[2] The Vita Basilii is a panegyric devoted to extolling Basil, both his personal virtues and his benevolent government.
Michael III, the emperor whom Basil replaced, is portrayed as the anti-Basil and "the embodiment of evil".
[1] The panegyric portrays Basil as a wise and just ruler, under whose rule the peasants tilled their fields in peace.
[1] The focus of the piece is civil, not military; Basil's architectural feats, such as his work on the Great Palace of Constantinople, are described in detail, whereas his career in warfare is covered sparingly and his defeats are not glossed over.
[1] The Vita was influenced by the biographies in Plutarch's Parallel Lives, mainly that of Mark Antony and possibly that of Nero, which is now lost.