Emperor Basil BYZANTIUM, I

   Other names for Basil were Basileos, "The Macedonian" and BYZANTIUM Emperor.

   Ancestral File Number: HR98-C1. User ID: 9681791408.

   General Notes:

"The Macedonian", BYZANTINE Emperor Reigned 867-886, Founder of The Macedonian Dynasty.

BOOKS
Barber Grandparents: 125 Kings, 143 Generations, Ted Butler Bernard and Gertrude Barber Bernard, 1978, McKinney TX, p77: "295M Basil I, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, (Parents not known, F of 307); member of an Armenian family settled in Macedonia; believed to be a descendant of Alexander `The Great', and the royal Armenian family of the Arascides; captured by Bulgarians in 813 and reared as a slavein a foreign land; finally obtained his freedom and went to Constantinople, becoming Chamberlain to Michael III; later became Emperor in 867; regained much of the lost territory of the declining empire; died August 29, 886."

The New ColumbiaEncyclopedia, 1975, p241, Basil I: "`The Macedonian', Born Abt 813, Died 886, Byzantine Emperor (867-886). His ancestors probably were Armenians or Slavs who settled in Macedonia. He became (Abt 856) the favorite of Emperor Michael III. In 866,Basil, with the aid of Michael, assassinated Michael's uncle and chief minister, Bardas, and was made coemperor. Michael's feeling toward Basil began to change and in 867 Basil had him murdered and had himself proclaimed emperor. Thus the Macedonian dynasty of the East, which lasted until 1056, was founded. A capable ruler, Basil reformed the finances, modernized the law of Justinian I by introducing a new code, the Basilica, protected the poorer classes, and restored the military prestige of the empire. Byzantine art and architecture entered their second golden age during his rule. A major event of his reign was the dissension between the Roman and the Eastern churches. In order to prevent an open break, Basil restored (867) to the patriarchate Ignatius of Constantinople, who had been deposed in favor of Photius. On Ignatius' death, Basil reinstated (877) Photius, causing strained relations but not a full break with Rome. Basil in 865 had divorced his wife andmarried the mistress of Michael III. He was succeeded by his son Leo VI."

Encyclopaedia Britannica 1981 Micropaedia Vol I p854 Basil I the Macedonian: "Died 886, Byzantine Emperor (867-886), Founder of the Macedonian dynasty and formulator ofthe Greek legal code that later became known as the Basilica.
"Basil came of a peasant family. He gained employment in official circles in Constantinople and rose to the position of co-emperor with Michael III (866) whom he killed the following year. His policies in Asia Minor, Italy, and the Balkans focussed on a continuation of the struggle between Christians and Muslims. In his conciliatory role in the ecclesiastical relations between Constantinople and Rome, he reinstated the deposed patriarch Ignatius and excommunicated Photius. On the death of Ignatius (887) Basil restored Photius."

Macropaedia, Vol II, p748, Basil I the Macedonian: "...He inaugurated a much-needed legal reform, heralded during his own reign by two small handbooks, the `Procheiron' and the `Epanagoge'...
"From the mid-9th century onward, the Byzantines had taken the offensive in the agelong struggle between Christian and Muslim on the eastern borders of Asia Minor. Basil continued the attacks against the Arabs and their allies, the Paulicians, and had some success. Raids across the eastern frontier into the Euphrates region continued...The Paulicians on the borders of the Armenian province in Asia Minor were crushedby 872, largely owing to the efforts of Basil's son-in-law Christopher. In Cilicia, in southeast Asia Minor, the advance against the Emir of Tarsus succeeded under the gifted general Nicephorus Phocas the Elder. Though Constantinople had lost much of its former naval supremacy in the Mediterranean, it still had an effective fleet. Cyprus appears to have been regained for several years.
"Basil's plans for Italy involved him in negotiations with the Frankish Emperor Louis II, great-grandson of Charlemagne. The Byzantine position in southern Italy was strengthened with the help of the Lombard duchy of Benevento, and the campaigns of Nicephorus Phocas the Elder did much to consolidate this. The region was organized into the provinces of Calabria and Langobardia. But key cities in Sicily, such as Syracuse in 878, still continued to fall into Muslim hands, an indication of the strength of Arab Forces in the Mediterranean.
"Another arm of Byzantine policy wasthe attempt to establish some measure of control over the Slavs in the Balkans. Closely allied to this was the delicate question of ecclesiastical relations between Constantinople and Rome. During Basil I's reign, the young Bulgar state accepted the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Constantinople (870)...Basil had succeeded to a quarrel between Photius and Ignatius as to which was to be patriarch of Constantinople...Basil successfully resolved the tension between liberal and strict Byzantine churchmen and managed to maintain a show of peace between East and West despite Rome's displeasure at the marked extension of imperial influence in the new Balkan principalities...
"The 11th-century historian Psellus wrote of his dynasty as `more blessed by God than any other family known to me, though rooted in murder and blood- shed'...Basil's policies were largely determined, both at home and abroad, bu factors not of his own making."

The Story of Civilization, WillDurant, Vol IV, The Age of Faith, Bk IV, The Dark Ages, Ch XVIII, The Byzantine World, Sec III, p428: "...Michael III `The Drunkard' (842-867), whose amiable incompetence left the government forst to his mother and, after her death, to his cultured and capable uncle Ceasar Bardas. Then suddenly a unique and unexpected figure appeared on the scene, overthrew every precedent except violence, and founded the powerful Macedonian dynasty.
"Basil the Macedonian was born (812?) near Hadrianople of an Armenian peasant family. As a child he was captured by Bulgars, and lived his youth among them beyond the Danube, in what was then called Macedonia. Escaping in his twenty-fifth year, he made his way to Constantinople, and was hired as groom by a diplomat who admired his physical strength and massive head. He accompanied his master on a mission to Greece, and there attracted the atten- tion, and some of the wealth, of the widow Danielis. Back in the capital, he tameda spirited horse for Michael III, was taken into the Emperor's service, and, though quite illiterate, rose to the position of lord chamberlain. Basil was ever convenient and competent; when Michael sought a husband for his mistress, Basil divorced his peasant wife, sent her to Thrace with a comfort- ing dowry, and married Eudocia, who continued her services to the Emperor. Michael supplied Basil with a mistress, but the Macedonian thought he deserved the throne as reward. He persuaded Michael that Bardas was plotting to depose him, and then killed Bardas with his own enormous hands (866). Long accustomed to reign without ruling, Michael made Basil coemperor and left him all the tasks of government. When Michaiel threatenedto dismiss him, Basil arranged and supervised his assassination, and became sole emperor (867): so, even under hereditary monarchy, career was open to talent. With such servility and crime the letterless son of a peasant established the longest of all Byzantine dynasties, and began a nineteen-year reign of excellent administration, legislating wisely, judging justly, replenishing the treasury, and building new churches and palaces for the city that he had captured. No one dared oppose him; and when he died by a hunting accident the throne passed with unwonted quiet to his son."

Wall Chart of World History, Edward Hull, 1988, Studio Editions, Greek Eastern Empire, 867: "Basil I, The Greek, Emperor Greek or Eastern Empire 867-886..."

ANCESTRAL FILE
Ancestral File Ver 4.13 HR98-C1 Basileos I.

   Marriage Information:

Basil married Empress Eudocia Ingerina BYZANTIUM about 865 in Constantinople, Byzantium, Turkey. (Empress Eudocia Ingerina BYZANTIUM was born about 824-835 in Constantinople, Byzantium, Turkey.)

   Marriage Information:

Basil also married Maria MACEDONIA about 861 in , Macedonia, Greece. (Maria MACEDONIA was born about 848 in , Macedonia, Greece and died before 865.)