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
Christ. He maintained a reputation for conventional piety and orthodoxy throughout his 19-year-long reign.
Domestic policies Because of the great legislative work which Basil I undertook, he is often called the "second
Justinian". Basil's laws were collected in the
Basilika, consisting of sixty books, and smaller legal manuals known as the
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
Ottomans. Ironically, this codification of laws seems to have begun under the direction of the
caesar Bardas who was murdered by Basil. Basil personally oversaw the construction of the
Nea Ekklesia cathedral and his palatine hall the
Kainourgion. His ecclesiastical policy was marked by good relations with
Rome. One of his first acts was to exile the
Patriarch of Constantinople,
Photios, and restore his rival
Ignatios, whose claims were supported by
Pope Adrian II. 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
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
captured Bari from the Arabs in 871. The city eventually became Byzantine territory in 876. However, the Byzantine position in
Sicily deteriorated, and
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) 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.
Last years and succession Basil's spirits declined in 879, when his eldest and favourite son, Constantine, died. Basil now raised his youngest son,
Alexander, to the rank of co-emperor. Basil disliked the bookish
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. Basil died on 29 August 886, from a
fever contracted after a serious hunting accident when his
belt was caught in the antlers of a
deer, and he was allegedly dragged 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. 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. ==Family==