Member-only story
One Of History’s Most Vengeful Orders Left Thousands Without Eyes
A real life case of the blind leading the blind
On April 22nd, 960 CE, a two-year-old emperor, Basil II, was coronated as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. The young boy was born in the purple and was elevated to the highest office in the land when he was just a toddler. What Basil II could not know was that he was being plunged into a conflict that would drag on for fifty years. The Byzantine Empire was about to embark on a titanic struggle with neighboring Bulgaria. The war would be bloody and harrowing for both sides.
Basil II grew up in the shadow of war. Byzantium had one goal in mind during this time period — exterminate Bulgaria. The neighboring kingdom of Bulgaria had managed to escape Byzantine rule for far too long. The new millennium was near, and by the year 1000 CE, Byzantium wanted Bulgaria brought to heel.
It was this conflict and this seemingly endless struggle that ended in one of the most brutal and ruthless orders in all of history. In 960, Basil II was just an innocent boy. By 1014, he was a cold and hard ruler of one of history’s greatest empires.
