Basil the Copper Hand ( gr, Βασίλειος ὁ Χαλκόχειρ, Basileios ho Chalkocheir; died c. 932) 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 ...

rebel leader active in

Bithynia Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Pa ...

in the 920s and early 930s.

Biography

Basil was born in Macedonia (or possibly the theme of Macedonia). In the 920s, in the

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

Opsikion The Opsician Theme ( gr, θέμα Ὀψικίου, ''thema Opsikiou'') or simply Opsikion (Greek: , from la, Obsequium) was a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Theme (country subdivision), theme (a military-civilian province) located in northwestern As ...

, he assumed the name of the general

Constantine Doukas Constantine X Doukas or Ducas ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Δούκας, ''Kōnstantinos X Doukas'', 1006 – 23 May 1067), was Byzantine emperor from 1059 to 1067. He was the founder and first ruling member of the Doukid dynasty. Duri ...

, who had been killed during an attempted coup in 913, and assembled a large following. He was arrested by the local ''

tourmarches A ''turma'' (Latin for "swarm, squadron", plural ''turmae''), (Greek: τούρμα) was a cavalry unit in the Roman army of the Republic and Empire. In the Byzantine Empire, it became applied to the larger, regiment-sized military-administrative di ...

'', however, and taken to

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 (" ...

, where he was tried by the

Eparch Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on t ...

and had his hand cut off.. Upon returning to Opsikion, he fashioned for himself a

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

hand holding a large

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

, gathered poor and destitute people and began a rebellion. With his followers, he seized the stronghold of Plateia Petra and made it his base. The rebels raided the surrounding countryside indiscriminately, and returned with their plunder to Plateia Petra. The revolt was finally subdued by the imperial army, and Basil was brought back to Constantinople. There, he accused several magnates of being involved in the revolt, but an inquiry proved these claims false, and he was

burned at the stake Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...

in the city's

Forum Amastrianum The Amastrianum ( la, Amastriánum, ), also called Forum Amastrianum by modern authors, was a public square ( la, forum) in the city of Constantinople (today's Istanbul). Used also as place for public mutilations and executions, it disappeared c ...

. The revolt, dated to between 928 and c. 932, is often seen as a popular revolt expressing peasant discontent, and a major incentive for Emperor

Romanos I Lekapenos Romanos I Lekapenos ( el, Ρωμανός Λεκαπηνός; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for the infant Constantine VII. Origin Romanos ...

's (r. 920–944) agrarian legislation of 934.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Basil the Copper Hand 930s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain 10th-century Byzantine people Byzantine rebels Byzantine pretenders 10th-century executions by the Byzantine Empire Byzantine Bithynia Executed Byzantine people People executed by burning People from medieval Macedonia