Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025 and the last great ruler of the Macedonian dynasty, Basil II spent his first decades as a puppet under regents and usurpers before emerging to crush rival generals, forge the Varangian alliance, and wage a thirty-year war of conquest against Bulgaria. At his death on December 15, 1025, the empire stretched from Italy to Armenia and from Syria to Ukraine, with an army considered invincible and a level of prestige unmatched since Heraclius. He died a bachelor, having sacrificed all personal life to the state, and the empire he left — the largest and strongest in Europe — rapidly declined under successors unable to sustain what he had built.
Also known as: Basil the Bulgar-Slayer · Basil the Bulgar Slayer · Basil Boulgaroktonos
What each episode says
Episode 12 (1 mention)
Mentioned at the episode's close as Basil I's great-great-grandson who, a century later, would bring the empire to its height of prestige and glory — the subject of the next episode.
“Basil II, who a century later was to bring the empire”
Episode 13 (57 mentions)
The central figure of the episode, presented by Brownworth as an emperor unlike any before or after him — possessed of boundless energy, relentless as a flow of lava, yet slow and irresistible. Spending his first 27 years as a puppet under a series of regents and usurpers, he emerged to crush two powerful rebel generals, negotiate the Varangian alliance, conquer Bulgaria in a thirty-year war, and expand the empire more than any ruler since Heraclius. He died a bachelor on December 15, 1025, having sacrificed all personal happiness to the single-minded service of the empire.
“But Basil was not like other men, and the army he made was not like any other army.”
“The army was to be an extension of Basil himself, like a flow of molten lava, slow, relentless,”
“Even after all this time, Basil felt no inclination to increase his pace or change his tactics.”
Episode 14 (4 mentions)
Described by Brownworth as the last great ruler of the Macedonian dynasty, Basil II left the empire as the largest and strongest state in Europe, with borders stretching from Italy to Armenia and from Syria to Ukraine, and an army considered invincible. His death, however, began a precipitous decline rather than an age of continued splendor, making him a soldier-emperor whose legacy was squandered by his successors.
“But rather than ushering in an age of unrivaled splendor and power, Basil II was instead the”
“Basil II had been unable to see beyond the narrow walls of the palace and had let the”
“15th, the greatest Emperor since Basil II died in his capital.”
Episode 15 (1 mention)
Referenced as a benchmark of Byzantine greatness; by Manuel's death the empire's prestige had been restored to a level not seen since Basil II's death.
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