Basil II, as mentioned
in the previous post, was a bit of a hard case. But it’s quite
surprising that he actually reached adulthood at all.
It’s not historically
unusual for a trusted general/grand vizier/uncle of an emperor to
seize power. What is unusual is for that to happen and the legal
emperor to be not only allowed to live, but retain their
(theoretical) position. And it’s double unusual with a side-helping
of surprise when this happens twice to the same emperor, who ends up
becoming a huge success himself.
The White Death of the
Saracens is not the sort of nickname you earn by being a pansy, and
Nicephorus II Phocas, Emperor of Byzantium, deserved it. The
trajectory of Islamic military history is an upward curve from its
founding to the siege of Vienna, but there were occasional blips (and
a few serious ruptures) along that thousand year journey.
Romanus II died
suddenly in his mid-20s, leaving a power vacuum (although both his
children had been crowned co-emperors, they were five and three at
the time). Proclaimed by the army as emperor, Nicephorus Phocas
marched into Byzantium and became ruler of the Eastern Empire in fact
as well as name, aided by his talented nephew (and fellow general)
John Tzimisces.
He enjoyed significant
success in the East, as might be expected from his nickname, and took
the late Romanus’ widow, Theophano, as his lover. However, after a
few years another man took Theophano into his bed: John Tzimisces.
Tzimisces had helped
Nicephorus to the throne, but had, some time later, been deprived of
military command. It proved a fatal decision for the Emperor.
Conspiring with Theophano, Tzimisces and others entered the palace
late at night. Finding the Emperor’s bed empty, he panicked, only
to discover Nicephorus was sleeping on the floor.
Tzimisces kicked him to
death, all the while berating his uncle’s ingratitude for the
assistance given when he had sought to become emperor.
And then there was the
question of Basil and his younger brother Constantine. Bizarrely,
they survived a second usurpation of imperial power. They lost
neither their lives nor their nominal status, although, being far off
adulthood, they had no practical power. It is worth noting that Basil
and Constantine were nephews of Tzimisces (and therefore also related
to Nicephorus), but also that such a relationship has often failed to
stop regicide.
On the battlefield,
Tzimisces continued the policy of his predecessor (knocking the
stuffing out of the Saracens), and enjoyed similar success. He also
died suddenly, possibly due to poisoning. Upon his death, Basil II,
just about old enough to become emperor in truth, took on the reins
of power. Although he also fought in the East, it was his campaigns
in Europe which earnt him his nickname: the Bulgar-Slayer.
Thaddeus
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