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Basil I

Basil I

811 CE886 CE · Constantinople

Basil I was Byzantine emperor from 867 to 886 and the founder of the Macedonian dynasty, under which the empire would reach a medieval peak. Born to a humble family of the Macedonian theme, he rose through the imperial court, was made co-emperor by Michael III, and then took sole power by arranging Michael's murder. Despite the violence of his accession, he proved an effective ruler who reformed the law—beginning the great legal project later completed as the Basilika—and strengthened the empire's position in Italy and the East. The dynasty he established endured for nearly two centuries.

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Stop 1 of 1Seat Of Power

Constantinople

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In Constantinople at the same time

Nikephoros I, Leo VI the Wise

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Thinkers, teachers, and rulers whose lives overlapped with Basil I’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.

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