In late 474 Empress Dowager Verina conceived a plan to depose Zeno and replace him with her lover the former Magister Officiorum Patricius... She recruited in the plot the Generals Illus, Trocundes (of Isaurianancestry), Theodoric Strabo (Ostrogoth) and her brother Basiliscus... However Basiliscus had other plans... He intended to kill Zeno on the spot assume the purple for himself and then execute Patricius... In 9 January 475 a coup erupted but Zeno managed to flee Constantinople for Isauria along with the Imperial Treasury... Despite not having killed Zeno Basiliscus proceeded with his plan and assumed the purple, executed Patricius and imprisoned Verina while he sent Illus and Trocundes after Zeno... In OTL Basiliscus managed to alienate the Senate and the Church with his tax and religious policies and they switched sides preferring Zeno instead while on the same time Zeno bribed Illus and Trocundes (who were bittered by Basiliscus anyway after the latter allowed the mob to massacre Isaurians in Constantinople) to betray Basiliscus and he was able to regain his throne quickly...
WI Zeno was killed in 9 January? Basiliscus would have remained unchallenged as Emperor unless Patricius is saved somehow...
WI Zeno was killed in 9 January? Basiliscus would have remained unchallenged as Emperor unless Patricius is saved somehow...