Basil the Copper Hand
Basil the Copper Hand (Greek: Βασίλειος ὁ Χαλκόχειρ, romanized: Basileios ho Chalkocheir; died c. 932) was a Byzantine rebel leader active in Bithynia in the 920s and early 930s.In the 920s, in the theme of Opsikion in Bithynia, he assumed the name of the general Constantine Doukas, who had been killed during an attempted coup in 913, and assembled a large following.[1] Upon returning to Opsikion, he fashioned for himself a copper hand holding a large sword, gathered poor and destitute people and began a rebellion.[1] The revolt was finally subdued by the imperial army, and Basil was brought back to Constantinople.There, he accused several magnates of being involved in the revolt, but an inquiry proved these claims false, and he was burned at the stake in the city's Forum Amastrianum.