Byzantine emperor Basil II captured fifteen thousand Bulgarian soldiers at the Battle of Kleidion in 1014 and decided executing them was simply not dramatic enough for his personal brand.

A closer look

Byzantine emperor Basil II captured fifteen thousand Bulgarian soldiers at the Battle of Kleidion in 1014 and decided executing them was simply not dramatic enough for his personal brand. Instead, he divided the prisoners into groups of one hundred, blinded ninety-nine men in each group, and left the hundredth guy with exactly one eye so he could guide the rest of them back home. When the Bulgarian Tsar Samuel saw his completely mutilated army marching back over the horizon, he reportedly suffered a massive stroke and died on the spot. It is honestly an unparalleled level of psychological warfare that makes modern war crimes look somewhat lacking in theatrical flair. Blinding an entire enemy army just to send a very specific message about your tax policies is peak medieval sociopathy. History books always frame these emperors as grand, noble leaders, but they were mostly just unhinged mob bosses with unlimited budgets and absolutely zero access to behavioral therapy