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| 865 |
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| Boris of Bulgaria (852–89) allowed himself to be baptized. Although Michael III acted as godfather, the Bulgarian ruler was for a time undecided between the claims of Rome and Constantinople to religious jurisdiction in Bulgaria. | 1 |
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| 866 |
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| Bardas was murdered by Michael's favorite, Basil. | 2 |
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| 867 |
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| Michael himself was deposed and done away with at Basil's order. | 3 |
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| 867 |
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| Schism with Rome. The great patriarch Photius had replaced Ignatius in 858, whereupon the latter had appealed to the pope for an inquiry. Photius came to represent the Greek national feeling in opposition to Rome. He took a strong stand toward the papal claims, and the Council of Constantinople (867) anathematized the pope, accused the papacy of doctrinal aberrations, rejected the idea of Rome's primacy. | 4 |
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| 867–86 |
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| Basil I, founder of the Macedonian dynasty (he was really of Armenian extraction, though born in Macedonia). His reign initiated what was probably the most glorious period of Byzantine history, a period of brilliant military success, material prosperity, and cultural development. Basil I's ambition was to restore the empire both internally and externally. He rebuilt the army and, especially, the navy and did much to revise the legal system: the Procheiros Nomos (879), a compilation of the most important parts of the Justinian code; the Epanagoge (886), a manual of customary law. | 5 |
| Basil I's reign was also marked by the gradual emergence of a system comparable to western European feudalism: in return for their service to the state, high-ranking officials were given land with peasants to till the fields. This practice led to the appearance of powerful provincial magnates, called dynatoi. However, there was no contract between lord and vassal: the emperor could dispossess the dynatoi at any time. | 6 |
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| 869 |
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| The eighth ecumenical synod. Photius was banished (867) and Ignatius recalled. The latter made peace with Rome on papal terms, but conflict and friction continued. | 7 |
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| 871–79 |
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| Campaigns in the east. Border warfare with the Arabs was chronic, but the campaign against the Paulicians (Christian purists hostile to the empire) was a new departure. The imperial armies advanced to the upper Euphrates and took Samosata (873). In 878–79 victorious campaigns were carried through in Cappadocia and Cilicia. By land, the Byzantine forces were gradually taking the offensive against the Muslims, wracked by internal dissension. | 8 |
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| 875 |
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| The Byzantine forces seized Bari in southern Italy. Some years later (880) they took Tarentum and then (885) Calabria, establishing two new themes in southern Italy, which became a refuge for Greeks driven from Sicily by the completion of the Muslim conquest (Syracuse taken in 878; Taormina taken in 902). | 9 |
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| 877 |
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| Photius was restored as patriarch, and the break with Rome was renewed. | 10 |
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| 880–81 |
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| A number of naval victories over the Muslim pirates of the eastern Mediterranean marked the beginning of a long campaign. | 11 |
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| 886–912 |
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| Leo VI (the Wise), a somewhat pedantic philosopher, but nevertheless a determined ruler with a high sense of his office and obligations. He deposed Photius at once and put the Ignatians back in power. The result was a renewal of the union with Rome (900), which, however, could hardly have been more than external. The reign of Leo was also marked by further legislative work. The Basilika (887–93) provided a series of 60 new law books, consisting largely of a compilation of decrees since the time of Justinian. | 12 |
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| 894–96 |
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| War with the Bulgarians, who now entered the period of greatness under Tsar Symeon (893–927). The emperor encouraged the Hungarians to attack by way of diversion, and most of Symeon's reign was taken up with continued campaigns against this enemy. Symeon was educated at Constantinople and was deeply impressed by Greek culture, which he introduced in Bulgaria. | 13 |
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