The Legend of Basil the Bulgar-Slayer - Softcover

Stephenson, Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521158834 ISBN 13: 9780521158831

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2006

Synopsis

The reign of Basil II (976–1025), the longest of any Byzantine emperor, has long been considered as a 'golden age', in which his greatest achievement was the annexation of Bulgaria. This, we have been told, was achieved through a long and bloody war of attrition which won Basil the grisly epithet Voulgartoktonos, 'the Bulgar-slayer'. In this 2003 study Paul Stephenson argues that neither of these beliefs is true. Instead, Basil fought far more sporadically in the Balkans and his reputation as 'Bulgar-slayer' was created only a century and a half later. Thereafter the 'Bulgar-slayer' was periodically to play a galvanizing role for the Byzantines, returning to centre-stage as Greeks struggled to establish a modern nation state. As Byzantium was embraced as the Greek past by scholars and politicians, the 'Bulgar-slayer' became an icon in the struggle for Macedonia (1904–1908) and the Balkan Wars (1912–1913).

About this title

Review:

Review of the hardback: 'It is well written and has that strong sense of Byzantium's place in the Hellenic tradition.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History

Book Description:

This 2003 illustrated, revisionary account of the long reign of the Byzantine emperor Basil II (976–1025) establishes that the 'Bulgar-slayer' legend was in fact created long after Basil's death, and shows how the emperor's supposedly fearsome reputation was seized upon by scholars and politicians in the modern period.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0521158834
• ISBN 13: 9780521158831
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 190