1025

Political Events

Poland's Boleslav I (the Brave) dies June 17 at age 58, leaving a nation that is one of Europe's most powerful, extending from the Elbe to the Bug and from the Danube to the Baltic, with Russia as her vassal (see 1024). Boleslav's 35-year-old eldest son is remarkable for his time in that he can read and write, knows both Greek and Latin, has probably ruled as his father's governor at Kraków since 1013, and will reign until his death in 1034 as Mieszko II, but other sons take parts of the country, and dynastic conflicts begin that will lose most of Boleslav's territorial gains to neighboring countries (see 1028).

The Byzantine emperor Basil II dies December 15 at age 69 after a 49-year reign in which he has amassed 300,000 pounds of gold in underground chambers and monopolized the royal-purple silk prized by European monarchs. Known as Bulgaroctonus (Bulgar-slayer), he is succeeded by his brother, who will reign until his death in 1028 as Constantine VIII.

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