Related Directory Categories
- Roman Emperors (303)
- Augustus (26)
- Godspeed You Black Emperor (14)
- Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb (11)
- Constantine (10)
- Diocletian (9)
- Commodus (9)
- Emperors (9)
- Perimeter - Emperor's Testament (9)
- Emperor's New Groove, The (9)
Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Leo I (emperor)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Leo I | |
|---|---|
| Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire | |
 |
|
| Bust of Leo I at the Louvre Museum |
|
| Reign | 457 - 474 |
| Coronation | February 7, 457 |
| Full name | Flavius Valerius Leo |
| Born | 401 |
| Died | 18 January 474 |
| Predecessor | Marcian |
| Successor | Leo II |
| Issue | Ariadne (married to Tarasicodissa |
Flavius Valerius Leo (401–18 January 474), known in English as Leo the Thracian or Leo I, was a Byzantine emperor who ruled from 457 to 474. He was the last of a series of emperors placed on the throne by Aspar, the Alan serving as commander-in-chief of the army.
Leo's coronation as emperor on February 7 457, was the first known to involve the Patriarch of Constantinople. Leo I made an alliance with the Isaurians and was thus able to eliminate Aspar. The price of the alliance was the marriage of Leo's daughter to Tarasicodissa, leader of the Isaurians who, as Zeno, became emperor in 474.
During Leo's reign, the Balkans were ravaged time and again by the East Goths and the Huns. However, these attackers were unable to take Constantinople thanks to the walls which had been rebuilt and reinforced in the reign of Theodosius II and against which they possessed no suitable siege engines.
Leo's reign was also noteworthy for his influence in the Western Roman Empire, marked by his appointment of Anthemius as Western Roman Emperor in 467. He attempted to build on this political achievement with an expedition against the Vandals in 468, which was defeated due to the treachery and incompetence of Leo's brother-in-law Basiliscus. This disaster drained the Empire of men and money. The expedition, which cost 130,000 pounds of gold and 700 pounds of silver, was comprised of 1,113 ships carrying 100,000 men, but in the end lost 600 ships.
Leo's greatest influence in the West was largely inadvertent and at second-hand: the great Goth king Theodoric the Great was raised at Leo's court in Constantinople, where he was steeped in Roman government and military tactics, which served him well when he returned after Leo's death to become the Goth ruler of a mixed but largely Romanized people.
Leo died of dysentery at the age of 73 on January 18, 474.
Media related to Leo I (emperor) from the Wikimedia Commons.
|
Leo I (emperor)
Born: 401 Died: 18 January 474 |
||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Marcian |
Eastern Roman Emperor 457-474 |
Succeeded by Leo II |
| Preceded by Flavius Constantinus, Flavius Rufus |
Consul of the Roman Empire 458 with Imp. Caesar Iulius Maiorianus Augustus |
Succeeded by Flavius Ricimerus, Flavius Iulius Patricius |
| Preceded by Flavius Severinus, Flavius Dagalaifus |
Consul of the Roman Empire 462 with Imp. Caesar Libius Severus Augustus |
Succeeded by Flavius Caecina Decius Basilius, Flavius Vivianus |
| Preceded by Flavius Hermenericus, Flavius Basiliscus |
Consul of the Roman Empire 466 with Tatianus (Gallia) |
Succeeded by Flavius Pusaeus, Flavius Iohannes |
| Preceded by Flavius Messius Phoebus Severus, Flavius Iordanes |
Consul of the Roman Empire 471 with Caelius Aconius Probianus |
Succeeded by Flavius Rufius Postumius Festus, Flavius Marcianus |
| Preceded by Flavius Rufius Postumius Festus, Flavius Marcianus |
Consul of the Roman Empire 473 (alone) |
Succeeded by Imp. Caesar Flavius Leo Iunior Augustus (alone) |