Basil II the Bulgar Slayer 93Cardinal Louis Aleman, an ardent partisan of concil-
iar theory, assumed the presidency of the remnant minor-
ity fraction. Under his influence, the Basel extremists
removed Eugenius IV from office on February 25, 1439,
and elected an antipope, Felix V (r. 1439–49) (Amadeus
VIII of Savoy), on November 5, 1439. With limited funds
and obedience, the antipope left Basel in November 1442.
The rump assembly was forced out of town by the
emperor Frederick III (r. 1440–93) in 1448 and accepted
its dissolution on April 25, 1449, shortly after the abdica-
tion of Felix V on April 7. Many of its legislative texts
and ideas were fulfilled, particularly in FRANCE, in the
PRAGMATICSANCTION OFBOURGESof 1438. In the end,
however, the Council of Basel failed to triumph over the
The Wheel of Fortune
See alsoFERRARA-FLORENCE,COUNCIL OF.
Further reading:Norman P. Tanner, ed. Decrees of the
Ecumenical Councils,2 vols. (London: Sheed & Ward,
1990), 453–591; Anthony Black, Council and Commune:
The Conciliar Movement and the Fifteenth-Century Heritage
(London: Burns & Oates, 1979); Joachim W. Stieber, Pope
Eugenius IV, the Council of Basel and the Secular and Eccle-
siastical Authorities in the Empire: The Conflict over
Supreme Authority and Power in the Church(Leiden: Brill,
1978).
Basil I the Macedonian (812–886)Byzantine emperor
Of obscure Armenian parentage, Basil was born in Thrace
in 812. According to one tradition, he was carried off into
captivity by the BULGARSwhen he was an infant; escaping
in his 20s, he moved to CONSTANTINOPLEand took ser-
vice with the uncle and guiding influence of Emperor
Michael III the Drunkard (r. 842–867). About 858 Basil
attracted the attention of the emperor through his great
physical strength and his talent with horses. He rapidly
rose to become Michael’s boon companion, even marry-
ing the emperor’s mistress. Basil became his chamberlain
and his influence grew. In May 866 Michael proclaimed
Basil his coemperor.
Allegedly because of Michael’s incapacity but appar-
ently more because of fear of his whims, Basil murdered
Michael on September 24, 867, and seized the throne. He
also deposed the great patriarch PHOTIOS, who was then
embroiled in a struggle with the PAPACY, which had
deeply split church sentiments in the Byzantine Empire.
When relations with the papacy deteriorated, he recon-
ciled himself with Photios and restored him to the patri-
archate in 877. Active as builder and patron, Basil
achieved his greatest domestic accomplishment by initiat-
ing a reform of the legal system, starting work on a new
collection of laws called the Basilica.
In the 870s his forces broke the heretical sect of the
Paulicians, whose strongholds had weakened the eastern
frontiers. His armies fought successfully against the
ARABS, beginning the great momentum that Byzantium
would develop in territorial reconquest in the next cen-
tury. Basil’s reformed fleet reestablished Byzantine author-
ity in DALMATIA, and he was the first emperor in perhaps
two centuries to reassert Byzantine interest in ITA LY; but
he did lose SICILYto the AGHLABIDS.
Determined to establish his family on the throne,
Basil made his three eldest sons his coemperors. But in
879 Constantine, the eldest and Basil’s favorite, died, and
Basil was left emotionally shattered and mentally
unhinged. Basil died on August 29, 886, reportedly of a
hunting accident.
See alsoBARI.
Further reading:George Ostrogorsky, History of the
Byzantine State,trans. Joan Hussey (Oxford: Basil Black-
well, 1956); Warren Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine
State and Society (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University
Press, 1997).Basil II the Bulgar Slayer(Bulgaroctonus) (958–
1025)emperor of Byzantium
An emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, Basil II was born
in 958 and as a child was a coemperor with his stepfa-
thers, Nikephoros Phokas (r. 963–969) and John
Tzimiskes (r. 969–976). Even after Tzimiskes’s death he
was unable really to rule until 985 and even then had to
struggle to control his generals, who, with the aristocracy,
held immense power within the empire. He fought
against the Bulgarian Tsar SIMEONI, who was trying to
build an empire, but was defeated in 986 near SOFIA. The
defeat triggered a rebellion by some of the BYZANTINE
aristocracy and Basil had to be aided by VLADIMIR, prince
of Kiev, to overcome them in 989. He abolished privi-
leges, confiscated their lands, and deprived many of them
of public office.
In 991 Basil prepared his revenge against the Bulgari-
ans and their new tsar, SAMUEL, whom considered as a
personal enemy. However, he first had to respond to a
FATIMIDattack on the eastern borders of ANATOLIA.In
995 and 999 he defeated the ARABSnear ALEPPObut had
to linger on the eastern frontier. In 1001 he returned to
Europe and began a deadly offensive against the Bulgari-
ans. He defeated them in 1004 and again in 1014.
Because of their resistance, he blinded thousands of pris-
oners. He destroyed the Bulgarian empire and in Byzan-
tine historiography was called “Bulgarian Slayer.” During
his reign, a schism began in the Eastern and Western
Churches. He died December 15, 1025.
See alsoSCHISM,GREAT.
Further reading:Michael Psellus, Fourteen Byzantine
Rulers: The Chronographia of Michael Psellus,trans. E. R. A.
Sewter (1963; reprint, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books,
1966); Romilly Jenkins, Byzantium: The Imperial Centuries,
A.D. 610–1071(New York: Random House, 1966); George
Ostrogorsky, History of the Byzantine State,trans. Joan
Hussey (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1956); Warren Treadgold,