File:Solidus_of_Leontius.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Leontius
Sign in to saveLeontius (; died 15 February 706) was Byzantine emperor under the regnal name Leo from 695 to 698. Little is known of his early life, other than that he was born in Isauria in Asia Minor. He was given the title of patrikios, and made strategos of the Anatolic Theme under Emperor Constantine IV. He led forces against the Umayyads during the early years of Justinian II's reign, securing victory and forcing the Umayyad caliph, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, to sue for peace.
Key facts
- Royalty.issue
- Tarasius (?)
- Royalty.name
- Leontius
- Royalty.image
- Solidus of Leontius.png
- Royalty.caption
- Leontius in imperial regalia, as depicted on a solidus coin. Legend: .
- Royalty.succession
- Byzantine emperor
- Royalty.reign
- 695–698
- Royalty.predecessor
- Justinian II
- Royalty.successor
- Tiberius III
- Royalty.birth_name
- Leontius
- Royalty.regnal name
- Leo
- Royalty.house
- Twenty Years' Anarchy
- Royalty.house type
- Period
- Royalty.birth_place
- Isauria
- Royalty.death_date
- 15 February 706
- Royalty.death_place
- Constantinople
- Royalty.title
- Emperor of the Romans
- Royalty.father
- Lazarus (?)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Byzantine Empire
- Place of birth
- Isauria
- Place of death
- Constantinople
- Occupation
- ruler
- Position held
- Byzantine emperor
- Image
- Solidus-Leontinus-sb1330.jpg
Show 6 more facts
- Commons category
- Leontius
- date of death
- 0706-02-15
- date of birth
- 0660-01-01
- cause of death
- decapitation
- manner of death
- capital punishment
- described by source
- Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~8 min read
Encyclopedic overview
9 sectionsContents
- Origin and early life
- Reign and downfall
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Citations
- Bibliography
- Web sources
- External links
Leontius (; died 15 February 706) was Byzantine emperor under the regnal name Leo from 695 to 698. Little is known of his early life, other than that he was born in Isauria in Asia Minor. He was given the title of patrikios, and made strategos of the Anatolic Theme under Emperor Constantine IV. He led forces against the Umayyads during the early years of Justinian II's reign, securing victory and forcing the Umayyad caliph, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, to sue for peace.
In 692, Justinian declared war upon the Umayyads again, and sent Leontius to campaign against them. However, he was defeated decisively at the Battle of Sebastopolis, and imprisoned by Justinian for his failure. He was released in 695, and given the title of strategos of the Theme of Hellas in Southern Greece. After being released, he led a rebellion against Justinian, and seized power, becoming emperor in the same year.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Leontius” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.