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Rebellions in Anatolia and alliance with Rus'

Basil was a very successful soldier on horseback and through his achievement he proved himself to be an able general and a strong ruler. In the early years of his reign, administration remained in the hands of Basil Lekapenos. As president of the Byzantine Senate, Lekapenos was a wily, gifted politician who hoped the young emperors would be his puppets. The younger Basil waited and watched without interfering, devoting himself to learning the details of administrative business and military science. Nikephoros II and John I were brilliant military commanders but proved to be poor administrators. Towards the end of his reign, John had belatedly planned to curb the power of the great landowners; his death, which occurred soon after he spoke out against them, led to rumors that he had been poisoned by Lekapenos, who had illegally acquired vast estates and feared an investigation and punishment. At the start of his reign, the failures of his immediate predecessors left Basil II with a serious problem: Bardas Skleros and Bardas Phokas, members of the wealthy military elite of Anatolia, had sufficient means to undertake open rebellion against his authority.

Skleros and Phokas, both of whom were experienced generals, wanted to assume the Imperial position that Nikephoros II and John I had held, and thus return Basil to the role of impotent cypher. Basil, showing a penchant for ruthlessness, took to the field himself and suppressed the rebellions of both Skleros (979) and Phokas (989) with the help of 12,000 Georgians of Tornikios and David III Kuropalates of Tao. The fall of Lekapenos occurred between the rebellions in 985; he was accused of plotting with the rebels and was punished with exile and the confiscation of his property.

The relationship between the two generals was complicated; Phokas was instrumental in defeating the rebellion of Skleros but when Phokas later rebelled, Skleros returned from exile to support him. When Phokas died in battle, Skleros, whom Phokas had imprisoned, assumed the leadership of the rebellion. Basil's brother Constantine—who had no interest in politics, statecraft, or the military –led troops alongside Basil; this was the only military command Constantine would hold. The campaign ended without combat when Skleros was forced to surrender to Basil in 989. Skleros was allowed to live but he died blind, either through disease or from being blinded as punishment for his insurrection.

These rebellions had a profound effect on Basil's outlook and methods of governance. Psellos describes the defeated Skleros giving Basil the following advice, which he took to heart: "Cut down the governors who become over-proud. Let no generals on campaign have too many resources. Exhaust them with unjust exactions, to keep them busied with their own affairs. Admit no woman to the imperial councils. Be accessible to no-one. Share with few your most intimate plans."

To defeat these dangerous revolts, Basil formed an alliance with Prince Vladimir I of Kiev, who in 988 had captured Chersonesos, the Empire's main base in the Crimean Peninsula. Vladimir offered to evacuate Chersonesos and to supply 6,000 of his soldiers as reinforcements to Basil. In exchange, he demanded to be married to Basil's younger sister Anna. At first, Basil hesitated. The Byzantines viewed all of the peoples of Northern Europe—namely Franks and Slavs —as barbarians. Anna objected to marrying a barbarian ruler because such a marriage would have no precedent in Imperial annals.

Vladimir had researched various religions, having sent delegates to various countries. Marriage was not his main reason for choosing Christianity. When Vladimir promised to baptize himself and to convert his people to Christianity, Basil finally agreed. Vladimir and Anna were married in Crimea in 989. The Rus' warriors taken into Basil's army were instrumental in ending the rebellion; they were later organized into the Varangian Guard. This marriage had important long-term implications, marking the beginning of the process by which the Grand Duchy of Moscow many centuries later would proclaim itself "The Third Rome ", and claim the political and cultural heritage of the Byzantine Empire.