This plot was supported by Basiliscus, who succeeded in recruiting Isaurian brothers Illus and Trocundes, as well as Verina's nephew Armatus.

Zeno, besieged by Illus and Trocundes in his homeland of Isauria, convinced the two generals to defect, and soon the three of them marched their troops toward the capital.

Basiliscus and his family hid in a church until Zeno promised not to execute them; exiled to Limnae in Cappadocia, they were either beheaded or imprisoned in a dried-up cistern and left to starve to death.

Bury, summarizing sources from the Suda, Candidus, and Malchus states that:[10][11] Basiliscus permitted Armatus, inasmuch as he was a kinsman, to associate freely with the Empress Zenonis.

They used to exchange glances of the eyes, they used constantly to turn their faces and smile at each other; and the passion which they were obliged to conceal was the cause of dule and teen.

[12][13] Despite being half-Alanic and half-Gothic, Aspar held much influence in the empire since the mid fifth century,[14][15] and wielded significant power over Marcian and Leo.

[3][6] Basiliscus was granted the rank of magister militum per Thracias in c. 464, and held it till 467/468; during this period he won many victories in Thrace against the Huns and Goths.

[19] Historians Gerard Friell and Stephen Williams dismiss this, but accept that Verina pushed for his appointment and that Aspar did not object.

[24] Marcellinus, a West Roman commander, was sent to capture Sardinia, and then to sail to link up with the Eastern armies near Carthage, the Vandal capital.

[25][26] Basiliscus's galleys scattered the Vandal fleet near Sicily, something said by Procopius to have caused Gaiseric to give all up for lost, fearing a decisive blow to capture Carthage.

[27][28] This was a strategic location as it was near the port of Utica, which, unlike Carthage, was not blocked off with a chain, and the winds would push opposing ships into the coast.

[28] According to historians Michael Kulikowski, Friell, and Williams, Gaiseric feigned interest in peace and proposed a five-day truce, in order to allow himself time to prepare.

[29] Heather notes that the Romans strongly intended to avoid a naval engagement,[30] and archaeologist George Bass suggests this might be the reason that Basiliscus hesitated to strike the Vandals.

[34] Aspar was suspected of inducing Basiliscus to betray the expedition, sympathizing with the Vandals, and promising to make him emperor in place of Leo.

[38] Aspar regained power after the failure of the African invasion, and his son Patricius became the presumptive heir to the throne by marrying Leo's daughter Leontia Porphyrogenita in 470.

[52][53] Twardowska also dismisses Evagrius Scholasticus' suggestions, especially that of him leading a "dissolute life", stating that is common of historians wishing to paint an emperor in a bad light.

[50] Historian Mirosław Leszka attributes the action to a simple desire for power, and Twardowska theorizes that Verina supported him while Leo II was emperor because she would still retain influence as a close relative, which she would not wield over Zeno himself.

Zeno had the option of raising another son from a previous marriage to the throne, or else his brother, Longinus, which would remove any remnant of Verina's influence.

[c][56][57][58] She was supported in this plot by Theoderic Strabo, angered by Zeno's coronation, and Basiliscus, who succeeded in recruiting Illus and Trocundes, Isaurian brothers, as well as her nephew Armatus.

[58] The plot had the backing of the military, bolstered by Basiliscus' popularity, and that of Illus and Trocundes, and also the support of the Eastern Roman Senate.

[63] Basiliscus quickly lost support in Constantinople, through a combination of heavy taxes and heretical ecclesiastical policies, as well as a natural disaster.

[66] While Basiliscus's rise was not illegal, as usurpations confirmed by the senate were generally considered legitimate, such had not happened for over a century in the Eastern Roman Empire.

[67] Verina turned against Basiliscus after the execution of her lover and began to plot to return Zeno to power,[69][70] and sought refuge in Blachernae.

These letters informed them that the city was now ready to restore Zeno, as the people had become even less supportive of Basiliscus due to the "fiscal rapacity of his ministers", as Bury puts it.

Illus, possibly buoyed by his hold over Zeno, by way of his imprisonment of his brother, arranged to ally him and they began to march towards Constantinople with their combined forces.

[64] During the 5th century, a central religious issue was the debate concerning how the human and divine nature of Jesus Christ were associated, following the Arian controversy.

[93][103][104] While enthusiastically received in Ephesus and Egypt, it resulted in outrage from the monasteries as well as alienating Patriarch Acacius, and the heavily Chalcedonian population of the capital.

[100] Some arguments have been made by Eduard Schwartz, Hanns Brennecke, and René Draguet that Basiliscus approved Evagrius' text, but that the more extreme version was written by Paul the Sophist.

[98][114] Notably, the first encyclical also asserted the right for an emperor to dictate and judge theological doctrine, subsuming the function of an Ecumenical Council,[108] and is worded much like an imperial edict.

[116] Basiliscus is part of a 1669 play written by Sir William Killigrew, The Imperial Tragedy, where he appears as a ghost, during the second reign of Zeno.