Episode 13 - Basil II

By the time Basil II was crowned at age two, the Macedonian Dynasty had led the Byzantine Empire to seemingly endless military victories and unprecedented heights of glory. However it was not the emperors who had accomplished so much, but their powerful generals. In fact Basil's dynasty seemed to be in danger of becoming purely ceremonial or disappearing completely. The young emperor, dominated completely by his regents, seemed unlikely to change things. There was no trace of the heroic about him, no charisma or sparkling personality, and yet he was to emerge as the greatest emperor of his dynasty- bending the army, the empire, and foreign princes alike to the force of his will. Join Lars Brownworth as he looks at the reign of Basil II, the last great conqueror Byzantium ever produced.

You can listen to Episode 13 - Basil II online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Episode 13 - Basil II is an episode from 12 Byzantine Rulers: The History of The Byzantine Empire by Anders Brownworth.

This episode is 31:50 long.

This episode was published on Jan 6, 2007.

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