Leo V (Byzantium)

Solidus of Leo V.

Leo V ( Latin ; Middle Greek Λέων Leon , * around 775; † December 25, 820), called the Armenian , was Byzantine emperor from 813 to 820.

Life

Leo (s) served as a general under the emperors Nicephorus I. and Michael I . After Leo had distinguished himself in the service of Michael I on the campaign against the Arabs in 812, he was commissioned with a campaign against the Bulgarians in 813 . He left Michael in the battle of Adrianople , took advantage of the discontent of the troops and led a successful revolt against Michael and his son Theophylactus together with the allied generals Michael Psellos and Thomas . Leo legitimized his rule through repeated victories over the Bulgarians, who tried in vain to siege Constantinople (814–817). With the Bulgarenkhan Omurtag (ruled 814-831) he concluded a thirty-year peace treaty in 816 and thus initially ensured peace on this imperial border.

Leo resumed the iconoclastic (anti-image) policies of the Syrian emperors , who had been extremely successful militarily. From the end of 814 Leo took action against the admirers of images who, under Michael I, had increasingly gained influence at court and in the clergy (see Byzantine Iconoclasm ). Apparently Leo benefited from the fact that there was an anti-image mood in large parts of the population of Constantinople. Patriarch Nikephorus was even deposed in 815. However, the emperor's new religious policy also met with rejection; several clergymen went into exile or were imprisoned, including Theodor Studites . The fronts soon hardened, so that on the one hand the imperial church endured the emperor's policies, on the other hand a larger opposition that was friendly to images formed.

Although a conspiracy of his friend Michael Psellos had been thwarted by the incarceration of the leaders, Michael's allies seized the opportunity and took action against the emperor. Leo was murdered in the palace chapel on Christmas Eve 820, and Michael ascended the throne in his place. The life of his wife Theodosia (a daughter of Arsaber ) and his four sons, including the heir to the throne and co-emperor Constantine (Symbatios), were spared. In order to exclude them as possible heirs to the throne, however, they had to be castrated. Leo's youngest son died as a result of castration.

Theophanes Continuatus , Ioseph Genesios and Johannes Skylitzes , but also several clerical sources, report on Leo's reign . Due to the emperor's anti-image religious policy, his reputation was severely darkened in later tradition. In more recent research, however, reference is made to the emperor's successes, for example regarding foreign policy or his legislative measures in domestic policy.

Andreas Gryphius dealt with the events surrounding the murder of Leo V in his tragedy Leo Armenius .

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. 366 ff.
• Dmitry Afinogenov: The Conspiracy of Michael Traulos and the Assassination of Leo V: History and Fiction . In: Dumbarton Oaks Papers . Vol. 55, 2001, pp. 329-338.
• 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 , p. 671 ff. (Sources and literature)
• Warren T. Treadgold : The Byzantine Revival, 780-842 . Stanford University Press, Stanford 1988, ISBN 0-8047-1462-2 , pp. 196 ff.
• Erwin window: Leon V. the Armenians . In: Biographical Lexicon on the History of Southeast Europe . Vol. 3. Munich 1979, p. 19 f.

Web links

Commons : Leo V.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

predecessor	Office	successor
Michael I.	Emperor of Byzantium 813–820	Michael II