Leontios (Byzantium)

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Solidus of Leontios

Leontios ( Middle Greek Λεόντιος ; † February 15, 706 in Constantinople ) was Byzantine emperor (695–698). His official emperor name was Leon . This name appears on his coins and in Western sources, but was not accepted by Byzantine historiography, which only calls him Leontios .

Life

Leontios came from a noble Isaurian family and was a prominent commander of the Byzantine troops on the Eastern Front against the Arabs under the emperors Constantine IV and Justinian II . He wreaked havoc in Armenia. In 692 he fell out of favor with Justinian, perhaps because of the heavy defeat at the Battle of Sebastopolis , which was caused by the overflow of force-recruited Slavic troops. Justinian had him incarcerated, but after three years he suddenly got him out of prison and gave him the command of the subject (military district) Hellas . Leontios immediately used this opportunity to spark an uprising. He let the rumor spread in Constantinople that the emperor wanted to murder the patriarch Kallinikos I and cause a massacre among the population. Since Justinian was easily trusted to do the worst, the rumor was immediately believed. A popular uprising broke out, Justinian was overthrown and Leontios, with the support of the Patriarch, took over the dignity of Emperor (695). He was a representative of the classy and affluent class who had suffered from Justinian's ruthless tax collection.

In 695 the Arab advance against the Byzantine exarchate of Africa began. The very strong Arab forces under Hassan ibn al-Numan first occupied Kairouan and finally conquered Carthage , the capital of the exarchate . The Byzantine fleet sent by Leontios fought with varying success, but had to retreat to Crete in 698 to wait for reinforcements there, and only a few African cities remained in Byzantine hands. Fearing punishment for underperforming in Africa, naval officers revolted in Crete and proclaimed one of them, Apsimar, emperor. Apsimar, who took the ruler's name Tiberios , besieged Constantinople for months. The plague epidemic town was seized by treason and pillaged. The new ruler had Leontios' nose cut off and banished him to a monastery. After Justinian came to power again in 705, Leontios was taken from the monastery and later executed along with Tiberios .

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predecessor Office successor
Justinian II Emperor of Byzantium
695–698 		Tiberios II
personal data
SURNAME Leontios
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Λεόντιος (Greek)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Byzantine emperor (695–698)
DATE OF BIRTH 7th century
DATE OF DEATH February 15, 706
Place of death Constantinople