Editing Basil II (section)

===Fiscal policies===
[[File:Basil II & Constantine VIII in the Exultet roll.jpg|thumb|Basil II (left) and [[Constantine VIII]] (right) in a [[Bari]] [[Exultet roll]], produced during Basil's late reign.{{efn|group=note|These portraits of Basil II and Constantine VIII are generally believed to be reliable.<ref name="ODB-ConstantineVIII"/> Constantine is portrayed as having a longer beard, which coincides with how he's depicted in later coinage.{{sfn|Spatharákīs|1976|pp=91−95}}}}]]
In 992, Basil concluded a treaty with the [[Doge of Venice]] [[Pietro II Orseolo]] under terms reducing Venice's custom duties in Constantinople from 30 ''[[nomismata]]'' to 17 ''nomismata''. In return, the Venetians agreed to transport Byzantine troops to southern Italy in times of war.<ref>
*{{harvnb|Vogt|1923b|p=94}}
*{{harvnb|Norwich|1981|p=158}}
*{{harvnb|Holmes|2003}}</ref>{{efn|group=note|The [[Edict on Maximum Prices]] issued during [[Diocletian]]'s reign placed the cost on carpets from [[Cappadocia]] "at 3000 ''[[denarii]]'', a price 30-fold the cost of a ''[[Ancient Roman units of measurement#Dry measure|modios]]'' of wheat and thus approximately the value of perhaps two middle Byzantine ''[[nomismata]]''".{{sfn|Cooper|Decker|2012|p=96}}}} According to one estimate, a Byzantine landowning farmer might expect a profit of 10.2 ''nomismata'' after paying dues for half of his best-quality land.{{sfn|Laiou|2007|p=303}} Basil was popular with the country farmers,{{sfn|Stephenson|2000|p=280}} the class that produced most of his army's supplies and soldiers. To assure this continued, Basil's laws protected small agrarian property owners and lowered their taxes. Despite the almost constant wars, Basil's reign was considered an era of relative prosperity for the class.{{sfn|Holmes|2003}}{{sfn|Magdalino|2003|p=79}}

Seeking to protect the lower and middle classes, Basil made ruthless war upon the system of immense estates in Asia Minor{{sfn|Bury|1911|p=476}}—which his predecessor [[Romanos I Lekapenos|Romanos I]] had endeavored to check{{sfn|Cartwright|2018a}}—by executing a [[Novel (Roman law)|legal decree]] in January 996 that limited rights to property ownership. If the owner of an estate could prove that he claimed his estate prior to the Novels of Romanos, he would be allowed to keep it. If a person had illegally seized an estate following the Novels of Romanos, he would have his rights to the estate declared null and the legal owners could reclaim it.{{sfn|Vogt|1923b|p=92}} In 1002, Basil also introduced the ''[[allelengyon]]'' tax{{sfn|Makris|2006}} as a specific law obliging the ''[[dynatoi]]'' (wealthy landholders) to cover for the arrears of poorer tax-payers. Though it proved unpopular with the wealthier sections of Byzantine society,{{sfn|ODB|loc="Allelengyon" (A. Cutler), p. 69}} Basil did not abolish the tax;{{sfn|Thomas|Thomas|1987|p=165}} the emperor [[Romanos III]] abolished the ''allelengyon'' in 1028.{{sfn|Makris|2006}} By 1025, Basil—with an annual revenue of 7 million ''nomismata''—was able to amass 14.4 million ''nomismata'' (or 200,000 pounds/90 [[tonne]]s of [[gold]]) for the Imperial treasury due to his prudent management.{{sfn|Sewter|1953|p=19}}{{sfn|Magdalino|2003|p=85}} Despite his attempts to control the power of the aristocracy, they again took control of the government following his death.{{sfn|Stephenson|Hoppenbrouwers|2014|p=9}}