Basil: Did you mean...?

Eustathios Rhomaios was a prominent Byzantine judge and jurist during the late-10th and early- to mid-11th century. He studied Roman Law and began his career under Basil II (reign 976 to 1025) and became the chief judge during the mid-1020s...

The reign of Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria (reign 997–1014) represents the final and most intense phase of resistance mounted by the First Bulgarian Empire against Byzantine expansion. Emerging from a period of political fragmentation following...

Life for monks in a medieval monastery, just like in any profession or calling, had its pros and cons. While they were expected to live simply with few possessions, attend services at all hours of the day and night, and perhaps even take...

This map illustrates the shifting frontiers of the Byzantine Empire from the accession of Justinian I (reign circa 527 - 565) to the Fourth Crusade's sack of Constantinople in 1204, showing how the Greek-speaking eastern Roman state acted...

A map of the Byzantine empire in 1025 CE at the death of Basil II (r. 976-1025 CE).

Cleopatra VII (69-30 BCE, reign 51-30 BCE) was the last ruler of Egypt before it was annexed as a province of Rome. Arguably the most famous Egyptian queen, Cleopatra was ethnically Greek as a member of the Macedonian Ptolemaic Dynasty (323-30...

People in the Middle Ages have acquired something of a bad reputation when it comes to cleanliness, especially the peasantry. However, despite the general lack of running water and other modern amenities, there were common expectations of...

Blitzkrieg ('lightning war') is a military tactic combining air and land forces deployed at speed against the enemy's weaker points while the rear lines are simultaneously disrupted by acts of sabotage and bombing. Speed, concentration, and...

Greek Fire was an incendiary weapon first used in Byzantine warfare in 678 CE. The napalm of ancient warfare, the highly flammable liquid was made of secret ingredients and used both in catapulted incendiary bombs and sprayed under pressure...

The Great Hall was the architectural centrepiece of a medieval castle's interior and functioned as the social and administrative hub of the castle and its estates. With everyone dining and sleeping in the hall in its early days, the room...