Timeline Thursday 15 December 1025

Events on Thursday 15 December 1025 1

• 1025 Death of Basil II -- the beginning of the end Basil II dies on 15 December 1025, aged approximately 67, having reigned for 49 years -- the longest reign in Byzantine history. He never marries, has no heirs, and dies planning a campaign to reconquer Sicily from the Arabs. He leaves a treasury of 200,000 pounds of gold. His successors squander both the treasury and the military system in a generation of palace intrigues, civilian government and neglect of the army. The decade after Basil's death begins the decline that leads to Manzikert (1071). The contrast between Basil's military autocracy and his successors' civilian rule is the sharpest in Byzantine history.