Editing Basil I (section)

==Reign==
{{Infobox saint
|name          = Basil I the Macedonian, Emperor of the Romans

|death_date    =
|feast_day     = 29 August
|venerated_in  = [[Eastern Orthodoxy]]{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
|image         = Solidus-Basil I.jpg
|imagesize     =
|caption       = Gold solidus of Basil I
|birth_place   =
|death_place   =
|titles        = Emperor
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by=
|attributes    = Imperial Vestment
|patronage     =
|major_shrine  = [[Church of the Holy Apostles]], Constantinople modern day [[Istanbul, Turkey]]
|issues=
|prayer=
|prayer_attrib=
}}
Basil I became an effective and respected monarch despite being a man with no formal education and little military or administrative experience. Moreover, he had been the boon companion of a debauched monarch and had achieved power through a series of calculated murders. That there was little political reaction to the murder of Michael III is probably due to his unpopularity with the bureaucrats of [[Constantinople]] because of his disinterest in the administrative duties of the Imperial office. Also, Michael's public displays of [[impiety]] had alienated the Byzantine populace in general. Once in power Basil soon showed that he intended to rule effectively and as early as his coronation he displayed an overt religiosity by formally dedicating his crown to [[Jesus Christ|Christ]]. He maintained a reputation for conventional piety and orthodoxy throughout his 19-year-long reign.<ref>{{harvnb|Finlay|1853|pp=214–215}}.</ref>

===Domestic policies===
Because of the great legislative work which Basil I undertook, he is often called the "second [[Justinian I|Justinian]]." Basil's laws were collected in the ''[[Basilika]]'', consisting of sixty books, and smaller legal manuals known as the ''[[Epanagoge|Eisagoge]]''. Leo VI was responsible for completing these legal works. The ''Basilika'' remained the law of the Byzantine Empire down to its conquest by the [[Ottoman Turks|Ottomans]]. Ironically, this codification of laws seems to have begun under the direction of the ''caesar'' Bardas who was murdered by Basil.<ref>{{harvnb|Finlay|1853|pp=221–226}}.</ref> Basil personally oversaw the construction of the ''[[Nea Ekklesia]]'' cathedral{{sfn|Mango|1986|p=194}}{{sfn|Magdalino|1987|p=51}} and his palatine hall the [[Kainourgion]].{{sfn|Alexander|1962|p=349}} His ecclesiastical policy was marked by good relations with [[Rome]]. One of his first acts was to exile the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]], [[Patriarch Photius I of Constantinople|Photios]], and restore his rival [[Patriarch Ignatius of Constantinople|Ignatios]], whose claims were supported by [[Pope Adrian II]].<ref name="Treadgold, p. 455"/>

===Foreign affairs===
[[File:MadridSkylitzesFol100vDetail.jpg|thumb|The Sicilian stronghold of Syracuse [[Siege of Syracuse (877–878)|falls]] to the Arabs in 878.]]
Emperor Basil's reign was marked by the troublesome ongoing war with the heretical [[Paulicians]], centered on [[Divriği|Tephrike]] on the upper [[Euphrates]], who rebelled, allied with the Arabs, and raided as far as [[Nicaea]], sacking [[Ephesus]]. Basil's general, [[Christopher (Domestic of the Schools)|Christopher]], [[Battle of Bathys Ryax|defeated]] the Paulicians in 872, and the death of their leader, [[Chrysocheir]], led to the definite subjection of their state.<ref>{{harvnb|Jenkins|1987|p=191}}.</ref> Basil was the first Byzantine emperor since [[Constans II]] (r. 641–668) to pursue an active policy to restore the Empire's power in the West. Basil allied with [[Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Holy Roman Emperor Louis II]] (r. 850–875) against the Arabs and sent a fleet of 139 ships to clear the [[Adriatic Sea]] of their raids. With Byzantine help, Louis II [[Louis II's campaign against Bari (866–871)|captured Bari]] from the Arabs in 871. The city eventually became Byzantine territory in 876. However, the Byzantine position on [[Sicily (theme)|Sicily]] deteriorated, and [[Syracuse, Italy|Syracuse]] fell to the [[Emirate of Sicily]] in 878. This was ultimately Basil's fault as he had diverted a relief fleet from Sicily to haul [[marble]] for a church instead. Although most of Sicily was lost, the general [[Nikephoros Phokas the Elder|Nikephoros Phokas (the Elder)]] succeeded in taking [[Taranto]] and much of [[Calabria]] in 880. The successes in the [[Italian peninsula]] opened a new period of Byzantine domination there. Above all, the Byzantines were beginning to establish a strong presence in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], and especially the [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic]].<ref>{{harvnb|Jenkins|1987|pp=185–187}}.</ref>
[[File:Byzantines_under_Nikephoros_Phokas_capture_Amantia.jpg|thumb|The army under Nikephoros Phokas the Elder captures the city of Amantia in Italy.]]

===Last years and succession===
[[File:Santabarenos the monk advises prince Leo to carry a knife.jpg|thumb|Santabarenos the Monk advises Prince Leo to carry a knife.]]
[[File:Prince Leo offers a knife to his father, Emperor Basil I.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Basil I and his son Leo. Leo is discovered carrying a knife in the emperor's presence.]]
Basil's spirits declined in 879, when his eldest and favourite son, Constantine, died. Basil now raised his youngest son, [[Alexander (Byzantine emperor)|Alexander]], to the rank of co-emperor. Basil disliked the bookish [[Leo VI the Wise|Leo]], on occasion physically beating him; he probably suspected Leo of being the son of Michael III. In his later years, Basil's relationship with Leo was clouded by the suspicion that the latter might wish to avenge the murder of Michael III. Leo was eventually imprisoned by Basil after Theodore Santabarenos informed him of a plot against him, but the imprisonment resulted in public rioting; Basil threatened to blind Leo but was dissuaded by Patriarch Photios. Leo was eventually released after the passage of three years.<ref>{{harvnb|Jenkins|1987|pp=196–197}}.</ref> Basil died on 29 August 886,<ref>[[Constantine VII]] (960). ''[[De Ceremoniis]]'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=9VQ6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA780 '''II''', 52.]</ref> from a [[fever]] contracted after a serious hunting accident when his [[belt (clothing)|belt]] was caught in the antlers of a [[deer]], and he was allegedly dragged 16 miles through the woods. He was saved by an attendant who cut him loose with a [[knife]], but he suspected the attendant of trying to assassinate him and had the man executed shortly before he himself died.<ref>{{harvnb|Treadgold|1997|p=461}}.</ref> One of the first acts of Leo VI as ruling emperor was to rebury, with great ceremony, the remains of Michael III in the Imperial [[Mausoleum]] within the [[Church of the Holy Apostles]] in Constantinople. This did much to confirm in public opinion the view that Leo considered himself to have been Michael's son.<ref>{{harvnb|Finlay|1853|p=241}}.</ref>