Basil was angry. He was very angry. He had succeeded in supplanting Byzantine Emperor Michael III – not without treachery of course – and now he intended to recapture Sicily from the Muslims. They were still pestering him – a favorite phrase of his because he didn’t believe that the God of Christianity would let these heathens occupy the island, much less the world.
He came to his power indirectly. The emperor, Michael III, had married Eudokia Dekapolitissa but they had produced no children, a problem which threatened the continuity of the empire and left Michael looking for solutions. Emperors were keen on progeny, and sons were of paramount necessity.
So Michael took up with another woman, Eudokia Ingerina, his mistress and despite the similarity of names was no relation to his wife. H
