Empire.^[138] Some historians of his school, such as the Serbian scholar Anastasijević, claimed even that Samuel ruled a separate Slavic Empire founded as an anti-Bulgarian rebellion.^[139] This Yugoslav theory is now rejected by the modern Serbian historians.^[140][141] It is still held only in the Republic of Macedonia, where the official state doctrine refers to a "Macedonian Slavic", or even only "Macedonian" Empire.^[142] This controversy is ahistorical, as it projects modern ethnic distinctions onto the past.^[143]

See also[link]

• Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars
• Bulgarian-Hungarian Wars
• Medieval Bulgarian Army
• Cometopuli dynasty
• Bitola inscription
• Samuil's Inscription

References[link]

• (French) Adontz, Nicholas (1965). "Samuel l'Armenien, Roi des Bulgares". Études Arméno-Byzantines. Lisbonne: Livraria Bertrand. 

• Andreev, Jordan; Milcho Lalkov (1996) (in Bulgarian). The Bulgarian Khans and Tsars. Abagar. ISBN 954-427-216-X. 
• Cheynet, J.-Cl. (1990) (in French). Pouvoir et contestations a Byzance (963-1210)e. Paris. 
• Delev, Petar; Valeri Katsunov, Plamen Mitev, Evgeniya Kalyanova, Iskra Baeva, Boyan Dobrev (2006). "12. The decline of the First Bulgarian Empire" (in Bulgarian). History and civilization for 11. grade. Trud, Sirma. ISBN 954-9926-72-9. 
• Dimitrov, Bozhidar (1994). "Bulgarian epic endeavours for independence 968–1018". Bulgaria: illustrated history. Sofia: Borina. ISBN 954-500-044-9. 
• Fine, John V. A., Jr.. The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1991 Chapter 6:"Bulgaria after Symeon, 927–1018". pp. 188–200. ISBN 978-0-472-08149-3.
• Lalkov, Milcho (1997). "Tsar Samuil (997–1014)". Rulers of Bulgaria. Kibea. ISBN 954-474-098-8. 
• Lang, David Marshal, The Bulgarians: from pagan times to the Ottoman conquest. Boulder, Colo. : Westview Press, 1976. ISBN 0-89158-530-3
• Ostrogorsky, George, History of the Byzantine State. tr. (from the German) by Joan Hussey, rev. ed., Rutgers Univ. Press, 1969.
• Pavlov P., Samuil and the Bulgarian epopee (in Bulgarian)^{[dead link]}, Sofia — Veliko Tarnovo, 2002
• Pirivatrić, Srđan; Božidar Ferјančić (1997) (in Serbian). Samuil's state: appearance and character. Belgrade: Institute of Byzantology SANU. OCLC 41476117.  Excerpt from the Bulgarian translation.
• Runciman, Steven (1930). "The end of an empire". A history of the First Bulgarian Empire. London: George Bell & Sons. OCLC 832687. http://www.promacedonia.org/en/sr/sr_3_3.htm. 
• Schlumberger, G. (1900). "t. 2 Basile II-eme — le Tueur des Bulgares" (in French). L'epopee byzantine a la fin du X-me siecle. Paris. 
• Treadgold, Warren. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford, 1997, pb. ISBN 0-8047-2630-2
• Tsanev, Stefan (2006). "Chapter XIII. (972–1014). Heroic agony. Tsar Roman, Tsar Samuil." (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian Chronicles. Sofia, Plovdiv: Тrud, Zhanet 45. ISBN 954-528-610-5. 
• Zlatarski, Vasil (1971) [1927]. "Part II. From the Slavinization of the country to the fall of the First Empire (852—1018). VI. Struggle for independence" (in Bulgarian). History of the Bulgarian state in the Middle Ages. Volume I. History of the First Bulgarian Empire. (2 ed.). Sofia: Nauka i izkustvo. OCLC 67080314. http://www.promacedonia.org/vz1b/index.html. Retrieved 2011-07-01. 
• "1.3. The Bulgarian capitals in the Macedonian lands. The southwestern Bulgarian lands." (in Bulgarian). The Bulgarians and Bulgaria. Ministry of Internal Affairs, Тrud, Sirma. 2005. http://www.mfa.government.bg/history_of_Bulgaria/30.html. ^{[dead link]}
• John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811-1057: Translation and Notes. Cambridge University Press. 2010. ISBN 978-0-521-76705-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=vGE8Xq832A0C&lpg=PP1&dq=John%20Skylitzes&pg=PA246#v=onepage&q=Samuel&f=false. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Samuil of Bulgaria

Footnotes[link]

1. Bulgarian ъ can be transliterated a, u, or sometimes â, as in български, balgarski (as below) or bulgarski.

2. The work of Vasil Zlatarski, History of the Bulgarian state in the Middle Ages has three editions. The first edition is from 1927 published in Sofia; the second edition is from 1971 and can be found here [2] in Bulgarian; the third edition is from 1994 published in Sofia, ISBN 954-430-299-9

Basil I
Emperor of the Byzantine Empire
Basil, his son Constantine, and his second wife, Empress Eudokia Ingerina.
Reign	867–886
Full name	Basil I the Macedonian
Born	830/835/836[1]
Birthplace	Macedonia (theme)
Died	August 29, 886 (0886-08-30) (aged 75)
Predecessor	Michael III
Successor	Leo VI the Wise
Consort	Eudokia Ingerina
Wives	Maria Eudokia Ingerina
Offspring	by Maria: Constantine by Eudokia: Leo VI, Alexander, Stephen
Dynasty	Macedonian dynasty

Basil I, called the Macedonian (Greek: Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών, Basíleios hō Makedṓn; Armenian: Բարսեղ Ա Մակեդոնացի, Barsegh A Makedonatsi; 830/835 – August 29, 886) was a Byzantine Emperor of probable Armenian descent who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a simple peasant in the Byzantine theme of Macedonia, he rose in the Imperial court, and usurped the Imperial throne from Emperor Michael III (r. 842–867). Despite his humble origins, he showed great ability in running the affairs of state, leading a revival of Imperial power and to a renaissance of Byzantine art. He was perceived by the Byzantines as one of their greatest emperors, and the dynasty he founded, the Macedonian (Greek: Μακεδονική δυναστεία), ruled over what is regarded as the most glorious and prosperous era of the Byzantine Empire.

From peasant to emperor[link]

Basil was born to peasant parents in late 811 (or sometime in the 830s in the estimation of some scholars) at Charioupolis in the Byzantine theme of Macedonia (an administrative division corresponding to the area of Adrianople in Thrace).^[2][3] Contemporary Byzantine Thrace was inhabited by people of Slavic, Greek and Armenian origins. Claims have been made for an Armenian,^[4] Slavic,^[5][6] or indeed "Armeno-Slavonic"^[3] origin for Basil I. The English Byzantinist John Bagnell Bury dismissed claims of him being of Slavic origin on the basis that the Arabs viewed all Macedonians as Slavs,^[7] a view supported by Peter Charanis, a prominent historian who specialized in ethnic studies of the Byzantine Empire.^[8] The author of the only dedicated biography of Basil I in English has concluded that it is impossible to be certain what the ethnic origins of the emperor were, though Basil was definitely reliant on the support of Armenians in prominent positions within the Byzantine Empire.^[9] During his reign, an elaborate genealogy tree was produced that purported that his ancestors were not mere peasants, as everyone believed, but descendants of the Arsacid (Arshakuni) kings of Armenia and also of Constantine the Great.^[10] Members of the Macedonian dynasty would come to use this tree to claim their descent from King Tiridates III of Armenia.

One story asserts that he had spent a part of his childhood in captivity in Bulgaria, where his family had, allegedly, been carried off as captives of the Khan Krum (r. 803–814) in 813. Basil lived there until 836, when he and several others escaped to Byzantine-held territory in Thrace.^[2] Basil was ultimately lucky enough to enter the service of Theophilitzes, a relative of the Caesar Bardas (the uncle of Emperor Michael III), as a groom. While serving Theophilitzes, he visited the city of Patras, where he gained the favor of Danielis, a wealthy woman who took him into her household and endowed him with a fortune. He also earned the notice of Michael III by his abilities as a horse tamer and in winning a victory over a Bulgarian champion in a wrestling match; he soon became the Byzantine Emperor's companion, confidant, and bodyguard (parakoimomenos).^[11]

The coronation of Basil I as co-emperor (the group to the right), from the Madrid Skylitzes manuscript.

On Emperor Michael's orders, Basil divorced his wife Maria and married Eudokia Ingerina, Michael's favorite mistress in around 865. During an expedition against the Arabs, Basil convinced Michael III that his uncle Bardas coveted the Byzantine throne, and subsequently murdered Bardas with Michael's approval on April 21, 866. Basil then became the leading personality at court and was invested in the now vacant dignity of kaisar (caesar), before being crowned co-emperor on May 26, 866. This promotion may have included Basil's adoption by Michael III, himself a much younger man. It was commonly believed that Leo VI, Basil's successor and reputed son, was really the son of Michael. Although Basil seems to have shared this belief (and hated Leo), the subsequent promotion of Basil to caesar and then co-emperor provided the child with a legitimate and Imperial parent and secured his succession to the Byzantine throne. It is notable that when Leo was born, Michael III celebrated the event with public chariot races, whilst he pointedly instructed Basil not to presume on his new position as junior emperor.^[12]

When Michael III started to favor another courtier, Basiliskian, Basil decided that his position was being undermined. Michael invested Basiliskian with the Imperial title and this induced Basil to pre-empt events by organizing the assassination of Michael on the night of September 23/24, 867. Michael and Basiliskian were insensibly drunk following a banquet at the palace of Anthimos when Basil, with a small group of companions (including his father Bardas, brother Marinos, and cousin Ayleon), gained entry. The locks to the chamber doors had been tampered with and the chamberlain had not posted guards; both victims were then put to the sword.^[13] On Michael III's death, Basil, as an already acclaimed co-emperor, automatically became the ruling basileus.^[14]

Reign[link]

Basil I and his son Leo.

Basil I inaugurated a new age in the history of the Byzantine Empire, associated with the dynasty which he founded, the so-called "Macedonian dynasty". This dynasty oversaw a period of territorial expansion, during which the Byzantium was the strongest power in Europe and the eastern Mediterranean.

It is remarkable that Basil I became an effective and respected monarch, ruling for 19 years, despite being a man with no formal education and no military or administrative experience. Moreover, he had been the boon companion of a debauched monarch and had achieved power through a series of calculated murders. That there was little political reaction to the murder of Michael III is probably due to his unpopularity with the bureaucrats of Constantinople because of his disinterest in the administrative duties of the Imperial office. Also, Michael's public displays of impiety had alienated the Byzantine populace in general. Once in power Basil soon showed that he intended to rule effectively and as early as his coronation he displayed an overt religiosity by formally dedicating his crown to Christ. He maintained a reputation for conventional piety throughout his reign.^[15]

Domestic policies[link]

To secure his family on the throne, Basil I raised his eldest son Constantine (in 869) and his second son Leo (in 870) to the position of co-emperor.

Because of the great legislative work which Basil I undertook, he is often called the "second Justinian." Basil's laws were collected in the Basilika, consisting of sixty books, and smaller legal manuals known as the Eisagoge. Leo VI was responsible for completing these legal works. The Basilika remained the law of the Byzantine Empire down to its conquest by the Ottomans. Ironically, this codification of laws seems to have begun under the direction of the caesar Bardas who was murdered by Basil.^[16] Basil's financial administration was prudent. Consciously desiring to emulate Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565), Basil also initiated an extensive building program in Constantinople, crowned by the construction of the Nea Ekklesia cathedral.

His ecclesiastical policy was marked by good relations with Rome. One of his first acts was to exile the Patriarch of Constantinople, Photios, and restore his rival Ignatios, whose claims were supported by Pope Adrian II.^[2] However, Basil had no intention of yielding to Rome beyond a certain point. The decision of Boris I of Bulgaria to align the new Bulgarian Church with Constantinople was a great blow to Rome, which had hoped to secure it for herself. But on the death of Ignatios in 877, Photios became patriarch again, and there was a virtual, though not a formal, breach with Rome. This was a watershed event in conflicts that led to the Great Schism that ultimately produced the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church as separate ecclesiastical entities.

Foreign affairs[link]

Another miniature representing a scene from Basil's life.

Emperor Basil's reign was marked by the troublesome ongoing war with the heretical Paulicians, centered on Tephrike on the upper Euphrates, who rebelled, allied with the Arabs, and raided as far as Nicaea, sacking Ephesus. Basil's general, Christopher, defeated the Paulicians in 872, and the death of their leader, Chrysocheir, led to the definite subjection of their state.^[17] There was the usual frontier warfare with the Arabs in Asia Minor, which led to little concrete gain, but the Empire's eastern frontier was strengthened. The island of Cyprus was recovered, but retained for only seven years.

Basil was the first Byzantine emperor since Constans II (r. 641–668) to pursue an active policy to restore the Empire's power in the West. Basil allied with Holy Roman Emperor Louis II (r. 850–875) against the Arabs and sent a fleet of 139 ships to clear the Adriatic Sea of their raids. With Byzantine help, Louis II captured Bari from the Arabs in 871. The city eventually became Byzantine territory in 876. However, the Byzantine position on Sicily deteriorated, and Syracuse fell to the Emirate of Sicily in 878. This was ultimately Basil's fault as he had diverted a relief fleet from Sicily to haul marble for a church instead. Although most of Sicily was lost, the general Nikephoros Phokas (the Elder) succeeded in taking Taranto and much of Calabria in 880. The successes in the Italian peninsula opened a new period of Byzantine domination there. Above all, the Byzantines were beginning to establish a strong presence in the Mediterranean Sea, and especially the Adriatic.^[18]

Last years and succession[link]

Basil I's spirits declined in 879, when his eldest and favorite son Constantine died. Basil now raised his youngest son, Alexander, to the rank of co-emperor. Basil disliked the bookish Leo, on occasion physically beating him; he probably suspected Leo of being the son of Michael III. In his later years, Basil's relationship with Leo was clouded by the suspicion that the latter might wish to avenge the murder of Michael III. Leo was eventually imprisoned by the Basil after the detection of a suspected plot, the imprisonment resulted in public rioting; Basil threatened to blind Leo but was dissuaded by the Patriarch Photios. Leo was eventually released after the passage of 3 years.^[19] Basil I died on August 29, 886 from a fever contracted after a serious hunting accident when his belt was caught in the antlers of a deer, and he was allegedly dragged 16 miles through the woods. He was saved by an attendant who cut him loose with a knife, but he suspected the attendant of trying to assassinate him and had the man executed shortly before he himself died.^[20]

One of the first acts of Leo VI as ruling emperor was to rebury, with great ceremony, the remains of Michael III in the Imperial mausoleum within the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. This did much to confirm in public opinion that he considered himself to have been Michael's son.^[21]

Family[link]

The mother of Basil is unknown, but his father was:

• Bardas/Konstantinos of Macedonia.

By his first wife Maria, Basil I had several children, including:

• Bardas.
• Anastasia, who married the general Christopher.
• Constantine (circa 865 – September 3, 879), co-emperor to Basil from January 6, 868 to his death. According to George Alexandrovič Ostrogorsky, Constantine was betrothed to Ermengard of Provence, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Louis II and Engelberga in 869. The marital contract was broken in 871 when relations between Basil and Louis broke down.

By his second wife, Eudokia Ingerina, Basil I officially had the following children:

• Leo VI, who succeeded as Byzantine emperor and may actually have been the son of Michael III.
• Stephen I, Patriarch of Constantinople, who may also have been a son of Michael III.
• Alexander, who succeeded as Byzantine emperor in 912.
• Anna Porphyrogenita, a nun at the convent of St. Euphemia in Petrion.
• Helena Porphyrogenita, a nun at the convent of St. Euphemia in Petrion.
• Maria Porphyrogenita, a mother of nuns at the convent of St. Euphemia in Petrion.

In culture[link]

• Harry Turtledove, a historian noted for his alternate historical works, has written several series set in a place called Videssos, which is a thinly disguised Byzantine Empire. The Tale of Krispos trilogy – Krispos Rising (1991), Krispos of Videssos (1991), and Krispos the Emperor (1994) – are fictionalized tellings of the rise of Basil and his sons.
• Stephen Lawhead's book, Byzantium (1996), uses the succession of the Basil I as seed for the conspiracy which occupies most of the novel.

References[link]

Citations[link]

Sources[link]