Blinding of Bulgarian prisoners by Basil II (1014)

Timeline

1. 1014Kleidion · BulgariaAfter the Battle of Kleidion, Basil II grouped the captured Bulgarian soldiers into units of a hundred and ordered ninety-nine in each group blinded, leaving one with a single eye as a guide—applying the customary punishment for rebellious subjects to the Bulgarians.
2. 1014From the Strymon valley toward Prespa · Balkan PeninsulaLarge numbers of blinded captives struggled westward under the guidance of a few one-eyed leaders, shocking the Balkans along the way; chroniclers also described the act as revenge for the earlier death of the fallen general Theophylact Botaneiates.
3. 1014Prespa · North MacedoniaAccording to Skylitzes, Samuel suffered a mental breakdown after witnessing the return of his blinded army and died of a heart attack on 6 October; Bulgarian resistance continued for several years, but the event marked a sharp decline in the empire's fortunes.