View source for Leo IV the Khazar

{{Infobox monarch
|name         = Leo IV
|image        = Leo iv constantine vi coin.jpg
|caption      = Gold ''[[solidus (coin)|solidus]]'' of Leo IV and his son [[Constantine VI]] (obverse), with busts of his grandfather [[Leo III the Isaurian]] and his father [[Constantine V]] in the reverse
|succession   = [[List of Byzantine emperors|Emperor]] of the [[Byzantine Empire]]
|reign        = 14 September 775 – 18 June 780
|coronation   =
|full name    =
|predecessor  = [[Constantine V]]
|successor    = [[Constantine VI]]
|queen        = [[Irene (empress)|Irene]]
|issue        = [[Constantine VI]] 
|royal house  = 
|dynasty      = [[Isaurian Dynasty]]
|father       = [[Constantine V]]
|mother       = [[Tzitzak]] (Irene of Khazaria)
|birth_date   = 25 January 750 
|birth_place  = 
|death_date   = 8 September 780 (aged 30)
|death_place  = 
|date of burial  = 
|place of burial = 
|}}
{{Isaurian dynasty}}

'''Leo IV''' ''the [[Khazars|Khazar]]'' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Λέων Δ΄ ὁ Χάζαρος, ''Leōn IV ho Khazaros'') (25 January 750 – 8 September 780) was [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine Emperor]] from 775 to 780 AD.

Leo was the son of Emperor [[Constantine V]] by his first wife, Irene of [[Khazaria]] ([[Tzitzak]]),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/irenev.htm|title=Roman Emperors - DIR Irene (wife of Leo III)|work=roman-emperors.org}}</ref> the daughter of a [[Khagan]] of the [[Khazars]] (thought to be [[Bihar (Khazar)|Bihar]]).  He was crowned co-emperor by his father in 751.  Leo was betrothed to [[Gisela, Abbess of Chelles|Gisela]], daughter of [[Pepin the Short]] but the contract was broken. Leo then married [[Irene of Athens|Irene]], an [[History of Athens#Byzantine Athens| Athenian]] from a noble family, in December 769.  In 775 Constantine V died, leaving Leo as sole emperor.<ref>The Chronicle of Theophanes Anni Mundi 6095–6305 (A.D. 602–813): Tr. Harry Turtledove (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982), p 135-136.</ref>

On 24 April 776 Leo, following the precedent set by his father and grandfather, appointed his son, [[Constantine VI]], co-emperor. This led to an uprising of Leo’s five half-brothers, including ''[[Caesar (title)|Caesar]]'' [[Nikephoros (Caesar)|Nikephoros]], who had hoped to gain the throne themselves.  The uprising was put down quickly, with the conspirators being beaten, [[tonsure]]d, and exiled to [[Cherson (theme)|Cherson]] under guard.<ref>The Chronicle of Theophanes Anni Mundi 6095–6305 (A.D. 602–813): Tr. Harry Turtledove (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982), 137.</ref>

Leo IV was raised as an [[Byzantine Iconoclasm|iconoclast]] under his father but was married to Irene, an [[iconodule]].<ref>Byzantium: The Imperial Centuries (A.D. 610–1071): Romilly Jenkins (Weidenfeld and Nicoloson, 1966), p 92.</ref><ref>The Byzantine Revival: Warren Treadgold (Stanford University Press, 1988), p 5.</ref> Realizing the division in his realm he pursued a path of conciliation towards the iconodules, previously declared heretical under imperial policy. Leo allowed monks, persecuted and deported under his father, to return to their monasteries, and he was anointed by some among the clergy as “Friend to the Mother of God” for allowing monks to retain images of the [[Theotokos]].  In addition to the concessionary actions Leo also appointed an iconophile sympathizer, [[Patriarch Paul IV of Constantinople|Paul of Cyprus]], to the position of patriarch of [[Constantinople]] upon the death of the predecessor.  At the end of his reign, Leo reversed his stance of toleration.<ref>Byzantium: The Imperial Centuries (A.D. 610–1071): Romilly Jenkins (Weidenfeld and Nicoloson, 1966), p 91.</ref>

Leo’s reign coincided with that of the third [[Abbasid Caliph]], [[Al-Mahdi]], who invaded Byzantine lands on successive occasions from 777–780 before ultimately being repulsed by Leo’s armies, led by generals such as [[Michael Lachanodrakon]].  Leo himself set out with his army against the [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgars]] but died of fever while on campaign.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/leo4.htm#N_13_|title=Roman Emperors - DIR Leo III|work=roman-emperors.org}}</ref><ref>A History of Byzantium (second edition): Timothy E. Gregory (Blackwell, 2010), p 213.</ref>

Leo’s death on 8 September 780 resulted in the accession of his wife, Irene, to the throne. [[Theophanes the Confessor]] records that Leo IV died as a result of a fever brought on from the precious stones in a crown taken from the [[Hagia Sophia]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/leo4.htm#N_14_|title=Roman Emperors - DIR Leo III|work=roman-emperors.org}}</ref> some scholars have indicated that upon his accession to the throne Leo was already sick,<ref>Byzantium: The Imperial Centuries (A.D. 610–1071): Romilly Jenkins (Weidenfeld and Nicoloson, 1966), p 90.</ref> while others believe Leo was murdered by persons unknown, though Irene is suspected.<ref>The Byzantine Revival: Warren Treadgold (Stanford University Press, 1988), p 6.</ref> Constantine VI was the only son of Leo IV and succeeded him as emperor, ruling jointly with his mother, Irene.<ref>The Chronicle of Theophanes Anni Mundi 6095–6305 (A.D. 602–813): Tr. Harry Turtledove (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982), p 136, 140.</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Byzantine Empire}}
*[[List of Byzantine emperors]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Literature==
{{commonscat|Konstantinos VI}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Ostrogorsky|first=George|year=1956|title=History of the Byzantine State|url=https://books.google.rs/books?lr=&redir_esc=y&hl=sr&id=Bt0_AAAAYAAJ|publisher=Basil Blackwell|place=Oxford}}
*Garland, Lynda,  [http://www.roman-emperors.org/irenev.htm Irene of Athens], at roman-emperors.org
*Garland, Lynda, [http://www.roman-emperors.org/leo4.htm Leo IV], at roman-emperors.org
*Jenkins, Romilly, Byzantium: The Imperial Centuries (A.D. 610–1071),  Weidenfeld and Nicoloson, 1966.
*Treadgold, Warren, The Byzantine Revival, Stanford University Press, 1988.
*The Chronicle of Theophanes Anni Mundi 6095–6305 (A.D. 602–813), Tr. Harry Turtledove University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982.

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Isaurian Dynasty]]|25 January|750|8 September|780}}
{{s-reg|}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[Constantine V]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[Byzantine Emperor]]
| years = 14 September 775 – 18 June 780
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Constantine VI]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Roman Emperors}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leo 04}}
[[Category:8th-century Byzantine emperors]]
[[Category:Isaurian dynasty]]
[[Category:Khazars]]
[[Category:750 births]]
[[Category:780 deaths]]
[[Category:Byzantine people of the Arab–Byzantine wars]]
[[Category:770s in the Byzantine Empire]]