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55-601: (Redirected from LEO III ) Leo III , Leon III , or Levon III may refer to: People [ edit ] Leo III the Isaurian (685–741), Byzantine emperor 717–741 Pope Leo III (d. 816), Pope 795–816 Leon III of Abkhazia , King of Abkhazia 960–969 Leo II, King of Armenia (c. 1236–1289), sometimes referred to as Leo III, ruled from 1269 to 1289. Leo III, King of Armenia (1287–1307), ruled from 1303 to 1307 Other uses [ edit ] Leo A , an irregular galaxy in

110-717: A pro-imperial duke and blinding another, while in Naples, iconoclasm was broadly well-received. A conflict between pro- and anti-imperial factions in the Exarchate of Ravenna led to the death of Exarch Paul. The struggle was accompanied by an armed outbreak in the Exarchate in 727, which Leo endeavoured to subdue by means of a large fleet. The new Exarch, Eutychius , disembarked in Naples but could not enter Rome and assert his authority. This led to an unexpected alliance between Liutprand and Eutychius against Gregory, who, however, managed to convince

165-573: A terrifying volcanic eruption at Thira in 726 was interpreted by Leo as a manifestation of God's wrath. In the Bible , God allows his people to fall to Babylonian captivity because of their idolatry . Thus, Auzépy says, the banning of the veneration of images was fundamentally a rejection of idolatry in order to ensure the survival of the Christian people of the Empire, a decision which was apparently vindicated by

220-503: Is an "icon-breaker"). After an apparently successful attempt to enforce the baptism of all Jews and Montanists in the empire (722), he issued a series of edicts against the veneration of images (726–729). A revolt broke out in Greece under the leadership of Agallianos Kontoskeles , mainly on religious grounds, with a certain Kosmas being declared rival emperor. The imperial fleet quashed

275-565: Is known. His father died when Theophanes was three years old, and the Byzantine Emperor Constantine V (740–775) subsequently saw to the boy's education and upbringing at the imperial court. Theophanes would hold several offices under Leo IV the Khazar. He was married at the age of eighteen, but convinced his wife to lead a life of virginity. In 779, after the death of his father-in-law, they separated with mutual consent to embrace

330-458: Is particularly valuable beginning with the reign of Justin II (565), as in his work, he then drew upon sources that have not survived his times Theophanes' Chronicle was much used by succeeding chroniclers, and in 873–875 a Latin compilation was made by the papal librarian Anastasius from the chronicles of Nicephorus , George Syncellus, and Theophanes for the use of a deacon named Johannes in

385-410: Is the point where the chronicle of George Syncellus ends) to the downfall of Michael I Rhangabes in 813. This part of the chronicle is valuable for having preserved the accounts of lost authorities on Byzantine history for the seventh and eighth centuries that would be otherwise have been lost. The work consists of two parts, wherein the first provides a chronological history arranged per annum, and

440-493: The Armeniac Theme , in conspiring to overthrow the new Emperor Theodosius III , ostensibly in support of Anastasius. Artabasdos was betrothed to Konon's daughter Anna . In 717, Konon marched on Constantinople, capturing Theodosius' son at Nicomedia . He forced Theodosius to abdicate, promising safety for him and his family. Theodosius then became a monk at Ephesus . On 25 March, abandoning his allegiance to Anastasius, Konon

495-487: The altar and in the apse , for example) to avoid their receiving the honour due to God alone", confirming this conclusion with the writings of Germanus and John of Damascus which appear to describe a kind of initial or moderate stage of iconoclasm. Leo reformed the silention , a type of restricted council instituted by Justinian I , transforming it into a special assembly in the Great Palace of Constantinople , in which

550-716: The Byzantine Empire to bring a force of 80,000 to 150,000 men and a massive fleet to the Bosphorus , intending to seize the Byzantine capital and destroy the Empire with a single overwhelming attack. Careful preparations, begun three years earlier under Anastasius II, and the stubborn resistance put up by Leo wore out the invaders. An important factor in the victory of the Byzantines was their use of Greek fire . The Arab forces also fell victim to Bulgarian reinforcements arriving to aid

605-665: The Byzantines. Leo was allied with the Bulgarians but the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor was uncertain if they were still serving under Tervel of Bulgaria or his eventual successor Kormesiy of Bulgaria . Faced with the Bulgarian onslaught, the impenetrability of Constantinople's walls, and their own exhausted provisions, the Arabs were forced to abandon the siege in August 718. Sulayman had died

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660-501: The Christian era, Theophanes introduces in tabular form the regnal years of the Roman emperors, of the Persian kings and Arab caliphs, and of the five ecumenical patriarchs, a complex system which sometimes leads to considerable confusion. The first part, though lacking in critical insight and chronological accuracy, greatly surpasses the majority of Byzantine chronicles. Theophanes's Chronicle

715-708: The Confessor Theophanes the Confessor, venerated on 12 March in both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church , should not be confused with Theophanes of Nicaea , whose feast is commemorated on 11 October. Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac, governor of the islands of the Aegean Sea , and Theodora, of whose family nothing

770-615: The Empire against the invading Umayyads and forbade the veneration of icons . Leo III was born in Germanikeia , Commagene , which is in modern Kahramanmaraş in Turkey . His original name was Konon ( Greek : Κόνων ). Leo III was fluent in Arabic, possibly as a native language, and was described by Theophanes the Confessor as "the Saracen -minded," although there is very little evidence that he

825-673: The King, appealing to his piety, to return north and the Exarch to put down a revolt in Etruria led by the usurper Tiberius Petasius . In response to the promulgation of stronger iconoclastic decrees in 730, Gregory II and Gregory III summoned councils in Rome to anathematize and excommunicate the iconoclasts (730, 732). Leo retaliated by making the aforementioned transferals in Southern Italy and Illyricum from

880-609: The Roman legal tradition, and bear the influence of canon law . The new measures, which were embodied in a new code called the Ecloga ( Selection ), published in 741, met with some opposition on the part of the nobles and higher clergy. The Ecloga were a revision and abridgement of the sixth-century Code of Justinian . Leo's prologue to the Ecloga sets out his conception of law as requiring ethical significance founded upon God's will and divinely-sanctioned imperial authority. The authors of

935-571: The Romans with the help of the Lombards of Benevento and Spoleto. Leo effected many political and ecclesiastical restructurings in order to bolster the authority of the Empire and the Patriarch of Constantinople . Since the end of the seventh century, imperial stratēgoi were sent to the theme of Sicily (which included Calabria ), and in 732–733 Leo deprived the church of Rome of the patrimony of St Peter in

990-591: The Syrian , was the first Byzantine emperor of the Isaurian dynasty from 717 until his death in 741. He put an end to the Twenty Years' Anarchy , a period of great instability in the Byzantine Empire between 695 and 717, marked by the rapid succession of several emperors to the throne, along with ending the continual defeats and territorial losses the Byzantines had suffered during the 7th century. He also successfully defended

1045-478: The abatement of the Arab and Bulgar threat during Leo's reign. Some scholars, such as Leslie Brubaker and John Haldon, doubt whether there was any active imperial involvement in iconoclasm at all, proposing instead that Leo made a qualified critique of the use of images in public spaces, likely leading to the adoption of a somewhat iconoclastic attitude among the clergy in the late 730s or early 740s. The notion that there

1100-405: The alleged aniconism of the eastern part of the Empire, Leo's place of origin, motivated his policies. The phrase "I am emperor and priest" attributed to Leo by later iconodule polemicists represents the characteristically Isaurian imperial ascendancy over the church, which was rejected in the mid-9th century after Patriarch Methodios I of Constantinople purged the clergy of iconoclasts, asserting

1155-562: The authority of Rome to Constantinople. The Isaurians in general saw the church and its patriarchs as subordinate to the imperial will. The 740 Constantinople earthquake damaged the Walls of Constantinople , the restoration of which Leo paid for out of the imperial treasury, raising the City taxes by 8 ⁄ 3 per cent in order to do so, as was recorded on the land walls near the Sea of Marmara . The Empire of

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1210-442: The autonomy of the church against the iconoclast emperor, Theophilos ( r.  829–842 ). Others have discussed the mutual influence of Muslim and Byzantine iconoclasm, noting that Caliph Yazid II had issued an iconoclastic edict, also targeting his Christian subjects, already in 721. According to historian Marie-France Auzépy, these explanations are insufficient. She appeals to an explanation by Byzantine chroniclers, that

1265-421: The church, which was rejected in the mid-9th century after Patriarch Methodios I of Constantinople purged the clergy of iconoclasts, asserting the autonomy of the church against the iconoclast emperor, Theophilos ( r.  829–842 ). The few primary sources of the eighth and ninth centuries were mostly written by clerical or monastic iconodules who were hostile to Leo and Constantine V. They tended to view

1320-417: The city chronicle of Constantinople. Cyril Mango has argued that Theophanes contributed but little to the chronicle that bears his name, and that the vast bulk of its contents are the work of Syncellus; on this model, Theophanes' main contribution was to cast Syncellus' rough materials together in a unified form. Theophanes' part of the chronicle covered events from the accession of Diocletian in 284 (which

1375-401: The clergy was divided on the issue of iconoclasm, however there was no evidence of widespread support for the iconoclastic policies or of systematic removal of images under Leo. Brubaker and Haldon attribute a more moderate iconoclasm to Leo, "It is quite possible that Leo did attempt to restrict the public display of certain types of image and to remove them from certain places in churches (near

1430-420: The constellation of Leo The Oath of Leo III , 16th-century painting about the 9th century Pope Leo III LEO III (computer) , an early computer used for commercial business applications Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Leo III . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to

1485-453: The continuation of Syncellus' Chronicle ( Χρονογραφία , Chronographia), during the years 810 to 815. The language used occupies a place midway between the stiff ecclesiastical and the vernacular Greek. He made use of three main sources: first, material already prepared by Syncellus; second, he probably made the use of a set of extracts made by Theodore Lector from the works of Socrates Scholasticus , Sozomenus , and Theodoret ; and third,

1540-516: The council. Theophanes was cast into prison and for two years suffered cruel treatment. After his release, he was banished to Samothrace in 817, where overwhelmed with afflictions, he lived only seventeen days. He is credited with many miracles that occurred after his death, which most likely took place on 12 March, the day he is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology . At the urgent request of his friend George Syncellus , Theophanes undertook

1595-462: The duke of Spoleto captured Narni and Liutprand, King of the Lombards , occupied Classe in the Exarchate of Ravenna . Although Narni was never regained, Gregory II recovered Cumae and Liutprand withdrew from Classe. In 724 or 725, Leo increased taxes in Italy which Gregory opposed. This led to two plots to assassinate Gregory, the second of which was supported by Exarch Paul , but both were foiled by

1650-413: The dynastic order of succession . In 721, Leo introduced the miliarēsion , a silver coin worth one-twelfth of a nomisma . The gold coins of Leo IV the Khazar show posthumous portraits of Leo III. In response to the catastrophic Twenty Years' Anarchy , Leo, and his son Constantine V in emulation, fundamentally changed the formula of imperial survival as established by Justinian I. The military

1705-611: The eighth century was characterized by ruralization and depopulation, which along with the Arab invasions motivated Leo to undertake intense centralization and militarization, particularly involving the many fortresses and walls in towns such as Nicaea and Padyandus . Leo III died of dropsy on 18 June 741 and was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles . Leo's most striking legislative reforms dealt with religious matters, especially iconoclasm ("icon-breaking," therefore an iconoclast

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1760-443: The emperor would announce a solemn decision. Leo undertook a set of civil reforms including the abolition of the system of prepaying taxes which had weighed heavily upon the wealthier proprietors, the elevation of the serfs into a class of free tenants and the remodelling of family law , maritime law and criminal law , notably substituting mutilation for the death penalty in many cases. These punishments were contrary to

1815-580: The fortresses of Kamachon and Ikonion in 723/724 and several frontier fortresses in 725. Caesarea (Cappadocia) was captured in 727, then Gangra in 728. The Byzantine counter-raids were generally of little strategic impact, although crucially a major invading force was destroyed in the Battle of Akroinon of 740. It was only during the Third Fitna of 744–747, a civil war within the Umayyad Caliphate, that

1870-534: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leo_III&oldid=1216453960 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Leo III the Isaurian Leo III the Isaurian ( Greek : Λέων ὁ Ἴσαυρος , romanized :  Leōn ho Isauros ; c. 685 – 18 June 741), also known as

1925-600: The legal codes of Basil I ( r.  867–886 ) and Leo VI the Wise ( r.  886–912 ) of the Macedonian dynasty formally rejected the Ecloga . Leo and his successor Constantine V transformed the Byzantine orphanotrophos into a magistrate . Prior to these legislative reforms, Byzantine law required that all orphans are passed into the Byzantine orphanage or to a monastery . The coins minted during Leo's reign exclusively depicted male imperial dynasts, promoting

1980-609: The mission as successful and Konon returning eventually to Justinian after crossing the Caucasus mountains in May with snowshoes and taking the fortress of Sideron, associated with the Tsebelda fortress , on the way. Konon was appointed commander ( stratēgos ) of the Anatolic Theme by Emperor Anastasius II . On his deposition, Konon joined with his colleague Artabasdos , the stratēgos of

2035-562: The name "of the big settlement" and governed it as abbot . In this position of leadership, he was present at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, and signed its decrees in defense of the veneration of icons . When Emperor Leo V the Armenian (813–820) resumed his iconoclastic warfare, he ordered Theophanes brought to Constantinople. The Emperor tried in vain to induce him to condemn the same veneration of icons that had been sanctioned by

2090-592: The pamphlet attributes to Leo the saying, "I am emperor and priest." In the Italian Peninsula , the defiant attitude of Popes Gregory II and later Gregory III on behalf of image-veneration led to a fierce quarrel with the Emperor, with the Liber Pontificalis stating that Gregory II "took up arms against the emperor as if against an enemy." In Rome, the population was more sympathetic to iconodulia, killing

2145-412: The papal diocese to that of the Patriarch of Constantinople . Scholars offer various explanations for the ban on venerating icons c.  730 . On the basis of Patriarch Germanus' letters read at the 787 Second Council of Nicaea , which state that that the bishops Constantine of Nakoleia and Thomas of Claudiopolis had forbidden the veneration of icons even before 730, some scholars argue that

2200-488: The period as dominated by ecclesiastical matters and in particular the imperial persecution of iconodules, despite the Empire's contemporaneous existential struggle against its enemies. Modern assessment of the reign of Leo as well as that of his son is that it was a period of violence which saw the Empire's rescue from destruction, within a context of extensive domestic policy reform. Leo's successful ruse against Caliph Sulayman and his general Maslama, which secured his place on

2255-408: The personality of Leo, can be attributed to the entire Isaurian dynasty, which was unwaveringly iconoclastic, Irene of Athens excepted. Succeeding generations of the Byzantine ruling class regarded the Isaurian period as one of religious persecution. The phrase "I am emperor and priest" attributed to Leo by later iconodule polemicists represents the characteristically Isaurian imperial ascendancy over

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2310-491: The previous year, and his successor Umar II never made a second attempt to capture the city. The siege had lasted 12 months. Having thus saved the Empire from extinction, Leo proceeded to consolidate its administration, which in the previous years of anarchy had become completely disorganized. In 718 he suppressed a rebellion in Sicily . The following year saw the deposed Emperor Anastasius II raise an army and attempt to retake

2365-570: The regularity of attacks were temporarily interrupted. Leo secured the Empire's frontiers by inviting Slavic settlers into the depopulated districts and by restoring the army to efficiency. His military efforts were supplemented by his alliances with the Khazars and the Georgians . However, the Lombards exploited the Empire's difficulties beginning in 717, when the duke of Benevento captured Cumae ,

2420-575: The religious life. She chose a convent on an island near Constantinople, while he entered the Polychronius Monastery, located in the district of Sigiane (Sigriano), near Cyzicus on the Asian side of the Sea of Marmara . Later, he built a monastery on his own lands on the island of Calonymus (now Calomio ), where he acquired a high degree of skill in transcribing manuscripts. After six years he returned to Sigriano, where he founded an abbey known by

2475-404: The second contains chronological tables that are regrettably full of inaccuracies. It seems that Theophanes had only prepared the tables, leaving vacant spaces for the proper dates, but that these had been filled out by someone else ( Hugo von Hurter , Nomenclator literarius recentioris I, Innsbruck, 1903, 735). In the chronological first part, in addition to reckoning by the years of the world and

2530-460: The second half of the ninth century and thus was known to Western Europe. There also survives a further continuation, in six books, of the Chronicle down to the year 961 written by a number of mostly anonymous writers (called Theophanes Continuatus or Scriptores post Theophanem ), who undertook the work at the instructions of Constantine Porphyrogenitus . Theophanes was the first to claim that

2585-413: The theme, reallocating tax income that originally went to the church of Rome to the imperial administration (a large annual sum of 350 pounds of gold). However in 743, Constantine V compensated Pope Zachary for this loss by granting him the estates of Ninfa and Norma to the south of Rome. Between 732 and 754, the bishops of Illyricum, Crete , Sicily, Calabria and Naples (until 769) were transferred from

2640-549: The throne, and then his successful defense of the Empire during the siege of Constantinople, earned him a reputation as a wily and formidable commander against colossal odds. His personal knowledge of the geography of the foothills of the Taurus Mountains helped in the countering of Arab incursions mainly in the latter part of his reign, as was especially signified in the Battle of Akroinon—a crucial victory for Leo which had changed

2695-416: The throne, but he was captured and executed by Leo's government. The rebellion was the only serious threat to Leo's usurpation. Umayyad attacks under Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik continued in the form of yearly raids in eastern and central Asia Minor (see hatched area in figure), which affected communications, commerce and agricultural production. In 721, the city of Dalisandus was captured, followed by

2750-570: The tide of the Arab–Byzantine wars in the favour of Rome for the next 350 years. However, the Byzantine control over its Italian possessions was steadily weakened during Leo's reign, and his attempts to reassert imperial authority there failed. In 1573, a translation of John of Damascus ' attack on Leo III was published, under the title Apologie divisée en trois livres contre Léon Isaure , triggering religious controversy. With his wife Maria , Leo III had four known children: Theophanes

2805-418: The uprising in 727 by way of Greek fire . In 730, Patriarch Germanus opted to resign rather than subscribe to iconoclasm; Leo replaced him with Anastasius , who willingly sided with the Emperor on the question of icons. Patriarch John V of Jerusalem along with John of Damascus fiercely opposed imperial iconoclasm, issuing a pamphlet entitled Adversus Constantinum Caballinum . A later polemical version of

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2860-449: Was closely associated with the regime in order to stifle the possibility of usurpation. Imperial power was also strengthened by the introduction of low-denomination silver coins, allowing greater flexibility in raising taxes. This autocratic renewal of imperial authority was motivated by justice and spiritual welfare, leading to the denunciation and eventual destruction of images deemed to be "idolatrous". These aspects, which all originate in

2915-473: Was crowned by Patriarch Germanus I of Constantinople as Emperor Leo III at the Hagia Sophia . The new emperor was immediately forced to attend to the second Arab siege of Constantinople , which commenced in August of the same year. The Arabs were Umayyad forces sent by Caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik and serving under his brother Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik . They had taken advantage of the civil discord in

2970-575: Was directly influenced by Islam . After the victory of Justinian II , Konon was dispatched on a diplomatic mission to Alania and Lazica to organize an alliance against the Umayyad caliphate under al-Walid I . According to the chronicle written by Theophanes the Confessor , Justinian wanted to get rid of Konon and took back the money that had been given to him to help advance Byzantine interests, thus leaving Konon stranded in Alania. The chronicle describes

3025-519: Was mass imperial persecution and destruction of images is dismissed as a later "iconophile myth". Brubaker and Haldon support this hypothesis by pointing to the absence of any reports of iconoclasm in several contemporary accounts, including those of Willibald , who travelled to Nicaea from 727 to 729, Germanus and even John of Damascus . The Venerable Bede does refer to a critique of images in Constantinople, and Germanus and John of Damascus say that

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