Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 05.djvu/533

LEO 457 LEO LEO, the name of various rulers of the Eastern Empire, as follows: Leo I., called the Elder, emperor of Constantinople, ascended the throne in 457. He was a Thracian of obscure birth, but attained the highest military rank, and was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers in succession to Marcianus. He confirmed the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon against the Eutychians, and renewed the war against the Vandals; but was unfortunate, through the treach- ery of his general Aspar, whom he put to death with his family in 471. The Goths, to revenge the fate of Aspar, poured into the empire, which they ravaged to the w^ls of Constantinople. He died in 474. Leo II., called the Younger, was the son of Zeno and of Ariadne, daughter of Leo I. He succeeded his grandfather in 474. Leo II. is said to have been put to death by his own father after reigning only 10 months. Leo III., called the Isaurian, from the country of his birth, where his parents were poor mechanics. Leo entered the army, and became general-in-chief of the army of Asia, under Justinian II. In 716 he marched against Theodosius III., who had been proclaimed emperor on the deposition of Justinian II.; and Theo- dosius resigned his crown to him in the following year. The Saracens, having ravaged Thrace, laid siege to Constanti- nople, which was bravely defended by Leo, who compelled them to retire. His reign, however, was tyrannical, and he drove the patriarch Germanus from his seat, in which he placed Anastasius. He was also guilty of burning the library at Constantinople. The popes Gregory II. and Gregory III. having excommuni- cated him, he prepared an armament to invade Italy, but the ships were de- stroyed by a storm. He died in 741. Leo rV., grandson of Leo III.; born in 751, and succeeded his father in 775. He repulsed the Saracens in Asia. He died in 780. Leo v., called the Armenian, from the country of which he was a native. He rose to the rank of general but, being ac- cused of treason, the emperor Nicephorus disgraced him, and imprisoned him in a convent. Michael Rhangabus, on as- cending the throne in 811, restored him to his rank; but Leo V., profiting by the misfortunes of his master, headed a mili- tary revolt and was elected emperor by the troops in 813. He was one of the most violent of the Iconoclastic princes. He was assassinated in 820. Leo VI., styled the Philosopher; born in 865, was the son and successor of Bas- ilius, the Macedonian, and ascended the throne in 886. The Hungarians, Sar- acens, and Bulgarians having united against the empire, he called to his as- sistance the Turks, who entered Bulgaria, which they ravaged with fire and sword. Leo VI. drove the patriarch Photius from his seat; and Nicholas, one of the suc- cessors of Photius, excommunicated the emperor; for which Leo VI. deposed him. He wrote some books, the most interest- ing of which is a treatise on tactics printed at Leyden in 1612. He died in 911. Also the name of various Popes, as follows : Leo I., surnamed The Great, Pore, succeeded Sextus III. in 440. He took a very decided part against the Mani- chjeans and other schismatics, held a council at Rome against Eutyches in 449, and presided by his legates at the Gen- eral Council of Chalcedon two years later. When Attila invaded Italy, Leo I. was sent by the Emperor Valentinian to dissuade him from his threatened march on Rome, and Rome was saved. Leo I. afterward saved the city from being burned by Genseric. He is the first Pope of whom we possess any written works. He died in 461. Leo II., Pope; born in Sicily, suc- ceeded Agathon in 682. He claimed au- thority over the Eastern Church and was succeeded by Benedict II. He died in 683. Leo III., Pope ; born in Rome. He suc- ceeded Adrian I. in 795. His first act was to acknowledge the suzerainty of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) by sending him the keys of St. Peter's and the standard of the city of Rome. In 799 a conspiracy was formed against him by two of the Roman clergy, and he was attacked and shamefully treated while assisting at the procession of St. Mark. He escaped to Paderborn, to seek the protection of Charles, who sent him back -with a powerful escort to Rome. In the following year, 800, Charles visited Rome, and was there crowned by the Pope, em- peror of the Romans. A fresh conspir- acy against Leo was discovered in 815, the authors of which were among the leading citizens of Rome and were con- demned to death. He died the following year. Leo IV., Pope, a Roman, succeeded Sergius II. in 847. The Saracens having invaded the Ecclesiastical States, he marched against them and obtained a complete victory; after which he put the city of Rome in a state of defense and founded the town of Leopolis. He died in 855. Leo v., Pope, a Benedictine monk who, in 903, succeeded Benedict IV., but was deposed by his chaplain Christopher.