Basil, or Vasileios (Βασίλειος) was a Byzantine and Eastern Roman Emperor in the 9th century and the founder of the illustrious Macedonian dynasty. He was a peasant who lived in Macedonia and was either Greek, Armenian, or both and ascended to the throne through sheer force of personality and his stunning physique and beauty. He ordered the assassination of Michael III and then became the sole emperor because of it. He executed campaigns against the Arabs in Nikaia and Ephesos and captured Bari, Taranto, and Calabria and thus establishing a presence in Italy. He also oversaw the Fourth Council of Constantinople and was in favor of deposing Patriarch Photios, but he was reinstated in 879.