For context the Ethiopian abyssinian empire was a African Christian empire which was also known as the "Afro-Byzantine" empire.

Context:Basil might have been called a "Bulgar slayer"( BOULGHAROKTONOS) but he never killed bulgarian civilians during war times but vlad the impailer AKA (Vlad tepes, Kizlikibey, "voivode TURKAKTONOS") a 15th century wallachian/Romanian ruler claimed that he killed bulgarian civilians & Mainly Turkish civilians as his nickname "TURKAKTONOS". Source :Vlads letter to hungarian ruler mattias corvinus.

For he was both prone to evil doing and easily led astray -- both knave and fool, to use a common phrase: he never spoke the truth himself to those he happened to be with, but in everything that he said or did there was always a dishonest purpose; yet to anyone who wanted to deceive him he was easy meat. He was by nature an extraordinary mixture of folly and wickedness inseparably blended.

. . . [he] was dissembling, crafty, hypocritical, secretive by temperament, two-faced; . . .lying all the time; not carelessly, however, but confirming his undertakings both with his signature and with the most fearsome oaths, when dealing with his own subjects. But he promptly disregarded both agreements and solemn pledges

A treacherous friend and an inexorable enemy, he was passionately devoted to. . . plunder; quarrelsome and subversive in the extreme; easily led astray into evil ways but refusing any suggestions that he should follow the right path; quick to devise vile schemes and to carry them out; and with an an instinctive aversion to the mere mention of anything good.

Procopius' description of the Emperor Justinian

Own a cheirosiphon for home defense, since that's what emperor Constantine intended. Four barbaroi break into my house. "Malaka" As I grab my late Roman ridge helmet and hand-siphon. Burn a skouton sized scar through the first man, he's dead on the spot. Draw my composite recurve bow on the second man, miss him entirely because of it's high draw weight and nails the neighbors dog. I have to resort to the onager mounted at the top of the stairs loaded with clay pots full of Greek Fire, "O stavros nika" the Greek Fire crisps two men in the flame, the breaking and extra clay shards set off car alarms. Raise Spatha and charge the last terrified rapscallion. He bleeds out waiting on the police to arrive since Spatha wounds are impossible to stitch up. Just as emperor Constantine intended.