Basil II And The Governance Of Empire (976-1025) (Oxford Studies In Byzantium)

Basil II and the Governance of Empire (976-1025) (Oxford Studies in Byzantium)

Review"Basil II and the Governance of Empire marks a major advance in the understanding of the late tenth and early eleventh century...[A] fundamental and balanaced monograph..."--SpeculumThis is the first book-length study in English of the Byzantine emperor Basil II, the "Bulgar-slayer." Basil presided over a Byzantium which was the superpower of the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East in the century before the Crusades. Catherine Holmes peels away the layers of later interpretations to reveal an empire that was governed by a potent mixture of subtle persuasion and brute force.About the AuthorCatherine Holmes is Tutor and Fellow in Medieval History, University College, University of Oxford.