Constantine VIII Assumes Sole Rule

Name: Constantine VIII Assumes Sole Rule
Start: 1025
End: 1028

Type Event Region Europe Time 1025–1028

After Basil II died in 1025, his brother Constantine VIII became the sole reigning emperor of the Byzantine Empire, ending the arrangement of nominal…

Timeline

1025Constantinople · ByzantineAfter Basil II's death, Constantine VIII formally became sole emperor. Although he had co-ruled with his brother for many years, real military and civil power had rested with Basil; after accession, power was redistributed between the court and the nobility.
1026–1028Byzantine Empire · ByzantineIn the later part of his reign, Constantine VIII restored land grants to large landowners, reduced protections for peasant land taxes, and arranged the marriage of his daughter Zoe to Romanos Argyros to pave the way for imperial succession, weakening the policies that had suppressed the nobility under Basil II.

Sources

A History of the Byzantine State and Society — Warren Treadgold (1997)