Basileios Lakapenos

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Basil Lekapenos (also Lekapenos , medium Greek Βασίλειος Λακαπηνός ; * to 925; † around 985/986), epithet Nothos ( "the bastard"), was a Byzantine Eunuch , as the Hofvorsteher the reigns Konstantin VII. , John Tzimiskes and Basil II . served.

Life

Basil was an illegitimate son of the emperor Romanos I. Lakapenos (920-944) with a concubine . To exclude him as a possible heir to the throne , he was emasculated shortly after his birth . Shortly after Constantine VII had secured sole rule against his brothers-in-law Stephanos and Konstantin Lakapenos in 945 , he raised their half-brother Basileios, with whom he maintained a close relationship of trust, to Parakoimomenos , Paradynasteuon and Patrikios . In the autumn of 958, Basileios and Johannes Tzimiskes undertook a successful campaign against Saif ad-Daula , the founder of the Emirate of Aleppo , in the course of which Samosata was conquered.

Under Constantine's successor Romanos II , Basil Lakapenus apparently played no role in politics. The office of Parakoimomenos was entrusted to the eunuch Joseph Bringas , who after Romanos' death in 963 de facto got the state power in his hands, since his sons Basil and Constantine were still too young. Basileios Lakapenos supported the Domestikos of the Scholes Nikephoros Phokas , who also claimed the throne for himself, as a fleet commander against his rival. In gratitude for his loyalty, Basil was appointed Proedros (Chairman of the Senate ) by Nikephorus after his coronation . In the period that followed, however, he was again politically in the background, while the emperor's brother, Leon Phokas , now took the second position in the state.

Under Nikephoros' successor Johannes Tzimiskes, who ascended the throne in 969, Basileios Lakapenus gained central influence, especially in domestic and financial policy, which he used to amass enormous fortunes. On the great campaign against the Russian prince Svyatoslaw I and the usurper Kalokyres in 971 Basileios commanded the main army . On his return from a campaign in Syria in January 976, Emperor John was poisoned; the Greek and Arabic sources largely agree that this was done at the instigation of Basil.

After John's death, Basil rose to be the leading man in the Byzantine state. He took over the affairs of state for his grandnephews, the nominal emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII, and called their mother Theophanu back from exile in the imperial palace . The new government was immediately confronted with the uprising of Bardas Scleros , which could only be put down in 979 after three years of civil war with the help of Bardas Phokas . In 985, Basil II freed himself from the tutelage of his great-uncle. Basileios Lakapenos was deposed, his vast fortune confiscated. All chrysobulls exhibited by him were declared null and void. He died a short time after his fall.

Basileios Lakapenos was an important patron of the arts and commissioner of manuscripts. The current artistic design of the Limburg Staurothek goes back to him.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Basileios Lakapenos
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Basil Lekapenos; Basil Nothos; Βασίλειος Λακαπηνός (Middle Greek)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Byzantine eunuch, illegitimate son of Emperor Romanos I.
DATE OF BIRTH around 925
DATE OF DEATH around 985-986