Basil II the Bulgar Slayer: How He Earned the Name

Basil II was among the greatest of the soldier-emperors, and under him the Byzantine Empire reached the height of its medieval power. In a reign of almost fifty years¹ he crushed rebellions at home, extended the frontiers in every direction, and waged a long and merciless war that ended the Bulgarian Empire. The victory that sealed it would later, in the twelfth century, give him the name by which history remembers him: the Bulgar-Slayer.

The fight for the throne

Basil came to the throne young and had to fight to keep it. Two of the empire's most powerful generals, Bardas Skleros and Bardas Phokas, rose in revolt², and for a time Basil's rule hung by a thread. He crushed them with the help of a force of Varangian warriors sent by Vladimir of Kiev, whose people were brought² into the Christian faith in return, a fateful moment for the history of Russia.

Byzantine manuscript miniature of a crowned rebel enthroned in a palace receiving a group of officials — The rebel general Bardas Skleros receives officials after claiming the throne, a miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes, a 12th century illustrated copy of John Skylitzes' chronicle. Public domain

The Bulgarian war

The great struggle of Basil's reign was against the Bulgarian Empire of Tsar Samuel. It was a long war, fought on and off over decades, fought through mountain passes and fortified valleys. In 1014, at Kleidion, Basil trapped and destroyed the main Bulgarian army³. According to the chroniclers he blinded thousands of prisoners⁴, a figure the chronicler John Skylitzes, writing decades later, put at fifteen thousand, though the number may be exaggerated; when the broken men were sent home, Tsar Samuel is said to have died of the shock³.

The portrait of the emperor Basil II from his psalter — Basil II crowned by angels, from the frontispiece of his psalter. Public domain.

A long war, fought on and off over decades, ended when he broke Bulgaria at Kleidion.

The empire at its height

By 1018 Bulgaria was fully absorbed into the empire², its lands made Byzantine provinces. Basil pushed the frontiers east into Armenia and Georgia² and secured the empire's hold on southern Italy. When he died the empire stood at its greatest extent since the Arab conquests, its treasury full, its armies feared.

The measure of the man

Basil never married and left no heir¹, and lived like a soldier to the end, austere and tireless. His epithet, the Bulgar-Slayer, grew in fame⁵ in the centuries after his death; what is beyond doubt is that he left Byzantium stronger than it had been for four hundred years. Within fifty years of his death, weaker successors would let much of it slip away.

Two-part medieval miniature: Byzantine horsemen routing Bulgarians above, and the dying tsar Samuel among his blinded men below — Basil's defeat of Tsar Samuel and the return of the blinded Bulgarian soldiers, as shown in the 14th century Bulgarian translation of the Chronicle of Constantine Manasses. The story fed the legend behind his epithet. Public domain

Meet the other great commanders of the Byzantine Empire, or measure them against the world's best in the greatest military commanders.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Basil II?

He was the Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025, known as the Bulgar-Slayer, a soldier-emperor who conquered the Bulgarian Empire and led Byzantium to its greatest medieval extent.

Why is Basil II called the Bulgar-Slayer?

For his long and decisive war against the Bulgarian Empire, sealed by his crushing victory at Kleidion in 1014; the epithet Boulgaroktonos grew famous in the centuries after his death.

What happened at the Battle of Kleidion?

In 1014 Basil trapped and destroyed the main Bulgarian army in a mountain pass. The chroniclers say he blinded thousands of prisoners, a number the chronicler John Skylitzes, writing decades later, put at fifteen thousand, though it may be exaggerated.

Did Basil II really blind 15,000 prisoners?

The chroniclers record a mass blinding of Bulgarian prisoners after Kleidion, and the figure of fifteen thousand comes from the chronicler John Skylitzes, writing decades later; many historians believe the true numbers were smaller.

How did Basil II change the empire?

He ended decades of civil war, conquered Bulgaria, extended the frontiers into the Caucasus and Italy, and left the empire at its greatest extent and wealth since the Arab conquests.

What were the Varangians?

They were Norse and Rus warriors; a force sent by Vladimir of Kiev helped Basil crush his rivals and later formed the famous Varangian Guard, the emperor's elite bodyguard.

Sources and notes

Numbered notes in the text point to the works below.

Catherine Holmes, Basil II and the Governance of Empire (976-1025) (Oxford University Press, 2005). ↩ a b

World History Encyclopedia, “Basil II” ↩ a b c d

Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars” ↩ a b

John Skylitzes, A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811-1057, trans. John Wortley (Cambridge University Press, 2010), Reign of Basil II: the battle of 1014 and the blinding of the Bulgarian prisoners. ↩

Paul Stephenson, The Legend of Basil the Bulgar-Slayer (Cambridge University Press, 2003). ↩

Wikipedia, “Basil II, Wikipedia”

Basil II the Bulgar-Slayer: the soldier-emperor

At a glance