| Leontius | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor of the Romans | |||||
 | |||||
| Byzantine emperor | |||||
| Reign | 695–698 | ||||
| Predecessor | Justinian II | ||||
| Successor | Tiberius III | ||||
| Born | Leontius Isauria | ||||
| Died | c. 15 February 706 Constantinople | ||||
| Issue | Tarasius (?) | ||||
| |||||
| Period | Twenty Years' Anarchy | ||||
| Father | Lazarus (?) | ||||
Leontius[a] (Greek:Λεόντιος,romanized: Leóntios; diedc. 15 February 706) wasByzantine emperor under the regnal nameLeo from 695 to 698. Little is known of his early life, other than that he was born inIsauria inAsia Minor. He was given the title ofpatrikios, and madestrategos of theAnatolic Theme under EmperorConstantine IV. He led forces against theUmayyads during the early years ofJustinian 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 theBattle of Sebastopolis, and imprisoned by Justinian for his failure. He was released in 695, and given the title ofstrategos of the Theme ofHellas inSouthern Greece. After being released, he led a rebellion against Justinian, and seized power, becoming emperor in the same year.
He ruled until 698, when he was overthrown byApsimarus, adroungarios who had taken part in a failed expedition that had been launched by Leontius to recoverCarthage. After seizingConstantinople, Apsimar took the name Tiberius (III),[b] and had Leontius'nose and tongue cut off. He was sent to the Monastery of Dalmatou, where he remained until some time between August 705 and February 706. By this time Justinian had retaken the throne. Both Leontius and Tiberius were executed.
Little of Leontius' early life is known, other than that he was fromIsauria,[4][5] and possibly ofArmenian descent.[c]Christian Settipani speculates that Leontius was the son of a certain Lazarus, who was the direct descendant of emperorPhocas and generalPriscus. Furthermore, Settipani identifiespatrikios Tarasius as Leontius' son.[7] Leontius was appointed asstrategos of theAnatolic Theme, at the time the most senior military command of the Byzantine Empire,[4][5][6][8] andpatrikios by EmperorConstantine IV, possiblyc. 682 AD.[4][5][6]
Starting in 680, the IslamicUmayyad Caliphate erupted into a civil war, known as theSecond Fitna. Umayyad authority was challenged even in their metropolitan province ofSyria, while most of the Caliphate recognizedAbdallah ibn al-Zubayr instead. UnderMarwan I and his sonAbd al-Malik, however, the Umayyads gained the upper hand, although the Zubayrids were not finally defeated until 692.[9][10][11][12]
The civil war in the Umayyad Caliphate provided an opportunity for the Byzantine Empire to attack its weakened rival, and, in 686, EmperorJustinian II sent Leontius to invade Umayyad territory inArmenia andIberia, where he campaigned successfully, before leading troops intoMedia andCaucasian Albania; during these campaigns he gathered loot.[4][5] Leontius' successful campaigns compelled the Umayyad Caliph, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, to sue for peace in 688, agreeing to tender part of the taxes from Umayyad territory in Armenia,Iberia, andCyprus, and to renew a treaty signed originally under Constantine IV, providing for a weekly tribute of 1,000 pieces of gold, one horse, and one slave.[5][13][14]
Justinian invaded the Caliphate again in 692, feeling that the Umayyads were in a weak position, but was repulsed at theBattle of Sebastopolis, where a large number ofSlavs defected to the Umayyads, ensuring the Byzantine defeat. After this, the Umayyads renewed their invasion ofNorth Africa, aimed at taking the city ofCarthage in theExarchate of Africa, and also invadedAnatolia. Around this time, Justinian imprisoned Leontius. Some Byzantine sources, such asNikephoros andTheophanes, suggest that Justinian did so because he believed that Leontius was seeking to take the throne,[6] but it is possible that the crushing defeat at Sebastopolis played a part in his imprisonment; asstrategos of the Anatolic Theme, he likely served in the battle, and may have even been the main Byzantine commander in it.[5][13][14][6]
After further setbacks in the war, Justinian released Leontius in 695 because he feared losing control of Carthage, and appointed himstrategos of the Theme ofHellas inSouthern Greece.[5][13][15][16] During his captivity, Leontius was cared for by two monks, Gregorios and Paulos, who prophesied his rise to the throne, and encouraged him to rise against Justinian after his release.[6] Leontius, once free, quickly raised a rebellion against Justinian.[5][13] Leontius had wide support from the aristocracy, who opposed Justinian's land policies, which restricted the aristocracy's ability to acquire land from peasant freeholders,[17] and the peasantry, who opposed Justinian's tax policies,[5][17] as well as theBlue faction, and thePatriarch of ConstantinopleCallinicus.[5] Leontius and his supporters seized Justinian and brought him to the Hippodrome, where Justinian'snose was cut off, a commonpractice in Byzantine culture, done in order to remove threats to the throne, as mutilated people were traditionally barred from becoming emperor; however, Leontius did not kill Justinian, out of reverence for Constantine IV.[5][17][18][6] After Justinian's nose was cut off, Leontius exiled him toCherson, a Byzantineexclave in theCrimea.[5][15][17]
| Twenty Years' Anarchy | ||
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| Chronology | ||
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| Succession | ||
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Upon his coronation, Leontius, now known as "Leo", adopted a moderate political stance. He restricted the activity of theByzantine army, allowing small raids against the border of the Byzantine empire to proceed without reprisal, and instead focused upon consolidation.[5][19] Very little is known of his domestic policy, except that he had the port ofNeorion inConstantinople cleared, which allegedly led to a four-month outbreak of plague.[6]
The Umayyads, emboldened by Leontius' perceived weakness, invaded the Exarchate of Africa in 696, capturing Carthage in 697. Leontius sent thepatrikiosJohn to retake the city. John was able to seize Carthage after a surprise attack on its harbor. However, Umayyad reinforcements soon retook the city, forcing John to retreat toCrete and regroup. A group of officers, fearing the Emperor's punishment for their failure, revolted and proclaimed Apsimar, adroungarios (mid-level commander) of theCibyrrhaeots, emperor.[5][19]
Apsimar took the regnal nameTiberius, gathered a fleet and allied himself with theGreen faction, before sailing for Constantinople, which was enduring thebubonic plague.[5][19][20] After several months of siege, the city surrendered to Tiberius, in 698. Tiberius captured Leontius, and hadhis nose slit before imprisoning him in theMonastery of Dalmatou.[5][19] Leontius stayed in the monastery under guard until Justinian retook the throne with the assistance of theBulgar kingTervel in 705. Justinian then had both Leontius and Tiberius dragged to the Hippodrome and publicly humiliated, before being taken away and beheaded.[5][21] The execution took place on 15 February 706 according to the 13th-centuryChronicon Altinate.[d] The body of Leontius was thrown into the sea alongside Tiberius, but was later recovered and buried in a church on the island ofProte.[6]
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Leontius Born: Unknown Died: February 706 | ||
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| Preceded by | Byzantine Emperor 695–698 | Succeeded by |
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