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Basil II

958 CE – 1025 CE

Retrace Basil II's life across the map — 9 events in chronological order, from a cinematic flythrough to a full timeline.

Life journey

1. Battle of the Gates of Trajan986 CE
   The Battle of the Gates of Trajan was a battle between Byzantine and Bulgarian forces in the year 986.
2. Siege of Aleppo994 CE
   The siege of Aleppo was a siege of the Hamdanid capital Aleppo by the army of the Fatimid Caliphate under Manjutakin from the spring of 994 to April 995. Manjutakin laid siege to the city over the winter, while the population of Aleppo starved and suffered from disease. In the spring of 995, the emir of Aleppo appealed for help from Byzantine emperor Basil II. The arrival of a Byzantine relief army under the emperor in April 995 compelled the Fatimid forces to give up the siege and retreat south.
3. Battle of Skopje1004 CE
   The Battle of Skopje was a battle in 1004 during the Byzantine reconquest of Bulgaria. The campaign was carried out in a slow and systematic manner, with campaigns sometimes continuing year-round rather than following the traditional seasonal pattern. The primary reason for mounting a long campaign was the realization by Basil II that Bulgarian could not be conquered in a single campaign. Instead the emperor chose to employ systematic and constant pressure, resulting in gaining control over crucial fortresses. He first secured Sardika and then advanced north to sever Samuil's access to the former Bulgarian heartlands around Preslav. Once this area was under control, Byzantine forces moved south from Sardika into Macedonia, capturing Berrhoia and reopening the route to Greece. Byzantine authority was soon restored in Thessaly and in parts of eastern Macedonia, including Voden. Basil then launched a major offensive northward toward the Danube, culminating in the capture of Vidin after an eight-month siege. During this time, Samuil personally led a raid through the reconquered territories and briefly seized Adrianople, which he plundered but was unable to hold.
4. Battle of Kreta1009 CE
   The Battle of Kreta occurred in 1009 near the village of Kreta to the east of Thessaloníki. Since the fall of the Bulgarian capital Preslav to the Byzantines in 971, there was a constant state of war between the two Empires. From 976, the Bulgarian noble and later Emperor Samuel successfully fought against the Byzantines but, from the beginning of the 11th century, fortune favoured Byzantium, which recovered from previous severe losses. From 1002 Basil II launched annual campaigns against Bulgaria and seized many towns. In 1009 the Byzantines engaged the Bulgarian army to the east of Thessaloníki. Little is known for the battle itself but the result was a Byzantine victory. Five years later, the Byzantines decisively defeated the Bulgarian army at Kleidion and by 1018 the country was thoroughly conquered by Basil II.
5. Battle of Kleidion1014 CE
   The Battle of Kleidion took place on 29 July 1014, between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire. It was the culmination of the nearly half-century struggle between the Byzantine Emperor Basil II and the Bulgarian emperor Samuel in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. The result was a decisive Byzantine victory.
6. Battle of Setina1017 CE
   The Battle of Setina took place in the autumn of 1017 near the village of Setina in modern northern Greece between the armies of the Bulgarian Empire and Byzantine Empire. The result was Byzantine victory.
7. Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria1018 CE
   From c. 970 until 1018, a series of conflicts between the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire led to the gradual reconquest of Bulgaria by the Byzantines, who thus re-established their control over the entire Balkan peninsula for the first time since the 7th-century Slavic invasions. The struggle began with the incorporation of eastern Bulgaria after the Russo-Byzantine War (970–971). Bulgarian resistance was led by the Cometopuli brothers, who – based in the unconquered western regions of the Bulgarian Empire – led it until its fall under Byzantine rule in 1018.
8. Battle of Shirimni1021 CE
   Battle of Shirimni also known as the Battle of Palakazio was fought between the Byzantine and Georgian armies at the place of Shirimni at the Palakazio Lake on September 11, 1021.
9. Battle of Svindax1022 CE
   The Battle of Svindax was fought during the spring of 1022 between the Byzantine army of Emperor Basil II and the Georgian army of King George I.

Event data from Wikipedia/Wikidata (CC-BY-SA). Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected].