BASILIUS I., surnamed the Macedonian, was sprung of an obscure family in Macedonia, and rose, after many adventures and vicissitudes, from the rank of a common soldier to be emperor of the Greeks. He was made chamberlain to the Emperor Michael III., and having co-operated with that weak and vicious prince in the murder of the Cæsar Bardas, he was made his colleague in the empire. In A.D. 867, he assassinated Michael when overpowered by wine, and thus obtained undivided sovereignty. He ruled with great ability, and left the kingdom in a very flourishing condition. He was dreaded by the Saracens, whom he frequently vanquished; and he was loved by his subjects on account of his justice and clemency. He died in A.D. 886, of wounds received from a stag while hunting. He is the author of a small work on the duties of a prince, which he dedicated to his son. (Gibbon, xlvii. liv.)