Basiliscus was an eastern Roman emperor from January 475 to August 476 CE. Basiliscus rose to prominence as a soldier in the 460s CE, aided by the influence of his sister Verina, the wife of Emperor Leo I (457–474 CE). In 465 CE he held the consulship, and in 468 CE he was given command as magister militum over the great expedition to retake North Africa from the Vandals. The expedition was a catastrophe, the fleet destroyed with enormous loss of life (Pro. Bel. 3.6). There were accusations of treachery and corruption, that Basiliscus had taken bribes from the Vandal king Gai…