1000-1004 AD:
Basil II was returning to Constantinople after four years of campaigning against the Bulgarians. He had learned from his mistakes at the Battle at the Gates of Trajan and now Vidin and all of Thessaly, Macedonia, Moesia and Western Bulgaria was under Roman rule.
Despite Basil's recent successes, his life had not been an easy one, to say the least. At the tender age of five, his father, Romanos II, had died and his mother, Theophano, had married a military strongman - Nikephoros II Phokas, better known to his enemies as 'The White Death of the Saracens'. After 6 years, Theophano murdered Nikephoros to place his nephew, John Tzimiskes on the throne. Instead of marrying her, John had instead sent Basil's mother to a nunnery and married Romanos' sister Theodora. John Tzimiskes served as a mentor for Basil for 7 years before dying abruptly after a successful campaign against the Fatimids. Basil was finally old enough to rule in his own right, but he immediately hindered by three nobles - Bardas Skleros, Bardas Phokas and Basil Lekapenos - who were determined to reduce his family to impotent ciphers. Basil had defeated them all, but he was a changed man - sombre, bitter and distrustful with no time for art, rhetoric or the ceremonial of the court at Constantinople. Phokas and Lekapenos were now dead, and Bardas Skleros had given him the following advice:
"Cut down the governors who become over-proud. Let no generals on campaign have too many resources. Exhaust them with unjust exactions, to keep them busied with their own affairs. Admit no woman to the imperial councils. Be accessible to no one. Share with few your most intimate plans."
For the rest of his reign, Basil would take this advice to heart, yet now he was mulling the last bits of advice. His brother Constantine had three daughters, Eudokia, Zoe and Theodora, but no sons, and Basil himself was unmarried. Bardas Skleros had a son and a grandson. Suddenly, Basil realised Skleros' masterstroke - while he had defeated the old general, his lineage would continue and thrive, and if he followed the last bits of his 'advice', the Macedonian dynasty would likely end up extinct. Basil was determined not to let that happen*. After resting at Philippopolis, Basil headed south towards Adrianople, which had been plundered by Tsar Samuel while he was in Macedonia. A sorry sight - buildings smoking and collapsing, dead bodies everywhere. Basil himself stumbled across a group of survivors, one of them a young woman in her early twenties, beautiful yet stoic. Basil barked at her, asking for her name. When no answer came, Basil raised his arm to strike her when another of the survivors said her name was Agatha, daughter of a now-deceased local baker.
Outwardly, Basil's only reaction was to furrow his brows and stroke his whiskers, which he usually did if he was angry or deep in thought. Inside, he felt enraged towards the Bulgarians and a strange... connection to this poor woman. He would never allow a woman from one of the noble families to gain access to his plans and secrets, but Agatha, this woman who had suffered as he had against Samuel, she would do just fine.
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*: POD. OTL, Basil never married and his brother and nieces had no male issue, bringing an end to the Macedonian dynasty with Theodora's death in 1056.
Hope this grabs people's attention.
Basil II was returning to Constantinople after four years of campaigning against the Bulgarians. He had learned from his mistakes at the Battle at the Gates of Trajan and now Vidin and all of Thessaly, Macedonia, Moesia and Western Bulgaria was under Roman rule.
Despite Basil's recent successes, his life had not been an easy one, to say the least. At the tender age of five, his father, Romanos II, had died and his mother, Theophano, had married a military strongman - Nikephoros II Phokas, better known to his enemies as 'The White Death of the Saracens'. After 6 years, Theophano murdered Nikephoros to place his nephew, John Tzimiskes on the throne. Instead of marrying her, John had instead sent Basil's mother to a nunnery and married Romanos' sister Theodora. John Tzimiskes served as a mentor for Basil for 7 years before dying abruptly after a successful campaign against the Fatimids. Basil was finally old enough to rule in his own right, but he immediately hindered by three nobles - Bardas Skleros, Bardas Phokas and Basil Lekapenos - who were determined to reduce his family to impotent ciphers. Basil had defeated them all, but he was a changed man - sombre, bitter and distrustful with no time for art, rhetoric or the ceremonial of the court at Constantinople. Phokas and Lekapenos were now dead, and Bardas Skleros had given him the following advice:
"Cut down the governors who become over-proud. Let no generals on campaign have too many resources. Exhaust them with unjust exactions, to keep them busied with their own affairs. Admit no woman to the imperial councils. Be accessible to no one. Share with few your most intimate plans."
For the rest of his reign, Basil would take this advice to heart, yet now he was mulling the last bits of advice. His brother Constantine had three daughters, Eudokia, Zoe and Theodora, but no sons, and Basil himself was unmarried. Bardas Skleros had a son and a grandson. Suddenly, Basil realised Skleros' masterstroke - while he had defeated the old general, his lineage would continue and thrive, and if he followed the last bits of his 'advice', the Macedonian dynasty would likely end up extinct. Basil was determined not to let that happen*. After resting at Philippopolis, Basil headed south towards Adrianople, which had been plundered by Tsar Samuel while he was in Macedonia. A sorry sight - buildings smoking and collapsing, dead bodies everywhere. Basil himself stumbled across a group of survivors, one of them a young woman in her early twenties, beautiful yet stoic. Basil barked at her, asking for her name. When no answer came, Basil raised his arm to strike her when another of the survivors said her name was Agatha, daughter of a now-deceased local baker.
Outwardly, Basil's only reaction was to furrow his brows and stroke his whiskers, which he usually did if he was angry or deep in thought. Inside, he felt enraged towards the Bulgarians and a strange... connection to this poor woman. He would never allow a woman from one of the noble families to gain access to his plans and secrets, but Agatha, this woman who had suffered as he had against Samuel, she would do just fine.
__________________________________________________
*: POD. OTL, Basil never married and his brother and nieces had no male issue, bringing an end to the Macedonian dynasty with Theodora's death in 1056.
Hope this grabs people's attention.
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