Editing Basil I (section)

==Family==
[[File:INC-3051-r Солид. Василий I. Ок. 867—886 гг. (реверс).png|thumb|185px|Basil I and his son Constantine.]]
Some modern controversy and historical ambiguity surrounds Basil I's personal life, especially given a lack of contemporaneous sources. One question that has emerged in modern scholarship is whether or not Basil was involved in same-sex relationships and if such relationships played a role in his unlikely rise to power. Historian Shaun Fitzroy Tougher cites a history written by George the Monk<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harmatolos |first=George |title=Operum Omnium Conspectus |url=http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/30_20_0800-0900-_Georgius_Monachus.html |access-date=21 January 2023 |website=www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu}}</ref> that uses the Greek word ''pothos'' to describe Basil's relationship with Michael, a word which had historically been used in some Greek Christian sources to describe the desire between a wife and a husband.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tougher |first=Shaun Fitzroy |title=Desire and Denial in Byzantium: Papers from the 31st Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, Brighton, March 1997 |publisher=Routledge |year=1999 |isbn=978-0860787884 |editor-last=James |editor-first=Liz |pages=149–158 |language=en |chapter=Michael III and Basil the Macedonian: just good friends? |chapter-url=https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/24531/}}</ref> However, within the law code, the ''Basilika'', inaugurated by Basil I, the illegal nature of male homosexuality and its, largely theoretical, capital punishment were retained in full.<ref>Morris, S. (2011) "The Gay Male as Byzantine Monster: Civil Legislation and Punishment for Same-Sex Behaviour" in, ''The Horrid Looking Glass: Reflections on Monstrosity'', Yoder, P.L. and Kreuter, P.M. (eds.), Brill, Leiden, ISBN 9781904710158, p. 125</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Homosexuality|date=2016|editor-last= Dynes|editor-first= W.R. |volume= I|publisher= Taylor & Francis|location= Abingdon|isbn= 9781317368151|page= 182}}</ref>

Aspects of the family relationships of Basil I are likewise uncertain and open to a variety of interpretations.
Therefore, the information given below should not be treated as comprehensive or definite:{{sfn|Tougher|1997|pp=7–8, 30–31, 42–50}}

*By his first wife Maria, Basil I had several children, including:
**Bardas.
**Anastasia, who married the general [[Christopher (Domestic of the Schools)|Christopher]].
**[[Constantine (son of Basil I)|Constantine]] (c. 860 – 3 September 879), crowned emperor in January 868. According to [[George Alexandrovič Ostrogorsky]], Constantine was betrothed to [[Ermengard of Provence]], daughter of [[Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor]], and [[Engelberga]] in 869. The marital contract was broken in 871 when relations between Basil and Louis broke down.
*By Eudokia Ingerina, Basil I had the following children:
**[[Leo VI the Wise|Leo VI]], who succeeded as Byzantine emperor and may actually have been a son of Michael III.
**[[Patriarch Stephen I of Constantinople|Stephen I]], Patriarch of Constantinople, who may also actually have been a son of Michael III.
**[[Alexander (Byzantine emperor)|Alexander]], who succeeded as Byzantine emperor in 912.
**Anna [[Porphyrogenita]], a nun at the convent of St. Euphemia in Petrion.
**Helena Porphyrogenita, a nun at the convent of St. Euphemia in Petrion.
**Maria Porphyrogenita, a mother of nuns at the convent of St. Euphemia in Petrion.

Leo VI's son [[Constantine VII]] wrote a biography of his grandfather, the ''[[Vita Basilii]]'', around 950.{{sfn|Kazhdan|Cutler|1991}}