Caecina Decius Maximus Basilius ( 480–483), was a Roman politician. He was the first

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

appointed under Odoacer's rule (480), and afterwards was

Praetorian prefect of Italy The praetorian prefecture of Italy ( la, Praefectura praetorio Italiae, in its full form (until 356) ) was one of four praetorian prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided. It comprised the Italian peninsula, the Western Balkans, ...

.John Moorhead
"The Decii under Theoderic"
'' Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'', 33 (1984), p. 107 He is best known for presiding over the papal election of

Pope Felix III Pope Felix III (died 1 March 492) was the bishop of Rome from 13 March 483 to his death. His repudiation of the '' Henotikon'' is considered the beginning of the Acacian schism. He is commemorated on March 1. Family Felix was born into a Roman s ...

Life

A member of the gens Decia, Basilius was the son of

Caecina Decius Basilius Caecina Decius Basilius ( 458–468) was a politician of the Western Roman Empire, Consul and twice Praetorian prefect of Italy. Biography Basilius belonged to the Italian nobility, and was member of the influential ''gens'' Caecinia. He was Pr ...

, one of the two consuls of 463. He had four sons, all of whom attained consular rank: Albinus in 493 (presumably the first consul nominated by

Theodoric the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy ...

), Avienus in 501, Theodorus in 505, and Inportunus in 509. He was the first consul appointed from Rome since Rufius Postumius Festus eight years before. As leader of the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

and chief minister to king Odoacer, and patron to the Greens, Basilius was one of the most powerful men in post-Imperial

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

.Jeffrey Richards, ''The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages'' (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1979), p. 58 As a result, Basilius played a major role in the papal election of 483, being the beneficiary of an '' admonitio'' issued by

Pope Simplicius Pope Simplicius (died 2 or 10 March 483) was the bishop of Rome from 468 to his death. He combated the Eutychian heresy, ended the practice of consecrating bishops only in December, and sought to offset the effects of Germanic invasions. Electi ...

that gave him veto power over the election of Simplicius' successor. When it was clear Simplicius was on his deathbed, Basilius convened a meeting of the

, the local clergy, and leading local bishops at the Imperial Mausoleum to elect the next Pope,

Felix Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...

. At the same council, an ecclesiastical law was promulgated which forbade the alienation of ecclesiastical property by future popes.Richards, ''Popes and the papacy'', p. 59 The proceedings of a Roman synod of 501 indicate that he was dead by that date, and a passage of

Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Roman statesman, renowned scholar of antiquity, and writer serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senator'' ...

shows that his death occurred before his sons reached adulthood, leaving their mother in charge of running the household.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basilius, Caecina Decius Maximus 5th-century Romans 5th-century Roman consuls Caecinae Decii Imperial Roman consuls Praetorian prefects of Italy Year of birth missing