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    "title": "BASHKIRTSEFF",
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    "verified_text": "bashkirtseff, maria constantinova [marie] (1860-1884), russian artist and writer, was born at gavrontsi in the government of pultowa in russia on the 23rd of november 1860. when marie was seven years old, as her father (marshal of the nobility at pultowa) and her mother were unable through incompatibility to live together, madame bashkirtseff with her little daughter left russia to spend the winters at nice or in italy, and the summers at german watering-places. marie acquired an education superior to that given to most girls of her rank. she could read plato and virgil in the original, and write four languages with almost equal facility. a gifted musician, she at first hoped to be a singer, and studied seriously in italy to that end; her voice, however, was not strong enough to stand hard work and failed her. meanwhile she was also learning to draw. when she lost her voice she devoted herself to painting, and in 1877 settled in paris, where she worked steadily in tony robert-fleury's studio. in 1880 she exhibited in the salon a portrait of a woman; in 1881 she exhibited the \"atelier julian\"; in 1882 \"jean et jacques\"; in 1884 the \"meeting,\" and a portrait in pastel of a lady--her cousin--now in the luxembourg gallery, for which she was awarded a _mention honorable_. her health, always delicate, could not endure the labour she imposed on herself in addition to the life of fashion in which she became involved as a result of her success as an artist, and she died of consumption on the 31st of october 1884, leaving a small series of works of remarkable promise. from her childhood marie bashkirtseff kept an autobiographical journal; but the editors of these brilliant confessions (_journal de marie bashkirtseff_, 1890), aiming apparently at captivating the reader's interest by the girl's precocious gifts and by the names of the various distinguished persons with whom she came in contact, so treated certain portions as to draw down vehement protest. this, to some extent, has brought into question the stamp of truthfulness which constitutes the chief merit of this extraordinarily interesting book. a further instalment of marie bashkirtseff literature was published in the shape of letters between her and guy de maupassant, with whom she started a correspondence under a feigned name and without revealing her identity. see mathilde blind, _a study of marie bashkirtseff_ (t. fisher unwin, 1892); _the journal of marie bashkirtseff: an exposure and a defence_, by \"s.\" (showing that there is throughout a mistake of four years in the date of the diary); _black and white_, 6th feb. and 11th april 1891, pp. 17, 304; _the journal of marie bashkirtseff_, translated, with an introduction, by mathilde blind (2 vols., london, 1890); _the letters of marie bashkirtseff_ (1 vol.). (b. k.) basil,[1] known as basil the great (_c._ 330-379), bishop of caesarea, a leading churchman in the 4th century, came of a famous family, which gave a number of distinguished supporters to the church. his eldest sister, macrina, was celebrated for her saintly life; his second brother was the famous gregory of nyssa; his youngest was peter, bishop of sebaste; and his eldest brother was the famous christian jurist naucratius. there was in the whole family a tendency to ecstatic emotion and enthusiastic piety, and it is worth noting that cappadocia had already given to the church men like firmilian and gregory thaumaturgus. basil was born about 330 at caesarea in cappadocia. while he was still a child, the family removed to pontus; but he soon returned to cappadocia to live with his mother's relations, and seems to have been brought up by his grandmother macrina. eager to learn, he went to constantinople and spent four or five years there and at athens, where he had gregory (_q.v._) of nazianzus for a fellow-student. both men were deeply influenced by origen, and compiled the well-known anthology of his writings, known as _philocalia_ (edited by j. a. robinson, cambridge, 1893). it was at athens that he seriously began to think of religion, and resolved to seek out the most famous hermit saints in syria and arabia, in order to learn from them how to attain to that enthusiastic piety in [v.03 p.0467] which he delighted, and how to keep his body under by maceration and other ascetic devices. after this we find him at the head of a convent near arnesi in pontus, in which his mother emilia, now a widow, his sister macrina and several other ladies, gave themselves to a pious life of prayer and charitable works. he was not ordained presbyter until 365, and his ordination was probably the result of the entreaties of his ecclesiastical superiors, who wished to use his talents against the arians, who were numerous in that part of the country and were favoured by the arian emperor, valens, who then reigned in constantinople. in 370 eusebius, bishop of caesarea, died, and basil was chosen to succeed him. it was then that his great powers were called into action. caesarea was an important diocese, and its bishop was, _ex officio_, exarch of the great diocese of pontus. hot-blooded and somewhat imperious, basil was also generous and sympathetic. \"his zeal for orthodoxy did not blind him to what was good in an opponent; and for the sake of peace and charity he was content to waive the use of orthodox terminology when it could be surrendered without a sacrifice of truth.\" he died in 379. the principal theological writings of basil are his _de spiritu sancto_, a lucid and edifying appeal to scripture and early christian tradition, and his three books against eunomius, the chief exponent of anomoian arianism. he was a famous preacher, and many of his homilies, including a series of lenten lectures on the _hexaemeron_, and an exposition of the psalter, have been preserved. his ascetic tendencies are exhibited in the _moralia_ and _regulae_, ethical manuals for use in the world and the cloister respectively. his three hundred letters reveal a rich and observant nature, which, despite the troubles of ill-health and ecclesiastical unrest, remained optimistic, tender and even playful. his principal efforts as a reformer were directed towards the improvement of the liturgy, and the reformation of the monastic orders of the east. (see basilian monks.) bibliography.--editions of his works appeared at basel (1532); paris, by j. garnier and p. maranus (1721-1730), and by l. de sinner (1839). migne's _patrol. ser. graec._ 29-32; _de spiritu sancto_, ed. c. f. h. johnston (oxford, 1892); _liturgia_, ed. a. robertson (london, 1894). see also the patrologies, _e.g._ that of o. bardenhewer, and the histories of dogma, _e.g._ those of a. harnack and f. loofs. [1] the name basil also belongs to several other distinguished churchmen, (1) basil, bishop of ancyra from 336 to 360, a semi-arian, highly favoured by the emperor constantine, and a great polemical writer; none of his works are extant. (2) basil of seleucia (fl. 448-458), a bishop who shifted sides continually in the eutychian controversy, and who wrote extensively; his works were published in paris in 1622. (3) basil of ancyra, fl. 787; he opposed image-worship at the second council of nicaea, but afterwards retracted. (4) basil of achrida, archbishop of thessalonica about 1155; he was a stanch upholder of the claims of the eastern church against the widening supremacy of the papacy. basil i. (d. 886), known as the \"macedonian\", roman emperor in the east, was born of a family of armenian (_not_ slavonic) descent, settled in macedonia. he spent a part of his boyhood in captivity in bulgaria, whither his family was carried by the bulgarian prince krum in 813. he succeeded in escaping and was ultimately lucky enough to enter the service of theophilitzes, a relative of the caesar bardas (uncle of michael iii.), as groom. it seems that while serving in this capacity he visited patrae with his master, and gained the favour of danielis, a very wealthy lady of that place, who received him into her household, and endowed him with a fortune. he earned the notice of michael iii. by winning a victory in a wrestling match, and soon became the emperor's boon companion and was appointed chamberlain (_parakoem[=o]menos_). a man of his stamp, advancing unscrupulously on the road of fortune, had no hesitation in divorcing his wife and marrying a mistress of michael, eudocia ingerina, to please his master. it was commonly believed that leo vi., basil's successor and reputed son, was really the son of michael. the next step was to murder the powerful caesar bardas, who, as the emperor was devoted to amusement, virtually ruled the empire; this was done with the emperor's consent by basil's own hand (april 866), and a few weeks later basil was raised to the imperial dignity. hitherto few perhaps had divined in the unprincipled adventurer, who shared in the debauches of the imperial drunkard, the talents of a born ruler. on the throne he soon displayed the serious side of his nature and his exceptional capacities for administration. in september 867 he caused his worthless benefactor to be assassinated, and reigned alone. he inaugurated a new age in the history of the empire, associated with the dynasty which he founded,--\"the macedonian dynasty\" it is usually called; it would be more instructive to call it \"armenian.\" it was a period of territorial expansion, during which the empire was the strongest power in europe. the great legislative work which basil undertook and his successor completed, and which may be described as a revival of justinianean law, entitles him to the designation of a second justinian (the _basilica_, a collection of laws in sixty books; and the manuals known as the _prochiron_ and _epanagog[=e]_. for this legislation see basilica and roman empire, later). his financial administration was prudent. his ecclesiastical policy was marked by a wish to keep on good terms with rome. one of his first acts was to exile the patriarch photius and restore his rival ignatius, whose claims were supported by the pope. yet he had no intention of yielding to rome's pretensions beyond a certain point. the decision of the bulgarian tsar michael to submit the new bulgarian church to the jurisdiction of constantinople was a great blow to rome, who had hoped to secure it for herself. in 877 photius became patriarch again, and there was a virtual though not a formal breach with rome. thus the independence of the greek church may be said to date from the time of basil. his reign was marked by a troublesome war with the paulician heretics, an inheritance from his predecessor; the death of their able chief chrysochir led to the definite subjection of this little state, of which the chief stronghold was tephrice on the upper euphrates, and which the saracens had helped to bid a long defiance to the government of constantinople. there was the usual frontier warfare with the saracens in asia minor. cyprus was recovered, but only retained for seven years. syracuse was lost, but bari was won back and those parts of calabria which had been occupied by the saracens. the last successes opened a new period of byzantine domination in southern italy. above all, new rome was again mistress of the sea, and especially of the gates of the adriatic. basil reigned nineteen years as sole sovereign. his death (29th of august 886) was due to a fever contracted in consequence of a serious accident in hunting. a stag dragged him from his horse by fixing its antlers in his belt. he was saved by an attendant who cut him loose with a knife. his last act was to cause his saviour to be beheaded, suspecting him of the intention to kill and not to rescue. basil is one of the most remarkable examples of a man, without education and exposed to the most demoralizing influences, manifesting extraordinary talents in the government of a great state, when he had climbed to the throne by acts of unscrupulous bloodshed. sources.--_vita basilii_, by his grandson constantine vii. (bk. v. of the _continuation of theophanes_, ed. bonn); genesius (ed. bonn); _vita euthymii_, ed. de boor (berlin, 1888). of the arabic sources tabari is the most important. modern works.--finlay, _history of greece_, vol. ii. (oxford, 1877); gibbon, _decline and fall_, vols. v. and vi. (ed. bury, london, 1898); hergenroether, _photius, patriarch von constantinopel_, vol. ii. (regensburg, 1867). (j. b. b.) basil ii. (_c._ 958-1025), known as bulgaroktonos (slayer of bulgarians), roman emperor in the east, son of romanus ii. and theophano, great-great-grandson of basil i., was born about 958 and crowned on the 22nd of april 960. after their father's death (963) he and his younger brother constantine were nominal emperors during the actual reigns of nicephorus phocas, their stepfather, and john tzimisces. on the death of the latter (10th of january 976) they assumed the sovereignty without a colleague, but throughout their joint reign constantine exercised no power and devoted himself chiefly to pleasure. this was in accordance with the byzantine principle that in the case of two or more co-regnant _basileis_ only one governed. basil was a brave soldier and a superb horseman; he was to approve himself a strong ruler and an able general. he did not at first display the full extent of his energy. the administration remained in the hands of the eunuch basileios (an illegitimate son of romanus i.), president of the senate, a wily and gifted man, who hoped that the young emperors would be his puppets. basil waited and watched without interfering, and devoted himself to learning the details of administrative business and instructing himself in military science. during this time the throne was seriously endangered by the rebellion of an ambitious general who aspired to play the part of nicephorus phocas or tzimisces. this was bardas [v.03 p.0468] sclerus, whom the eunuch deposed from his post of general in the east. he belonged to the powerful landed aristocracy of asia minor, whose pretensions were a perpetual menace to the throne. he made himself master of the asiatic provinces and threatened constantinople. to oppose him, bardas phocas, another general who had revolted in the previous reign and been interned in a monastery, was recalled. defeated in two battles, he was victorious in a third and the revolt was suppressed (979). phocas remained general in the east till 987, when he rebelled and was proclaimed emperor by his troops. it seems that the minister basileios was privy to this act, and the cause was dissatisfaction at the energy which was displayed by the emperor, who showed that he was determined to take the administration into his own hands and personally to control the army. phocas advanced to the hellespont and besieged abydos. basil obtained timely aid, in the shape of varangian mercenaries, from his brother-in-law vladimir, the russian prince of kiev, and marched to abydos. the two armies were facing each other, when basil galloped forward, seeking a personal combat with the usurper who was riding in front of his lines. phocas, just as he prepared to face him, fell from his horse and was found to be dead. this ended the rebellion. the fall of basileios followed; he was punished with exile and the confiscation of his enormous property. basil made ruthless war upon the system of immense estates which had grown up in asia minor and which his predecessor, romanus i., had endeavoured to check. (for this evil and the legislation which was aimed at it see roman empire, later.) he sought to protect the lower and middle classes. basil gained some successes against the saracens (995); but his most important work in the east was the annexation of the principalities of armenia. he created in those highlands a strongly fortified frontier, which, if his successors had been capable, should have proved an effective barrier against the invasions of the seljuk turks. the greatest achievement of the reign was the subjugation of bulgaria. after the death of tzimisces (who had reduced only the eastern part of the bulgarian kingdom), the power of bulgaria was restored by the tsar samuel, in whom basil found a worthy foe. the emperor's first efforts against him were unsuccessful (981), and the war was not resumed till 996, samuel in the meantime extending his rule along the adriatic coast and imposing his lordship on servia. eastern bulgaria was finally recovered in 1000; but the war continued with varying successes till 1014, when the bulgarian army suffered an overwhelming defeat. basil blinded 15,000 prisoners, leaving a one-eyed man to every hundred to lead them to their tsar, who fainted at the sight and died two days later. the last sparks of resistance were extinguished in 1018, and the great slavonic realm lay in the dust. the power of byzantium controlled once more the illyrian peninsula. basil died in december 1025 in the midst of preparations to send a naval expedition to recover sicily from the saracens. basil's reign marks the highest point of the power of the eastern empire since justinian i. part of the credit is due to his predecessors nicephorus and tzimisces, but the greater part belongs to him. he dedicated himself unsparingly to the laborious duties of ruling, and he had to reckon throughout with the ill-will of a rich and powerful section of his subjects. he was hard and cruel, without any refinement or interest in culture. in a contemporary psalter (preserved in the library of st mark at venice) there is a portrait of him, with a grey beard, crowned and robed in imperial costume. authorities.--leo diaconus (ed. bonn, 1828); psellus, _history_ (ed. sathas, london, 1899); george cedrenus (_chronicle_, transcribed from the work of john scylitzes, vol. ii., ed. bonn, 1839); zonaras, bk. xvii. (ed. bonn, vol. iii., 1897); cecaumenus, _strategikon_ (ed. vasilievski and jernstedt, st petersburg, 1896); yahy[=a] of antioch (contemporary asiatic chronicle), extracts with russian translation by rosen (st petersburg, 1883); al mekin (elmacinus), _historia saracenica_, (ed. with latin translation by erpenius, leiden, 1625); \"laws (_novellae_) of basil\" (ed. zachariae von lingenthal, in _jus graeco-romanum_, vol. iii., 1853); finlay, _hist. of greece_; gibbon, _decline and fall_; g. schlumberger, _l'epopee byzantine_, part i. and part ii. (paris, 1896, 1900). (j. b. b.) basil (russ. vasily), the name of four grand-dukes of moscow and tsars of muscovy. basil i. dmitrevich (1371-1425), son of dmitri (demetrius) donskoi, whom he succeeded in 1389, married sophia, the daughter of vitovt, grand-duke of lithuania. in his reign the grand-duchy of muscovy became practically hereditary, and asserted its supremacy over all the surrounding principalities. nevertheless basil received his _yarluik_, or investiture, from the golden horde and was compelled to pay tribute to the grand khan, tokhtamuish. he annexed the principality of suzdal to moscovy, together with murom, kozelsk peremyshl, and other places; reduced the grand-duchy of rostov to a state of vassalage; and acquired territory from the republic of great novgorod by treaty. in his reign occurred the invasion of timur (1395), who ruined the volgan regions, but did not penetrate so far as moscow. indeed timur's raid was of service to the russian prince as it all but wiped out the golden horde, which for the next twelve years was in a state of anarchy. during the whole of this time no tribute was paid to the khan, though vast sums of money were collected in the moscow treasury for military purposes. in 1408 the mirza edigei ravaged muscovite territory, but was unable to take moscow. in 1412, however, basil found it necessary to pay the long-deferred visit of submission to the horde. the most important ecclesiastical event of the reign was the elevation of the bulgarian, gregory tsamblak, to the metropolitan see of kiev (1425) by vitovt, grand-duke of lithuania; the immediate political consequence of which was the weakening of the hold of muscovy on the south-western russian states. during basil's reign a terrible visitation of the \"black death\" decimated the population. see t. schiemann, _russland bis ins 17. jahrhundert_ (gotha, 1885-1887).",
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