Basiliscus was a Byzantine Emperor of the House of Leo, who ruled
briefly (9 January 475-August 476), when Emperor Zeno had been forced
out of Constantinople by a revolt. Basiliscus was the brother of
Empress Aelia Verina, the wife of Emperor Leo I. His relationship with
the emperor allowed him to pursue a military career that, after minor
initial successes, ended in 468, when he led the disastrous Byzantine
invasion of Vandal Africa, in one of the largest military operations
of Late Antiquity. Basiliscus succeeded in seizing power in 475,
exploiting the unpopularity of Emperor Zeno, the "barbarian" successor
to Leo, and a plot organized by Verina that had caused Zeno to flee
Constantinople. However, during his short rule, Basiliscus alienated
the fundamental support of the Church and the people of
Constantinople, promoting the Monophysite christological position in
opposition to the widely accepted Chalcedonian faith. So, when Zeno
tried to regain his empire, he found virtually no opposition,
triumphally entering Constantinople, and capturing and killing
Basiliscus and his family. The struggle between Basiliscus and Zeno
impeded the intervention of the Eastern Empire in the fall of the
Western Roman Empire, which happened in early September 476.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basiliscus
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1779:
Benedict Arnold, a general in the Continental Army during the American
Revolutionary War, was court-martialed for malfeasance.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_Arnold)
1831:
British naval officer and explorer James Clark Ross successfully led
the first expedition to reach the Magnetic North Pole.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Clark_Ross)
1922:
The Royal Ulster Constabulary, a police force in Northern Ireland, was
founded.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Ulster_Constabulary)
1943:
Eight German Junkers Ju 88s shot down British Overseas Airways
Corporation Flight 777, killing actor Leslie Howard and several other
notable passengers.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOAC_Flight_777)
2001:
Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal killed King Birendra and several
members of the royal family in a shooting spree.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipendra_of_Nepal)
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Wikiquote of the day:
Strength of character does not consist solely in having powerful
feelings, but in maintaining one’s balance in spite of them. Even with
the violence of emotion, judgment and principle must still function
like a ship’s compass, which records the slightest variations however
rough the sea. -- Carl von Clausewitz
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz)