Leo III the Isaurian - Wikipedia Leo III the Isaurian From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Byzantine emperor from 717 to 741 For homonyms, see Leo III (disambiguation). Emperor of the Romans Leo III the Isaurian Emperor of the Romans Solidus of Leo III. The inscription reads d no leon pa mul. Byzantine emperor Reign 25 March 717 – 18 June 741 Predecessor Theodosios III Successor Constantine V Born c. 685 Germanikeia, Byzantine Empire Died 18 June 741 (aged 55 or 56) Spouse Maria Issue more... Constantine V Anna Dynasty Isaurian dynasty Leo III the Isaurian (Greek: Λέων Γ ὁ Ἴσαυρος, romanized: Leōn ho Isauros; c. 685 – 18 June 741), also known as the Syrian, was Byzantine Emperor from 717 until his death in 741 and founder of the Isaurian dynasty.[1] He put an end to the Twenty Years' Anarchy, a period of great instability in the Byzantine Empire between 695 and 717, marked by the rapid succession of several emperors to the throne. He also successfully defended the Empire against the invading Umayyads and forbade the veneration of icons.[2] Contents 1 Early life 2 Siege of Constantinople 3 Administration 4 Iconoclasm 5 Death 6 Footnotes 7 Literature 8 External links Early life[edit] Leo was of Syrian origin,[3][4][5] his original name was Konon, was born in Germanikeia in the Syrian province of Commagene (modern Kahramanmaraş in Turkey). Some, including the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes, have claimed that Konon's family had been resettled in Thrace, where he entered the service of Emperor Justinian II, when the latter was advancing on Constantinople with an army of loyalist followers, and horsemen provided by Tervel of Bulgaria in 705. Leo was fluent in Arabic,[6] possibly as a native language,[7] and was described by Theophanes as "the Saracen minded."[8] After the victory of Justinian II, Konon was dispatched on a diplomatic mission to Alania and Lazica to organize an alliance against the Umayyad Caliphate under Al-Walid I. According to the Chronicle of Theophanes Justinian wanted to get rid of Konon and took back the money that had been given to him to help advance Byzantine interests, thus leaving Konon stranded in Alania. The chronicle describes the mission as successful and Konon returning eventually to Justinian after crossing the Caucasus mountains in May with snowshoes and taking the fortress of Sideron (associated with Tsebelda) on the way.[9][10] Konon was appointed commander (stratēgos) of the Anatolic Theme by Emperor Anastasius II. On his deposition, Konon joined with his colleague Artabasdus, the stratēgos of the Armeniac Theme, in conspiring to overthrow the new Emperor Theodosius III. Artabasdus was betrothed to Anna,[11] daughter of Leo as part of the agreement. Siege of Constantinople[edit] Main article: Siege of Constantinople (717–718) Leo entered Constantinople on 25 March 717 and forced the abdication of Theodosios III, becoming emperor as Leo III. The new emperor was immediately forced to attend to the Second Arab siege of Constantinople, which commenced in August of the same year. The Arabs were Umayyad forces sent by Caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik and serving under his brother Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik. They had taken advantage of the civil discord in the Byzantine Empire to bring a force of 80,000 to 150,000 men and a massive fleet to the Bosphorus.[12] Careful preparations, begun three years earlier under Anastasius II, and the stubborn resistance put up by Leo wore out the invaders. An important factor in the victory of the Byzantines was their use of Greek fire.[13] The Arab forces also fell victim to Bulgarian reinforcements arriving to aid the Byzantines. Leo was allied with the Bulgarians but the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor was uncertain if they were still serving under Tervel of Bulgaria or his eventual successor Kormesiy of Bulgaria. Unable to continue the siege in the face of the Bulgarian onslaught, the impenetrability of Constantinople's walls, and their own exhausted provisions, the Arabs were forced to abandon the siege in August, 718. Sulayman himself had died the previous year and his successor Umar II would not attempt another siege. The siege had lasted 12 months. Administration[edit] This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Byzantine Empire 717 AD. 1. Ravenna 2. Venetia and Istria 3. Rome 4. Naples 5. Calabria 6. Hellas 7. Thrace 8. Opsikion 9. Thrakesion 10. Anatolikon 11. Karabisianoi 12. Armeniakon. Hatched area: Frequently invaded by Umayyad Caliphate Having thus saved the Empire from extinction, Leo proceeded to consolidate its administration, which in the previous years of anarchy had become completely disorganized. In 718 he suppressed a rebellion in Sicily and in 719 did the same on behalf of the deposed Emperor Anastasios II. Leo secured the Empire's frontiers by inviting Slavic settlers into the depopulated districts and by restoring the army to efficiency; when the Umayyad Caliphate renewed its invasions in 726 and 739, as part of the campaigns of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, the Arab forces were decisively beaten, particularly at Akroinon in 740. His military efforts were supplemented by his alliances with the Khazars and the Georgians. Leo undertook a set of civil reforms including the abolition of the system of prepaying taxes which had weighed heavily upon the wealthier proprietors, the elevation of the serfs into a class of free tenants and the remodelling of Family law, maritime law and criminal law, notably substituting mutilation for the death penalty in many cases. The new measures, which were embodied in a new code called the Ecloga (Selection), published in 726, met with some opposition on the part of the nobles and higher clergy. The Emperor also undertook some reorganization of the theme structure by creating new themata in the Aegean region. Iconoclasm[edit] Example of the miliaresion silver coins, first struck by Leo III to commemorate the coronation of his son, Constantine V, as co-emperor in 720. Leo's most striking legislative reforms dealt with religious matters, especially iconoclasm ("icon-breaking," therefore an iconoclast is an "icon-breaker").[14] After an apparently successful attempt to enforce the baptism of all Jews and Montanists in the empire (722), he issued a series of edicts against the veneration of images (726–729).[15] A revolt which broke out in Greece, mainly on religious grounds, was crushed by the imperial fleet in 727 (cf. Agallianos Kontoskeles). In 730, Patriarch Germanos I of Constantinople resigned rather than subscribe to an iconoclastic decree. Leo had him replaced by Anastasios,[16] who willingly sided with the Emperor on the question of icons. Thus Leo suppressed the overt opposition of the capital. In the Italian Peninsula, the defiant attitude of Popes Gregory II and later Gregory III on behalf of image-veneration led to a fierce quarrel with the Emperor. The former summoned councils in Rome to anathematize and excommunicate the iconoclasts (730, 732); in 740 Leo retaliated by transferring Southern Italy and Illyricum from the papal diocese to that of the patriarch of Constantinople.[17] The struggle was accompanied by an armed outbreak in the exarchate of Ravenna in 727, which Leo finally endeavoured to subdue by means of a large fleet. But the destruction of the armament by a storm decided the issue against him; his southern Italian subjects successfully defied his religious edicts, and the Exarchate of Ravenna became effectively detached from the Empire. Scholars have discussed the mutual influence of Muslim and Byzantine iconoclasm, noting that Caliph Yazid II had issued an iconoclastic edict, also targeting his Christian subjects, already in 721.[18] Death[edit] Leo III died of dropsy on 18 June 741. He was succeeded by his son, Constantine V. With his wife Maria, Leo III had four known children: his successor, Constantine V; Anna, who married Artabasdus; Irene; and Kosmo. Footnotes[edit] Byzantine Empire portal ^ Craig, Graham, Kagan, Ozment, and Turner. The Heritage of World Civilizations. Prentice Hall. p. 321. ISBN 978-0-205-80766-6.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) ^ Gero, Stephen (1973). Byzantine Iconoclasm during the Reign of Leo III, with Particular Attention to the Oriental Sources. Louvain: Secrétariat du Corpus SCO. ISBN 90-429-0387-2. ^ Stanton, Andrea L.; Ramsamy, Edward; Seybolt, Peter J.; Elliott, Carolyn M. (5 January 2012). Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-1-4522-6662-6. ^ Ekonomou, Andrew J. (26 January 2007). Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes: Eastern Influences on Rome and the Papacy from Gregory the Great to Zacharias, A.D. 590-752. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-0-7391-3386-6. ^ whether Leo ' s family wereMonophysites or not , their place of origin makes it certain that they were Syrians.https://books.google.ae/books?id=Y2EbAAAAYAAJ&q=leo%27s+family+they+were+syrians&dq=leo%27s+family+they+were+syrians&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiW7PGfvsbuAhVwUhUIHRsRDxEQ6AEwAXoECAEQAg ^ Hitti, Philip (2002). History of The Arabs. Red Globe Press. p. 203. ISBN 0333631420. ^ Ball, Warwick (2002). Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire. Routledge. p. 489. ISBN 0415243572. ^ History of the Byzantine Empire, 324-1453, Volume 1. University of Wisconsin Press. 1964. p. 255. ^ Theophanes the Confessor (1982). The Chronicle of Theophanes: Anni Mundi 6095–6305 (A.D. 602–813). Stanford: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 85. ISBN 0812211286. ^ The association of the Sideron fortress with Tsebelda is made by O. Bgazhba and S. Lakoba in Бгажба, О. Х.; Лакоба, С. З. (2007). История Абхазии с древнейших времен до наших дней (The History of Abkhazia from Ancient Times to Present Day) (in Russian). Алашарбага. p. 134. ^ Treadgold, Warren (1997). A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford: University of Stanford Press. p. 346. ISBN 0-8047-2630-2. ^ (in French) Guilland, Rodolphe. "L’expédition de Maslama contre Constantinople (717–720)" in Études Byzantines. Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1959, pp. 109–133. ^ Treadgold. History of the Byzantine State, p. 347. ^ Ladner, Gerhart. "Origin and Significance of the Byzantine Iconoclastic Controversy." Mediaeval Studies, 2, 1940, pp. 127–149. ^ Treadgold. History of the Byzantine State, pp. 350, 352–353. ^ Treadgold. History of the Byzantine State, p. 353. ^ Treadgold. History of the Byzantine State, pp. 354–355. ^ A. A. Vasiliev (1956), The Iconoclastic Edict of the Caliph Yazid II, A. D. 721, pp. 25-26 Literature[edit] Ostrogorsky, George (1956). History of the Byzantine State. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Entry of "Leo III" in The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, ed. Alexander Kazhdan. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. External links[edit] Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leon III. Leo III the Isaurian Isaurian dynasty Born: c. 685 Died: 18 June 741 Regnal titles Preceded by Theodosius III Byzantine Emperor 25 March 717 – 18 June 741 Succeeded by Constantine V v t e Roman and Byzantine emperors and ruling empresses Principate 27 BC – AD 235 Augustus Tiberius Caligula Claudius Nero Galba Otho Vitellius Vespasian Titus Domitian Nerva Trajan Hadrian Antoninus Pius Marcus Aurelius Lucius Verus Commodus Pertinax Didius Julianus (Pescennius Niger) (Clodius Albinus) Septimius Severus Caracalla Geta Macrinus Diadumenian Elagabalus Severus Alexander Crisis 235–285 Maximinus Thrax Gordian I Gordian II Pupienus Balbinus Gordian III Philip the Arab Philip II Decius Herennius Etruscus Hostilian Trebonianus Gallus Volusianus Aemilianus Valerian Gallienus Saloninus Claudius Gothicus Quintillus Aurelian Ulpia Severina Tacitus Florian Probus Carus Carinus Numerian Gallic emperors Postumus (Laelianus) Marius Victorinus (Domitianus II) Tetricus I with Tetricus II as caesar Palmyrene emperors Vaballathus Zenobia Septimius Antiochus Dominate 284–395 Diocletian Maximian Galerius Constantius I Severus Constantine the Great Maxentius Licinius Maximinus Daza (Valerius Valens) (Martinian) Constantine II Constantius II Constans I Magnentius Vetranio Julian Jovian Valentinian I (west) Valens (east) Gratian (west) Valentinian II (west) Theodosius I Magnus Maximus Victor (Eugenius) Western Empire 395–480 Honorius Constantine III with son Constans II Constantius III Joannes Valentinian III Petronius Maximus Avitus Majorian Libius Severus Anthemius Olybrius Glycerius Julius Nepos Romulus Augustulus Eastern/ Byzantine Empire 395–1204 Arcadius Theodosius II Marcian Leo I Leo II Zeno Basiliscus Marcus Anastasius I Dicorus Justin I Justinian I Justin II Tiberius II Constantine Maurice with son Theodosius as co-emperor Phocas Heraclius Constantine III Heraklonas Constans II Constantine IV with brothers Heraclius and Tiberius and then Justinian II as co-emperors Justinian II (first reign) Leontios Tiberius III Justinian II (second reign) with son Tiberius as co-emperor Philippikos Anastasios II Theodosius III Leo III the Isaurian Constantine V Artabasdos Leo IV the Khazar Constantine VI Irene Nikephoros I Staurakios Michael I Rangabe with son Theophylact as co-emperor Leo V the Armenian with Symbatios-Constantine as junior emperor Michael II the Amorian Theophilos Michael III Basil I the Macedonian Leo VI the Wise Alexander Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos Romanos I Lekapenos with sons Christopher, Stephen and Constantine as junior co-emperors Romanos II Nikephoros II Phokas John I Tzimiskes Basil II Constantine VIII Zoë (first reign) and Romanos III Argyros Zoë (first reign) and Michael IV the Paphlagonian Michael V Kalaphates Zoë (second reign) with Theodora Zoë (second reign) and Constantine IX Monomachos Constantine IX Monomachos (sole emperor) Theodora Michael VI Bringas Isaac I Komnenos Constantine X Doukas Romanos IV Diogenes Michael VII Doukas with brothers Andronikos and Konstantios and son Constantine Nikephoros III Botaneiates Alexios I Komnenos John II Komnenos with Alexios Komnenos as co-emperor Manuel I Komnenos Alexios II Komnenos Andronikos I Komnenos with John Komnenos as co-emperor Isaac II Angelos Alexios III Angelos Alexios IV Angelos Nicholas Kanabos (chosen by the Senate) Alexios V Doukas Empire of Nicaea 1204–1261 Constantine Laskaris Theodore I Laskaris John III Doukas Vatatzes Theodore II Laskaris John IV Laskaris Byzantine Empire 1261–1453 Michael VIII Palaiologos Andronikos II Palaiologos with Michael IX Palaiologos as co-emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos John V Palaiologos John VI Kantakouzenos with John V Palaiologos and Matthew Kantakouzenos as co-emperors John V Palaiologos Andronikos IV Palaiologos John VII Palaiologos Andronikos V Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos John VIII Palaiologos Constantine XI Palaiologos Italics indicates a junior co-emperor, while underlining indicates a usurper. Authority control General Integrated Authority File ISNI 1 VIAF 1 WorldCat National libraries France (data) United States Greece Netherlands Sweden Other Faceted Application of Subject Terminology RERO (Switzerland) 1 SUDOC (France) 1 Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leo_III_the_Isaurian&oldid=1027088115" Categories: Leo III the Isaurian 8th-century Byzantine emperors Isaurian dynasty Byzantine people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Medieval legislators 685 births 741 deaths Deaths from edema Byzantine Iconoclasm People from Kahramanmaraş 710s in the Byzantine Empire 720s in the Byzantine Empire 730s in the Byzantine Empire 740s in the Byzantine Empire Governors of the Anatolic Theme Hidden categories: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list CS1 Russian-language sources (ru) Articles with French-language sources (fr) Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Use dmy dates from May 2021 Articles containing Greek-language text Instances of Lang-el using second unnamed parameter Articles needing additional references from April 2020 All articles needing additional references Commons category link is on Wikidata Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with NLG identifiers Wikipedia articles with NTA identifiers Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers Wikipedia articles with FAST identifiers Wikipedia articles with RERO identifiers Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Languages Afrikaans Alemannisch العربية Aragonés تۆرکجه Беларуская Български Brezhoneg Català Čeština Cymraeg Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego 客家語/Hak-kâ-ngî 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Latina Lietuvių Magyar Македонски Malagasy مصرى Nederlands 日本語 Norsk bokmål Norsk nynorsk Occitan Oʻzbekcha/ўзбекча Polski Português Română Русский Sicilianu Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 吴语 粵語 Zazaki 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 6 June 2021, at 01:18 (UTC). 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