Leo IV (Byzantium)

Leo IV and Constantine VI.

Leo IV (* 749 or 750; † September 8, 780 ), called the Chasare ( Middle Greek Λέων ὁ Χάζαρος Leon o Chazaros ) due to the origin of his mother, was the Byzantine emperor from the Syrian dynasty from 775 .

Leo succeeded his father Constantine V on. In 776 he made his young son Constantine (later Constantine VI ) co-emperor and suppressed an uprising that his five half-brothers, led by the Caesars Christophoros and Nikephoros , broke out on the occasion.

Like his father and grandfather Leo III. Leo IV was also successful in the fight against the Arabs (whom he inflicted a heavy defeat in 778) and Bulgarians . Unlike these two, however, he was ikonodul (picture-friendly) on religious issues (see picture dispute ). However, the more recent research emphasizes anyway that the image-friendly sources reflect the reign and religious policy of Leo III. and Constantine V are very distorted. In any case, Leo IV installed a patriarch of Constantinople who was friendly to images in February 780 .

During his reign, Leo is said to have been heavily influenced by his wife Irene . In older research, this was also attributed to his moderate religious policy, which is now viewed more skeptically. When Leo died unexpectedly in September 780, he left Irene as regent for their son and Leo's successor Constantine VI. back.

literature

Leslie Brubaker, John F. Haldon: Byzantium in the Iconoclast era. c. 680-850. A history. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 2011, ISBN 978-0-521-43093-7 , p. 248 ff.
Ralph-Johannes Lilie , Claudia Ludwig, Thomas Pratsch, Ilse Rochow, Beate Zielke: Prosopography of the Middle Byzantine Period . 1st department: (641−867). Volume 2: Georgios (# 2183) - Leon (# 4270). Created after preliminary work by F. Winkelmann . Published by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences. De Gruyter, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-11-016672-0 , pp. 668-671 No. 4243.
Ulrich Schmidt: Leon IV. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 4, Bautz, Herzberg 1992, ISBN 3-88309-038-7 , Sp. 1474-1475. ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
Paul Speck: Emperor Constantine VI. The legitimation of someone else's and the attempt at one's own rule. Source-critical presentation of 25 years of Byzantine history after the first iconoclasm . Two volumes. Wilhelm Fink, Munich 1978, ISBN 3-7705-1726-1 , especially p. 53 ff.

Web links

Lynda Garland: Short biography (English) at De Imperatoribus Romanis (with references).

Remarks

↑ Ulrich Schmidt states January 25, 749 in the BBKL , Lynda Garland in De Imperatoribus Romanis states January 750.
^ Leslie Brubaker, John F. Haldon: Byzantium in the Iconoclast era. c. 680-850. A history. Cambridge et al. 2011, pp. 249f.
^ Leslie Brubaker, John F. Haldon: Byzantium in the Iconoclast era. c. 680-850. A history. Cambridge et al. 2011, pp. 252f.

predecessor	Office	successor
Constantine V.	Emperor of Byzantium 775–780	Constantine VI

personal data
SURNAME	Leo IV
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Leo the Khazars
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Byzantine emperor
DATE OF BIRTH	January 25, 749 or January 750
DATE OF DEATH	September 8, 780

[1] Ulrich Schmidt states January 25, 749 in the BBKL , Lynda Garland in De Imperatoribus Romanis states January 750.

[2] Leslie Brubaker, John F. Haldon: Byzantium in the Iconoclast era. c. 680-850. A history. Cambridge et al. 2011, pp. 249f.

[3] Leslie Brubaker, John F. Haldon: Byzantium in the Iconoclast era. c. 680-850. A history. Cambridge et al. 2011, pp. 252f.