Leo IV the Khazar
Leo IV, known as the Khazar because his mother was a Khazar princess, reigned as Byzantine emperor for only five years but occupied a pivotal position between the fierce iconoclasm of his father Constantine V and the iconophile restoration that would follow under his wife Irene. He was named co-emperor by Constantine V while still an infant and acceded to sole power in 775. His reign was relatively moderate by the standards of his dynasty: while nominally maintaining the iconoclast position, he did not pursue the aggressive persecution of monks and icon venerators that his father had championed. His wife Irene, whom he married in 769, was a committed iconophile who would later reverse the policy entirely. Leo fought successfully against Arab raiders on the eastern frontier. His death at the age of around thirty from a fever in 780 cut short what might have been a longer reign. He was succeeded by his young son Constantine VI under the regency of Irene.
- Lived: 750 CE – 780 CE
- Nationality: byzantine
- Roles: emperor, head_of_state
