King Basil II Of Bulgaria And His Past Times

>> YOUR LINK HERE: ___ http://youtube.com/watch?v=zSL4QrJaHaA

Basil was born into a state of turmoil. The Byzantine empire under his father Romanos II had suffered serious decline in the past few centuries. A far cry from the glorious days of Roman rule. The mismanagement of the state had led to wealthy landowners and governors hoarding power away from the state. The empire stood divided among them; the power of its central state carved up for the benefit of the wealthy. Any hope of consolidating enough power to retake its lands lost along the Danube was quashed by political infighting. The only hope for the empire was a strong central figure who could unite or stand up to the governors. • Basil started at a disadvantage in that category. Unlike the wealthy landed elite that were keeping the Byzantine empire in a political stranglehold, he didn’t come from totally noble stock. He was a porphyrogennetos. Meaning ‘born into the purple’, he was the child of a reigning emperor but his mother, Theophano, was not of noble birth. She had been born poor; the daughter of a tavern keeper called Krateros. After his father’s first marriage had been without issue Romanos II had gained permission to choose his own bride. He had chosen Theophano out of love. • This turned out to be a dangerous decision for both him and his father. Romanos I died suddenly 4 years after the marriage of his son. Whispers circulated in the court that Theophana had been behind the poisoning to advance her husband’s power. Romanos laughed off the rumours at first, but when they persisted, he started to eliminate courtiers appointed by his father and install his own people, loyal to him and his new wife. He even forced his sisters into convents and excused his mother from the court. Basil watched this interplay of ruthless politics and learned the way only a small child can • #byzantine #basilii #romanempire #documentary • Sources: • Zlatarski, History of Bulgaria in the Middle Ages, (Oxford Press 2001) • • Gyuzelev, Short History of Bulgaria (New York Press, 2003) • Magdalino, P., Byzantium in the Year 1000, Brill 2003 • • Runciman, Steven (1930). A History of the First Bulgarian Empire. London: G. Bell and Sons • • Zlatarski, History of Bulgaria in the Middle Ages (Oxford Uni Press, 2007) • • Pirivatrich, The State of Samuel (Oxford Uni Press, 2003) • • Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991). Romanos II . The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press • • Blöndal, Sigfús; Benedikz, Benedikt (16 April 2007). The Varangians of Byzantium. Cambridge University Press • • Garland, Lynda (2002). Byzantine Empresses: Women and Power in Byzantium AD 527–1204. Routledge • • Shephard, Jonathan (2000). Byzantium expanding, 944–1025 . In Reuter, Timothy (ed.). The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume 3, c.900–c.1024. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press • • Mango, Cyril (5 December 2002). The Oxford History of Byzantium. Oxford University Press.

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