- Basil Mesardonites
Basil Argyros Mesardonites was the
Catapan of Italy , representing theByzantine Emperor there, from 1010 to 1016 or 1017. He succeeded the catapanCurcuas , who died fighting theLombards , then in rebellion under Melus, early in 1010. In March, Basil disembarked with reinforcements fromConstantinople andLeo Tornikios Kontoleon , the "strategos " ofCephalonia . Basil immediately besieged the rebels inBari . The Greek citizens of the city negotiated with Basil and forced the Lombard leaders, Melus andDattus , to flee. Basil entered the city on11 June 1011 and reestablished Byzantine authority. He did not follow his victory up with any severe reactions. He simply sent the family of Melus, including his sonArgyrus , to Constantinople. Basil's next move was to ally to the Greek Empire as many Lombard principalities as possible. He visitedSalerno in October, where Prince Guaimar III was nominally a Byzantine vassal. He then moved on toMonte Cassino , which monastery was sheltering Dattus on its lands. Basil nevertheless confirmed all the privileges of the monastery over its property in Greek territory. The abbot, Atenulf, was a brother of theprince of Capua , Pandulf IV. The monastery then promptly expelled Dattus and he fled to papal territory. Basil held the Greek catapanate in peace until his death in 1016, or, according toLupus Protospatharius , 1017. [Lupus Protospatharius, as per the Byzantine convention, places the start of each calendar year in September, hence events placed on a given year may have actually occurred late in the preceding year.] He was replaced by the aforementioned "strategos" of Cephalonia, Leo.Notes
ources
*Norwich, John Julius. "The Normans in the South 1016-1130".
Longmans :London , 1967.
*Chalandon, Ferdinand. "Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicilie".Paris , 1907.
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