Leo I the Thracian

Leo I, called the Great or the Thracian, was the eastern emperor from 457 to 474 and the first emperor to be crowned by the patriarch of Constantinople. He was elevated by the powerful general Aspar, an Alanic barbarian who expected Leo to be another convenient figurehead. Leo surprised his patron by developing real political ambition, cultivating a rival military force in the Isaurians as a counterweight to Aspar's Gothic troops. The most dramatic episode of Leo's reign was his attempt to reconquer North Africa from the Vandals in 468, the largest military expedition the Roman world had seen in generations. The expedition was a catastrophic failure when the Vandal king Gaiseric destroyed the Roman fleet off Cape Bon in Tunisia. Despite this disaster, Leo successfully countered Aspar's power by having him and his sons assassinated in 471. Leo died of dysentery in 474 after a reign of nearly seventeen years.

• Lived: 401 CE – 474 CE
• Nationality: roman
• Roles: emperor, head_of_state, military_leader