Leo III the Isaurian

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Leo III the Isaurian
Isaurian dynasty
ReligionChalcedonian Christianity

Leo III the Isaurian (

Umayyads and forbade the veneration of icons.[2]

Early life

Leo III was born in

Latin: Conon or Cononus).[3] Leo III was fluent in Arabic,[4] possibly as a native language,[5] and was described by Theophanes the Confessor as "the Saracen minded."[6]

After the victory of

snowshoes and taking the fortress of Sideron, associated with the Tsebelda fortress, on the way.[7]

Konon was appointed commander (stratēgos) of the Anatolic Theme by Emperor Anastasius II. On his deposition, Konon joined with his colleague Artabasdos, the stratēgos of the Armeniac Theme, in conspiring to overthrow the new Emperor Theodosius III. Artabasdos was betrothed to Konon's daughter Anna.[8]

Siege of Constantinople

Main article: Siege of Constantinople (717–718)

Leo entered Constantinople on 25 March 717 and forced the abdication of Theodosius III, becoming emperor as Leo III. The new emperor was immediately forced to attend to the

Bosphorus.[9]

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

Kormesiy of Bulgaria
.

Faced with 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 had died the previous year, and his successor

Umar II
never made a second attempt to capture the city. The siege had lasted 12 months.

Reign

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;[11] the following year saw the deposed Emperor Anastasius II raise an army and attempt to retake the throne, but he was captured and executed by Leo's government.

Leo secured the Empire's frontiers by inviting

army to efficiency;[12] 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.[13]

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

theme structure by creating new themata in the Aegean
region.

Iconoclastic policies

Example of the miliaresion silver coins, first struck by Leo III to commemorate the coronation of his son, Constantine V in 720.

Leo's most striking legislative reforms dealt with religious matters, especially

Montanists in the empire (722), he issued a series of edicts against the veneration of images (726–729).[16]

A revolt broke out in Greece under the leadership of

Anastasius,[17]
who willingly sided with the Emperor on the question of icons, to replace him.

In the

patriarch of Constantinople.[18] The struggle was accompanied by an armed outbreak in the exarchate of Ravenna in 727, which Leo endeavoured to subdue by means of a large fleet. But the destruction of the armament by a storm forced Leo to backpedal; 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.[19]

Legislation

The legislative reforms of Leo III and his successor Constantine V transformed the Byzantine orphanotrophos into a magistrate. Prior to these legislative reforms, Byzantine law required that all orphans are passed into the Byzantine orphanage or to a monastery.[20]

Coinage

The coins minted during Leo's reign exclusively depicted male imperial dynasts, promoting the dynastic order of succession. The gold coins of Leo IV the Khazar show posthumous portraits of Leo III.[21]

Death and family

Solidus of Leo III with Constantine V

Leo III died of

dropsy on 18 June 741 and was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles.[22]

With his wife Maria, Leo III had four known children:

  • Constantine V, born in 718. He was crowned co-emperor in 720 and became senior emperor in 741.
  • Anna, born before 705. She married the future emperor Artabasdos.[23]
  • Kosmo and Irene. They were both buried in a sarcophagus of Proconnesian marble in the Church of the Apostles.[24]

Legacy

In 1573 a translation of John of Damascus' attack on Leo III was published, under the title Apologie divisee en troits livres contre Leon Isaure, triggering religious controversy.[25]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-205-80766-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  2. ISBN 90-429-0387-2
    .
  3. ISBN 9781175927651
    .
  4. ISBN 0333631420
    .
  5. ISBN 0415243572
    .
  6. ^ A. A. Vasiliev (1964). History of the Byzantine Empire, 324-1453, Volume 1. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 255.
  7. ISBN 0812211286
    .
  8. ISBN 0804726302
    .
  9. ^ (in French) Guilland, Rodolphe. "L’expédition de Maslama contre Constantinople (717–720)" in Études Byzantines. Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1959, pp. 109–133.
  10. ^ Treadgold. History of the Byzantine State, p. 347.
  11. ^ "Leo III the Isaurian (ca. 680–741) - Weapons and Warfare". 15 January 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Leo III the Isaurian (ca. 680–741) - Weapons and Warfare". 15 January 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Leo III the Isaurian (ca. 680–741) - Weapons and Warfare". 15 January 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  14. ^ Freshfield, Edwin (March 1930). The Official Manuals of Roman Law of the Eighth and Ninth Centuries. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge Law Journal and Contributors. p. 35.
  15. ^ Ladner, Gerhart. "Origin and Significance of the Byzantine Iconoclastic Controversy." Mediaeval Studies, 2, 1940, pp. 127–149.
  16. ^ Treadgold. History of the Byzantine State, pp. 350, 352–353.
  17. ^ Treadgold. History of the Byzantine State, p. 353.
  18. ^ Treadgold. History of the Byzantine State, pp. 354–355.
  19. ^ A. A. Vasiliev (1956), The Iconoclastic Edict of the Caliph Yazid II, A. D. 721, pp. 25-26
  20. ISBN 9780813213132
    .
  21. ISBN 9781317180005
    .
  22. Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire
  23. PmbZ
  24. ^ Lilie, Ralph-Johannes et al. (2013). "Kosmo (#4148)". PmbZ
  25. ISBN 9783319533667
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leon III.
Leo III the Isaurian
Born: c. 685 Died: 18 June 741
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Byzantine emperor

25 March 717 – 18 June 741 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
Anastasius II in 714,
then lapsed
 Roman consul
718 		Succeeded by
Lapsed,
Constantine V in 742
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