Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/487

Rh BASILIUS. gradually conquered during the ninth century. They had also laid siege to Chalcis ; but there they were defeated with great loss, and the Greeks burnt the greater part of their fleet off Creta. Af- ter these successes, Basil sent an army to Italy, which was commanded by Procopius and his lieu- tenant Leo. Procopius defeated the Arabs wher- ever he met them ; but his glory excited the jea- lousy of Leo, who abandoned Procopius in the heat of a general action. Procopius was killed while endeavouring to rouse the spirit of his soldiers, who hesitated when they beheld the defection of Leo. Notv»'ithstiinding these unfavourable occur- rences, the Greeks carried the day. Basil imme- diately recalled Leo, who was mutilated and sent into exile. The new commander-in-chief of the Greek army in Italy was Stephanus Maxentius, an incompetent general, who was soon superseded in his command by Nicephorus Phocas, the grand- father of Nicephorus Phocas who became emperor in 963. This happened in 885 ; and in one cam- paign Nicephorus Phocas expelled the Arabs from the continent of Italy, and forced them to content themselves with Sicily. About 879, Basil lost his eldest son, Constantine. His second son, Leo, who succeeded Basil as Leo VI. Philosophus, was for some time the favourite of his father, till one Santabaren succeeded in kindling jealousy between the emperor and his son. Leo was in danger of being put to death for crimes which he had never committed, when Basil disco- vered that he had been abused by a traitor. San- tfibaren was punished (885), and the good under- standing between Basil and Leo was no more troubled. In the month of February, 886, Basil was wounded by a stag while hunting, and died in consequence of his wounds on the 1st of March of the same year. Basil was one of the greatest emperors of the East ; he was admired and respected by his sub- jects and the nations of Europe. The weak go- vernment of Michael III. had been universally despised, and the empire under him was on the brink of rein, through external enemies and inter- nal troubles. Basil left it to his son in a flourish- ing state, with a well organised administration, and increased by considerable conquests. As a legislator, Basil is known for having begun a new collection of the laws of the Eastern empire, the BaatXiKal Aiara^eis, "ConstitutionesBasilicae," or simply "Basilica," which were finished by his son Leo, and afterwards augmented by Constantine Porphyrogeneta. The bibliographical history of this code belongs to the history of Leo VI. Philosophus. (See Diet, of Ant. s. v. Basilica.) The reign of Basil is likewise distinguished by the propagation of the Christian religion in Bulgaria, a most im- portant event for the future history of the East. Basil is the author of a small work, entitled Kf(pdaia vapaiveTiKd |(/. irpos rov eavrov vtou Acoura {^Exhortationum Capita LXVI. ad Leonem Jiliuiu), which he dedicated to, and destined for, his son Leo. It contains sixty-six short chapters, each treating of a moral, religious, social, or politi- cal principle, especiall)- such as concern the duties of a sovereign. Each chapter has a superscription, such as> Uepl TrotSeuo-ecoy, which is the first ; Ilepi ri/xiis 'lepewj/ ; Uepl SvKatoavvTjs '^ Tlfpl apxifs ; riepl Koyov reAefou, &c., and Ilepl duayvwcreus 7,-^a*w:', which is the last. The first edition of this work was published, with a Latin translation, BASILIUS 469 by F. MoreHns, at Paris, 1584, 4to. ; a second edi- tion was published by Damke, with the translation of Morellus, Basel, 1633, 8vo. ; the edition of Dransfeld, Gottingen, 1674, 8vo., is valued for the editor's excellent Latin translation ; and an- other edition, with the translation of Morellus corrected by the editor, is contained in the first volume (pp. 143-156) of Bandurius, " Imperium Orientale," Paris, 1729. (Preface to the Ejcliortaiiones^ in Bandurius cited above; Zonar. xvi. ; Cedren. pp.556 — 592, ed. Paris ; Leo Grammat. pp. 458-474, ed. Paris ; Fabric. Dibl. Grace, viii. pp. 42, 43.) [W. P.] BASI'LIUS II. (Bao-Uejos), emperor of the East, was the elder son of Roman us II., of the Macedonian dynasty, and was born in A. n. 958 ; he had a younger brother, Constantine, and two sisters, Anna and Theophano or Theophania. Ro- manus ordered that, after his death, which took place in 963, his infant sons should reign together, under the guardianship of their mother, Theophano or Theophania ; but she married Nicephorus Pho- cas, the conqueror of Creta, and raised him to the throne, which he oecopied till MQ, when he was murdered by Joannes Zimisces, who succeeded to his place. Towards the end of 975, Zimisces re- ceived poison in Cilicia, and died in Constantinople in the month of January, 976. After his death, Basil and Constantine ascended the throne ; but Constantine, with the exception of some military expeditions, in which he distinguished himself, led a luxurious life in his palace in Constantinople, and the care of the government devolved upon Basil, who, after having spent his youth in luxu- ries and extravagances of every description, shewed himself worthy of his ancestor, Basil 1., and was one of the greatest emperors that ruled over the Roman empire in the East. The reign of Basil II. was an almost uninter- rupted series of civil troubles and wars, in which, however, the imperial arms obtained extraordinary success. The emperor generally commanded his annies in person, and became renowned as one of the greatest generals of his time. No sooner was he seated on the throne, than his authority was shaken by a revolt of Sclerus, who, after bringing the emperor to the brink of ruin, was at last de- feated by the imperial general, Phocas, and obliged to take refuge among the Arabs. Otho II., em- peror of Germany, who had married Theophania^ the sister of Basil, claimed Calabria and Apulia, which belonged to the Greeks, but kid been pro- mised as a dower with Theophania. Basil, unable to send sufficient forces to Italy, excited the Arabs of Sicily against Otho, who, after obtaining great successes, lost an engagement with the Arabs, and on his flight was taken prisoner by a Greek galley, but nevertheless escaped, and was making prepa- rations for a new expedition, when he was poison- ed. (982.) In consequence of his death, Basil was enabled to consolidate his authority in Southern Italy. In different wars with Al-masin, the kha- lif of BaghdM, and the Arabs of Sicily, who were the scourge (rfthe sea-towns of Southern Italy, the Greeks made some valuable conquests, although they were no adequate reward either for the ex- penses incurred or sacrifices made in these expedi- tions. Basil's greatest glory was the destruction of the kingdom of Bulgaria, which, as Gibbon says, was the most important triumph of the Roman arras since the time of Belisarius. Basil opened