Basil Skleros ( gr, Βασίλειος Σκληρός) was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

aristocrat and provincial governor in the early 11th century. Basil was the son of the ''

magistros The ''magister officiorum'' (Latin literally for "Master of Offices", in gr, μάγιστρος τῶν ὀφφικίων, magistros tōn offikiōn) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early centu ...

Romanos Skleros Romanos may refer to: *Romanos, Aragon, a municipality in the province of Zaragoza, in Aragon. *Romanos the Melodist, early medieval Greek poet and saint *Romanos I Lekapenos (870–948), Byzantine Emperor from 920 to 944 *Romanos II (938–963), ...

, a son of the rebel general

Bardas Skleros Bardas Skleros (Greek: Βάρδας Σκληρός) or Sclerus was a Byzantine general who led a wide-scale Asian rebellion against Emperor Basil II during the years 976 to 979. Background Bardas belonged to the great family of the Skleroi, wh ...

who became a close advisor to Emperor

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...

().. He married with Pulcheria, a sister of the future emperor

Romanos III Argyros Romanos III Argyros ( el, Ρωμανός Αργυρός; Latinized Romanus III Argyrus; 968 – 11 April 1034), or Argyropoulos was Byzantine Emperor from 1028 until his death. He was a Byzantine noble and senior official in Constantinople whe ...

(). The couple had a daughter, who already during the reign of Basil II married another future emperor,

Constantine IX Monomachos Constantine IX Monomachos ( grc-x-medieval, Κωνσταντῖνος Μονομάχος, translit=Kōnstantinos IX Monomachos; 1004 – 11 January 1055), reigned as Byzantine emperor from June 1042 to January 1055. Empress Zoë Porphyrogenita ...

().. Basil himself is first mentioned during the reign of

Constantine VIII Constantine VIII Porphyrogenitus ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Πορφυρογέννητος, ''Kōnstantinos Porphyrogénnetos''; 960 – 11/12 November 1028) was ''de jure'' Byzantine emperor from 962 until his death. He was the young ...

(), when he held the rank of ''

patrikios The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...

''.. During this time, he came into conflict with

Presian Presian ( bg, Пресиян, Персиян, Пресиан) was the khan of Bulgaria in 836–852. He ruled during an extensive expansion in Macedonia. Origin The composite picture of the Byzantine sources indicates that Presian I was the son o ...

, the governor of the

Bucellarian Theme The Bucellarian Theme ( el, Βουκελλάριον θέμα, ''Boukellarion thema''), more properly known as the Theme of the Bucellarians ( el, θέμα Βουκελλαρίων, ''thema Boukellariōn'') was a Byzantine theme (a military-civili ...

, that escalated to the point that they exchanged blows. Emperor Constantine banished both men to the

Princes' Islands The Princes' Islands ( tr, Prens Adaları; the word "princes" is plural, because the name means "Islands of the Princes", el, Πριγκηπονήσια, ''Pringiponisia''), officially just Adalar ( en, Islands); alternatively the Princes' Arch ...

: one of them to the island of

Plate Plate may refer to: Cooking * Plate (dishware), a broad, mainly flat vessel commonly used to serve food * Plates, tableware, dishes or dishware used for setting a table, serving food and dining * Plate, the content of such a plate (for example: ...

, the other to

Oxeia Oxeia ( el, Οξεία) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. , it had no resident population. It is the chief island in the southern group (the Ouniades) of the Echinades, part of the Ionian Islands. Oxeia possesses the highest point in the E ...

. Skleros was accused of planning to flee, and was blinded as a result; according to

John Skylitzes John Skylitzes, commonly Latinized as Ioannes, la, Johannes, label=none, la, Iōannēs, label=none Scylitzes ( el, Ἰωάννης Σκυλίτζης, ''Iōánnēs Skylítzēs'', or el, Σκυλίτση, ''Skylítsē'', label=none ; la, ...

, Presian narrowly escaped the same fate himself, but was released instead. When Romanos III came to the throne, however, Basil was rehabilitated and promoted to ''magistros''. According to one view, he was further promoted to ''

vestes Vestēs ( el, βέστης) was a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Byzantine aristocracy and bureaucracy, court title used in the 10th and 11th centuries. The term is etymologically connected to the ''vestiarion'', the imperial wardrobe, but despite ea ...

'' and given the post of ''

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...

'' of the Anatolic Theme. At some point, he also appears to have conspired against his brother-in-law, as both he and his wife were banished from

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

by Romanos. The arrogance of Basil Skleros and his relatives, who ruled their estates almost as independent lords, is severely criticized in the '' Peira'' of the contemporary legal scholar

Eustathios Rhomaios Eustathios Rhomaios ( el, Εὐστάθιος Ῥωμαῖος; ) was a senior judge and writer on law of the Byzantine Empire. Rhomaios followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, becoming a judge at the imperial court. Over the course of his ca ...

References

Sources

* * *{{cite encyclopedia , last=Stouraitis , first=Ioannis , script-title=el:Σκληροί , date=10 October 2003 , encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor , location=Athens , publisher=Foundation of the Hellenic World , language=Greek , url=http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=6151 , accessdate=13 June 2019 10th-century births 11th-century deaths 10th-century Byzantine people 11th-century Byzantine people Byzantine prisoners and detainees

Basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also kno ...

Magistroi Patricii Prisoners and detainees of the Byzantine Empire