So I know the title is a little out there but bare with me. It is known that Basil II was a very cautious leader and tried to lessen the power of nobility around him. It is for this reason, (regarding many others) that he didn’t marry a woman from the Byzantine nobility in order to not empower the Byzantine aristocratic families. For instance, if he got married to the daughter of high ranking court official, his "father-in-law" so to speak would definitely be very eager to get an extra grab at power. So of course, Basil decided to stay unmarried. He obviously didn't have much reason to because 1) his brother Constantine VIII had children already 2) his empire seemed secure enough to survive without him. But of course, after his death, it became clear of how detrimental that was.
So I thought, What If Basil II did end up marrying, but he married a woman of a peasant/commoner background with little to no familial connections.
To begin, marrying outside of the Aristocracy was rare but it did happen. Even Emperor Basil’s mother Theophano was the daughter of a poor tavern-keeper. Yes, the marriage was unpopular but still.
I can picture Basil II getting married to a (possibly orphaned) commoner or a peasant-woman [I know orphan sounds harsh].
To explain, it rids of the two issues at hand. Marrying an orphaned/commoner woman with little to no paternal connections would lessen the risk of nepotism from his father-in-law. As he won't have to worry about the father of his bride pestering him for power. And if his wife was a commoner/peasant, it might be even better (correct me if i'm wrong).
I'm not sure how they would go about meeting though. I know bride shows were popular in the Byzantine Era, but knowing Basil II disdain for marriage, he probably would've never accepted one. It could be that he either meets her in a humble city-occupation like an innkeeper or something, OR that she was serving in his palace or something as a servant/secretary/ lady-in-waiting to a woman close to Basil/ and someway, somehow, they married and had a child that had already grew to adult age at the time of his death.
I believe if Basil had a strong , stable heir, (by a commoner) preferably one that had reached adulthood and had been made co-ruler next to his father, history afterwards would've gone about much better.
So I thought, What If Basil II did end up marrying, but he married a woman of a peasant/commoner background with little to no familial connections.
To begin, marrying outside of the Aristocracy was rare but it did happen. Even Emperor Basil’s mother Theophano was the daughter of a poor tavern-keeper. Yes, the marriage was unpopular but still.
I can picture Basil II getting married to a (possibly orphaned) commoner or a peasant-woman [I know orphan sounds harsh].
To explain, it rids of the two issues at hand. Marrying an orphaned/commoner woman with little to no paternal connections would lessen the risk of nepotism from his father-in-law. As he won't have to worry about the father of his bride pestering him for power. And if his wife was a commoner/peasant, it might be even better (correct me if i'm wrong).
I'm not sure how they would go about meeting though. I know bride shows were popular in the Byzantine Era, but knowing Basil II disdain for marriage, he probably would've never accepted one. It could be that he either meets her in a humble city-occupation like an innkeeper or something, OR that she was serving in his palace or something as a servant/secretary/ lady-in-waiting to a woman close to Basil/ and someway, somehow, they married and had a child that had already grew to adult age at the time of his death.
I believe if Basil had a strong , stable heir, (by a commoner) preferably one that had reached adulthood and had been made co-ruler next to his father, history afterwards would've gone about much better.
