Basilius

(Βασιλείος and Βασίλιος), commonly called BASIL.

1. Bishop of Ancyra (A. D. 336-360), originally a physician, was one of the chief leaders of the Semi-Arian party, and the founder of a sect of Arians which was named after him. He was held in high esteem by the emperor Constantius, and is praised for his piety and learning by Socrates and Sozomen. He was engaged in perpetual controversies both with the orthodox and with the ultra Arians. His chief opponent was Acacius, through whose influence Basil was deposed by the synod of Constantinople (A. D. 360), and banished to Illyricum. He wrote against his predecessor Marcellus, and a work on Virginity. His works are lost. (Hieron. de Vir. Illust. 89 ; Epiphan. Haeres. 73.1; Socrates, H. E. 2.30, 42; Sozomen, H. E. 2.43.)

2. Bishop of Caesareia in Cappadocia, commonly called Basil the Great, was born A. D. 329, of a noble Christian family which had long been settled at Caesareia, and some members of which had suffered in the Maximinian persecution. His father, also named Basil, was an eminent advocate and teacher of rhetoric at Caesareia: his mother's name was Emmelia. He was brought up in the principles of the Christian faith partly by his parents, but chiefly by his grandmother, Macrina, who resided at Neocaesareia in Pontus, and had been a hearer of Gregory Thaumaturgus, bishop of that city. His education was continued at Caesareia in Cappadocia, and then at Constantinople. Here, according to some accounts, or, according to others, at Antioch, he studied under Libanius. The statements of ancient writers on this matter are confused; but we learn from a correspondence between Libanius and Basil, that they were acquainted when Basil was a young man. The genuineness of these letters has been doubted by Gamier, but on insufficient grounds. From Constantinople he proceeded to Athens, where he studied for four years (351-355 A. D.), chiefly under the sophists Himerius and Proaeresius. Among his fellow-students were the emperor Julian and Gregory Nazianzen. The latter, who was also a native of Cappadocia, and had been Basil's schoolfellow, now became, and remained throughout life, his most intimate friend. It is said, that he persuaded Basil to remain at Athens when the latter was about to leave the place in disgust, and that the attachment and piety of the two friends became the talk of all the city. Basil's success in study was so great, that even before he reached Athens his fame had preceded him; and in the schools of that city he was surpassed by no one, if we may believe his friend Gregory, in rhetoric, philosophy, and science. At the end of 355, he returned to Caesareia in Cappadocia, where he began to plead causes with great success. He soon, however, abandoned his profession, in order to devote himself to a religious life, having been urged to this course by the persuasions and example of his sister Macrina. The more he studied the Bible the more did he become convinced of the excellence of a life of poverty and seclusion from the world. About the year 357, he made a journey through Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, in order to become acquainted with the monastic life as practised in those countries. On his return from this journey (358), he retired to a mountain on the banks of the river Iris, near Neocaesareia, and there lived as a recluse for thirteen years. On the opposite bank of the river was a small estate belonging to his family, where his mother and sister, with some chosen companions, lived in religious seclusion from the world. Basil assembled round him a company of monks, and was soon joined by his friend Gregory. Their time was spent in manual labour, in the religious exercises of singing, prayer, and watching, and more especially in the study of the Scriptures, with the comments of Christian writers. Their favourite writer appears to have been Origen, from whose works they collected a body of extracts under the title of Philocalia (φιλοκαλία). Basil also composed a code of regulations for the monastic life. He wrote many letters of advice and consolation, and made journeys through Pontus for the purpose of extending monasticism, which owed its establishment in central Asia mainly to his exertions.

In the year 359, Basil was associated with his namesake of Ancyra and Eustathius of Sebaste in an embassy to Constantinople, in order to gain the emperor's confirmation of the decrees of the synod of Seleuceia, by which the Homoiousians had condemned the Anomoians; but he took only a silent part in the embassy. He had before this time, but how long we do not know, been appointed reader in the church at Caesareia by the bishop Dianius, and he had also received deacon's orders from Meletius, bishop of Antioch. In the following year (360) Basil withdrew from Caesareia and returned to his monastery, because Dianius had subscribed the Arian confession of the synod of Ariminum. Here (361) he received a letter from the emperor Julian, containing an invitation to court, which Basil refused on account of the emperor's apostacy. Other letters followed; and it is probable that Basil would have suffered martyrdom had it not been for Julian's sudden death. In the following year (362), Dianius, on his death bed, recalled Basil to Caesareia, and his successor Eusebius ordained him as a presbyter; but shortly afterwards (364), Eusebius deposed him, for some unknown reason. Basil retired once more to the wilderness, accompanied by Gregory Nazianzen. Encouraged by this division, the Arians, who had acquired new strength from the accession of Valens, commenced an attack on the church at Caesareia. Basil had been their chief opponent there, having written a work against Eunomius; and now his loss was so severely felt, that Eusebius, availing himself of the mediation of Gregory Nazianzen, recalled Basil to Caesareia, and, being himself but little of a theologian, entrusted to him almost the entire management of ecclesiastical affairs. (365.) Basil's learning and eloquence, his zeal for the Catholic faith, and, above all, his conduct in a famine which happened in Cappadocia (367, 368), when he devoted his whole fortune to relieve the sufferers, gained him such general popularity, that upon the death of Eusebius, in the year 370, he was chosen in his place bishop of Caesareia. In virtue of this office, he became also metropolitan of Caesareia and exarch of Pontus. He still retained his monastic habit and his ascetic mode of life. The chief features of his administration were his care for the poor, for whom he built houses at Caesareia and the other cities in his province; his restoration of church discipline; his strictness in examining candidates for orders; his efforts for church union both in the East and West; his defence of his authority against Anthimus of Tyana, whose see was raised to a second metropolis of Cappadocia by Valens; and his defence of orthodoxy against the powerful Arian and Semi-Arian bishops in his neighbourhood, and against Modestus, the prefect of Cappadocia, and the emperor Valens himself. He died on the 1st of January, 379 A. D., worn out by his ascetic life, and was buried at Caesareia. His epitaph by Gregory Nazianzen is still extant. Works

The following are the chief works of Basil the Great: 1. Εἰς τὴν ἑξαήμερον, Nine Homilies on the Six Days' Work. 2. XVII. Homilies on the Psalms. 3. XXXI. Homilies on various subjects. 4. Two Books on Baptism. 5. On true Virginity. 6. Commentary (ἑρμηνεία or ἐξήγησις) on the first XVI. chapters of Isaiah. 7. Ἀντιρρητικὸς τοῦ ἀπολογητικοῦ τοῦ δυσσεβοῦς Εὐνομιοῦ, An Answer to the Apology of the Arian Eunomius. 8. Περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος, a Treatise on the Holy Spirit, addressed to Eunomius: its genuineness is doubted by Garnier. 9. Ἀσκητικά, ascetic writings. Under this title are included his work on Christian Morals (ἠθικά), his monastic rules, and several other treatises and sermons. 10. Letters. 11. A Liturgy.

His minor works and those falsely ascribed to him are enumerated by Fabricius and Cave. Editions

The first complete edition of Basil's works was published at Basel in 1551 ;the most complete is that by Gamier, 3 vols. fol. Paris, 1721-1730. Further Information

Gregor. Nazian. Orat. in Laud. Basilii M.; Gregor. Nyss. Vit. S. Macrinae; Garnier, Vita S. Basilii; Socrates, H. E. 4.26; Sozomen, H. E. 6.17; Rufinus, H. E. 11.9; Suidas, s. v. Βασίλειος.

3. Of Cilicia (ὁ Κίλιξ), was the author of a history of the Church, of which Photius gives a short account (Cod. 42), a work against John of Scythopolis (Phot. Bibl. 107), and one against Archelaus, bishop of Colonia in Armenia. (Suidas, s. v.) He lived under the emperor Anastasius, was presbyter at Antioch about 497 A. D., and afterwards bishop of Irenopolis in Cilicia.

4. Bishop of Seleuceia in Isauria from 448 till after 458, distinguished himself by taking alternately both sides in the Eutychian controversy. Works Editions

His works are published with those of Gregory Thaumaturgus, in the Paris edition of 1622. Not the same as Basil, the friend of Chrysostom

He must not be confounded with Basil, the friend of Chrysostom, as is done by Photius. (Cod. 168, p. 116, ed. Bekker.) [P.S]

(Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών), emperor of the East, one of the most extraordinary characters recorded in history, ascended the throne after a series of almost incredible adventures. He was probably born in A. D. 826, and is said to have been the descendant of a prince of the house of the Arsacidae, who fled to Greece, and was invested with large estates in Thrace by the emperor Leo I. Thrax. (451-474.) There were probably two Arsacidae who settled in Thrace, Chlienes and Artabanus. The father of Basil, however, was a small landowner, the family having gradually lost their riches; but his mother is said to have been a descendant of Constantine the Great. At an early age, Basil was made prisoner by a party of Bulgarians, and carried into their country, where he was educated as a slave. He was ransomed several years afterwards, arrived at Constantinople a destitute lad, and was found asleep on the steps of the church of St. Diomede. His naked beauty attracted the attention of a monk, on whose recommendation he was presented to Theophilus, surnamed the Little, a cousin of the emperor Theophilus (829-842), who, a diminutive man himself, liked to be surrounded by tall and handsome footmen. Such was Basil, who, having accompanied his master to Greece, was adopted by a rich widow at Patras. Her wealth enabled him to purchase large estates in Macedonia, whence he derived his surname Macedo, unless it be true that it was given him on account of his pretended descent, on his mother's side, either from Alexander the Great or his father, Philip of Macedonia, which however seems to be little better than a fable. He continued to attend the little Theophilus, and after the accession of Michael III. in 842, attracted the attention of this emperor by vanquishing in single combat a giant Bulgarian, who was reputed to be the first pugilist of his time. In 854 Michael appointed him his chief chamberlain; and the ambition of Basil became so conspicuous, that the courtiers used to say that he was the lion who would devour them all. Basil was married to one Maria, by whom he had a son, Constantine; but, in order to make his fortune, he repudiated his wife, and married Eudoxia Ingerina, the concubine of the emperor, who took in exchange Thecla, the sister of Basil. The marriage was celebrated in December, 865; and in September, 866, Ingerina became the mother of Leo, afterwards emperor. The influence of Basil increased daily, and he was daring enough to form a conspiracy against the emperor's uncle, Bardus, upon whom the dignity of Caesar had been conferred, and who was assassinated in the presence of Michael.

A short time afterwards, Basil was created Augustus, and the administration of the empire devolved upon him, Michael being unable to conduct it on account of his drunkenness and other vices. The emperor became nevertheless jealous of his associate, and resolved upon his ruin; but he was prevented front carrying his plan into execution by the bold energy of Basil, by whose contrivance Michael was murdered after a debauch on the 24th of September, 867.

Basil, who succeeded him on the throne, was no general, but a bold, active man, whose intelligence was of a superior kind, though his character was stained with many a vice, which he had learned during the time of his slavery among the barbarians and of his courtiership at Constantinople. The famous patriarch Photius having caused those religious troubles for which his name is so conspicuous in ecclesiastical and political history, Basil instantly removed him from the see of Constantinople, and put Ignatius in his place. He likewise ordered a campaign to be undertaken against the warlike sect of the Paulicians, whom his generals brought to obedience. A still greater danger arose from the Arabs, who, during the reign of the incompetent Michael III., had made great progress in Asia and Europe. Basil, who knew how to choose good generals, forced the Arabs to renounce the siege of Ragusa. In 872, he accompanied his Asiatic army, which crossed the Euphrates and defeated the Arabs in many engagements, especially in Cilicia in 875. In 877 the patriarch Ignatius died, and Photins succeeded in resuming his former dignity, under circumstances the narrative of which belongs to the life of Photius. The success which the Greek arms had obtained against the Arabs, encouraged Basil to form the plan of driving them out of Italy, the southern part of which, as well as Sicily and Syracuse, they had 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. After these successes, Basil sent an army to Italy, which was commanded by Procopius and his lieutenant Leo. Procopius defeated the Arabs wherever he met them; but his glory excited the jealousy 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. Notwithstanding these unfavourable occurrences, the Greeks carried the day. Basil immediately 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 grandfather of Nicephorus Phocas who became emperor in 963. This happened in 885; and in one campaign 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 discovered that he had been abused by a traitor. Santabaren was punished (885), and the good understanding 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 subjects and the nations of Europe. The weak government of Michael III. had been universally despised, and the empire under him was on the brink of ruin, through external enemies and internal troubles. Basil left it to his son in a flourishing 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 Βασιλικαὶ Διατάξεις, Constitutiones Basilicae, 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 Dict. of Ant. s. v. Basilica.) The reign of Basil is likewise distinguished by the propagation of the Christian religion in Bulgaria, a most important event for the future history of the East. Works Exhortationum Capita LXVI. ad Leonem filium

Basil is the author of a small work, entitled Κεφάλαια παραινετικὰ ξσ́. πρὸς τὸν ἐαυτοῦ υἱὸν Λέοντα (Exhortationum Capita LXVI. ad Leonem filium), which he dedicated to, and destined for, his son Leo. It contains sixty-six short chapters, each treating of a moral, religious, social, or political principle, especially such as concern the duties of a sovereign. Each chapter has a superscription, such as, Περὶ παιο͂εύσεως, which is the first; Πεπὶ τιμῆς Ἱερέων; Περὶ δυκαιοσύνης; Περὶ ἀρχῆς ; Περὶ λόγου τελείου, &c., and Περὶ ἀναγνώσεως γραφῶν, which is the last. Editions

The first edition of this work was published, with a Latin translation, by F. Morellus, at Paris, 1584, 4to.; a second edition 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 another 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. Further Information

Preface to the Exhortationes, in Bandurius cited above; Zonar. xvi.; Cedren. pp. 556-592, ed. Paris; Leo Grammat. pp. 458-474, ed. Paris; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. viii. pp. 42, 43. [W.P]

(Βασίλειος), emperor of the East, was the elder son of Romanus II., of the Macedonian dynasty, and was born in A. D. 958; he had a younger brother, Constantine, and two sisters, Anna and Theophano or Theophania. Romanus 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 Phocas, the conqueror of Creta, and raised him to the throne, which he occupied till 969, when he was murdered by Joannes Zimisces, who succeeded to his place. Towards the end of 975, Zimisces received 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 luxuries and extravagances of every description, shewed himself worthy of his ancestor, Basil I., and was one of the greatest emperors that ruled over the Roman empire in the East.

The reign of Basil II. was an almost uninterrupted series of civil troubles and wars, in which, however, the imperial arms obtained extraordinary success. The emperor generally commanded his armies 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 defeated by the imperial general, Phocas, and obliged to take refuge among the Arabs. Otho II., emperor of Germany, who had married Theophania, the sister of Basil, claimed Calabria and Apulia, which belonged to the Greeks, but had been promised 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 preparations for a new expedition, when he was poisoned. (982.) In consequence of his death, Basil was enabled to consolidate his authority in Southern Italy. In different wars with Al-masin, the khalif of Baghdád, and the Arabs of Sicily, who were the scourge of the sea-towns of Southern Italy, the Greeks made some valuable conquests, although they were no adequate reward either for the expenses incurred or sacrifices made in these expeditions. Basil's greatest glory was the destruction of the kingdom of Bulgaria, which, as Gibbon says, was the most important triumph of the Roman arms since the time of Belisarius. Basil opened the war, which lasted, with a few interruptions, till 1018, with a successful campaign in 987; and, during the following years, he made conquest after conquest in the south-western part of that kingdom, to which Epeirus and a considerable part of Macedonia belonged. In 996, however, Samuel, the king of the Bulgarians, overran all Macedonia, laid siege to Thessalonica, conquered Thessaly, and penetrated into the Peloponnesus. Having marched back into Thessaly, in order to meet with the Greeks, who advanced in his rear, he was routed on the banks of the Sperchius, and hardly escaped death or captivity; his army was destroyed. In 999, the lieutenant of Basil, Nicephorus Xiphias, took the towns of Pliscova and Parasthlava in Bulgaria Proper. But as early as 1002, Samuel again invaded Thrace and took Adrianople. He was, however, driven back; and during the twelve following years the war seems to have been carried on with but little energy by either party. It broke out again in 1014, and was signalized by an extraordinary success of the Greeks, who were commanded by their emperor and Nicephorus Xiphias. The Bulgarians were routed at Zetunium. Being incumbered on his march by a band of 15,000 prisoners, Basil gave the cruel order to put their eyes out, sparing one in a hundred, who was to lead one hundred of his blind companions to their native country. When Samuel beheld his unhappy warriors, thus mutilated and filling his camp with their cries, he fell senseless on the ground, and died two days afterwards. Bulgaria was not entirely subdued till 1017 and 1018, when it was degraded into a Greek thema, and governed by dukes. This conquest continued a province of the Eastern empire till the reign of Isaac Angelus. (1185-1195.)

Among the other events by which the reign of Basil was signalised, the most remarkable were, a new revolt of Sclerus in 987, who was made prisoner by Phocas, but persuaded his victor to make common cause with him against the emperor, which Phocas did, whereupon they were both attacked by Basil, who killed Phocas in a battle, and granted a full pardon to the cunning Sclerus; the cession of Southern Iberia to the Greeks by its king David in 991; a glorious expedition against the Arabs in Syria and Phoenicia; a successful campaign of Basil in 1022 against the king of Northern Iberia, who was supported by the Arabs; and a dangerous mutiny of Sclerus and Phocas, the son of Nicephorus Phocas mentioned above, who rebelled during the absence of Basil in Iberia, but who were speedily brought to obedience. Notwithstanding his advanced age, Basil meditated the conquest of Sicily from the Arabs, and had almost terminated his preparations, when he died in the month of December, 1025, without leaving issue. His successor was his brother and co-regent, Constantine IX., who died in 1028. It is said, and it cannot be doubted, that Basil, in order to expiate the sins of his youth, promised to become a monk, that he bore the frock of a monk under his imperial dress, and that he took a vow of abstinence. He was of course much praised by the clergy; but he impoverished his subjects by his continual wars, which could not be carried on without heavy taxes ; he was besides very rapacious in accumulating treasures for himself; and it is said that he left the enormous sum of 200,000 pounds of gold, or nearly eight million pounds sterling. Zonaras (vol. ii. p. 225) multiplies the sum by changing pounds into talents; but this is either an enormous exaggeration, or the error of a copyist. Basil, though great as a general, was an unlettered, ignorant man, and during his long reign the arts and literature yielded to the power of the sword. (Cedren. p. 645, &c. ed. Paris; Glycas, p. 305, &c. ed. Paris; Zonar. vol. ii. p. 197, &c. ed. Paris; Theophan. p. 458, &c. ed. Paris.) [W.P]

(Βασίλειος). (1) A Christian writer, surnamed the Great, of Caesarea in Cappadocia. He was born of a noble family in A.D. 329, was educated in rhetoric at Constantinople and Athens by Libanius and Himerius, and subsequently took up the profession of advocate. But it was not long before he dedicated himself to the service of the Church. He distinguished himself especially by his resistance to Arianism and the measures he adopted for regulating the monastic system. He died, the bishop of his native city, in A.D. 379. He composed a revised liturgy still in use in the East, and known as the “Liturgy of the Holy Basil.” Besides his writings on points of doctrine, we have an address by him to young men on the uses of Greek literature, the study of which he earnestly recommended, in opposition to the prejudices of many Christians. He has also left a collection of four hundred letters, which are models in their way. Among them are those addressed to Libanius, his pagan instructor. A standard edition of his works is that of the Abbé Migne in 4 vols. (29-32) of his Patrologia Graeco-Latina (Paris, 1866). The Greek Church celebrates the day of his death (January 1st), the Roman Church that of his ordination (June 14th).

(2) The name of several of the Byzantine emperors. See Byzantinum Imperium.