Contents

Leo IV the Khazar

Leo IV
Emperor of the Romans
Solidus of Leo IV and his son Constantine VI
Byzantine emperor
Reign	14 September 775 – 8 September 780
Coronation	6 June 751[1]
Predecessor	Constantine V
Successor	Constantine VI and Irene of Athens (asregent)
Born	25 January 750
Died	8 September 780 (aged 30)
Consort	Irene
Issue	Constantine VI
Dynasty	Isaurian
Father	Constantine V
Mother	Tzitzak

Leo IV the Khazar (Greek: Λέων ὁ Χάζαρος, Leōn IV ho Khazaros; 25 January 750 – 8 September 780) was Byzantine emperor from 775 to 780 AD. He was born to Emperor Constantine V and Empress Tzitzak in 750. He was elevated to co-emperor in the next year, in 751, and married to Irene of Athens in 768. When Constantine V died in September 775, while campaigning against the Bulgarians, Leo IV became senior emperor. In 778 Leo raided Abbasid Syria, decisively defeating the Abbasid army outside of Germanikeia. Leo died on 8 September 780, of tuberculosis. He was succeeded by his underage son Constantine VI, with Irene serving as regent.

Leo IV was born on 25 January 750 AD,^[2] to Emperor Constantine V and his first wife, Empress Tzitzak who had been given the Christian name Eirene.^[3] Because his mother was a Khazar, Leo was given the epithet 'the Khazar'.^[4] Leo was elevated to co-emperor in 751, while still an infant.^[3] He became emperor on 14 September 775, after Constantine V died while campaigning against the Bulgarian Empire.^[5][6]

Leo was by this point suffering from tuberculosis, which, combined with the infancy of his son, Constantine VI, gave two of Leo's half-brothers, the caesares Nikephoros and Christopher, hope of attaining the throne. These hopes were crushed when, in 776, Leo elevated Constantine to caesar, declaring him to be his successor. Shortly after this, Nikephoros and Christopher were discovered conspiring against Leo. Despite public opinion supporting the execution of the pair, Leo instead chose to pardon them, although he did exile several other plotters to Cherson.^[4][3][7]

Leo launched an invasion against the Abbasids in 778, invading Syria with a force made up of the armies of the multiple themes, including: the Opsikion Theme, led by Gregory; the Anatolic Theme, led by Artabasdos; the Armeniac Theme, led by Karisterotzes; the Bucellarian Theme, led by Tatzates; and the Thracesian Theme, led by Lachanodrakon. Lachanodrakon besieged Germanicia for a time, before he was bribed to raise the siege, and then began to raid the surrounding countryside. The Abbasids attacked Lachanodrakon while he was raiding, but were decisively defeated by several Byzantine armies. The Byzantine generals who led troops during this battle were given a triumphal entry when they returned to Constantinople. A number of Jacobites (adherents of the Syriac Orthodox Church) were taken from Syria and forcibly resettled in Thrace. The next year, in 779, Leo successfully repelled an attack by the Abbasids against Asia Minor.^[8]

Leo died of a violent fever, due to his tuberculosis, on 8 September 780. Constantine, still only nine years old, became the new emperor, with Irene as his regent.^[9][10]

• Bury, J. B. (2015). A History of the Later Roman Empire. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108083188.
• Finlay, George (2017). The Later Byzantine Empire. Merkaba Press. OCLC 1886829.
• Lawler, Jennifer (2011). Encyclopedia of the Byzantine Empire. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786466160.
• Melton, J. Gordon (2014). Faiths Across Time: 5,000 Years of Religious History [4 Volumes]: 5,000 Years of Religious History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781610690263.
• Sophoulis, Panos (2011). Byzantium and Bulgaria, 775-831. Brill. ISBN 978-9004206953.

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