Leontia (daughter of Leo I)
Encyclopedia
Leontia was the daughter of the Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I
.
and his wife Verina
; she was younger sister of Ariadne
, but, unlike her, she could claim to be porphyrogenita, "born in the purple", because she was born during the first year of reign of her father (457).
Leo, who ascended the throne for military merits and had no family ties with the Roman aristocracy, used the marriage of his daughters to strengthen his position: as Ariadne had been married to the Isauria
n general Zeno
, the marriage of Leontia was designed to bind him to the other component of the army, the Germanic one represented by the Alan
magister militum
Aspar
. It happened, however, that at the announcement of the marriage between the son of Aspar, Julius Patricius
, and Leontia popular riots broke out (470): for the clergy and people of Constantinople it was in fact not acceptable for an Arian
as Patricius to have the possibility of becoming emperor. The riots stopped only when Aspar and Leo promised to the bishops that Patricius would convert to Orthodoxy before becoming emperor, and that only after the conversion he would have married Leontia.
In 471 Julius Patricius disappears from the chronicles: his father Aspar and his brother Ardabur
were murdered in this year by order of Leo. Leontia was then married to Marcian
, the son of the Western Emperor Anthemius
: the marriage linked the two royal houses of the West and the East. It happened, however, that in 472 Anthemius died, succeeded by Olybrius
, and that at the death of Leo, in 474, Zeno ascended to the throne of the East. Ousted from both thrones, Marcianus and Leontia plotted a revolt against Zeno, in 479, which was based on Leontia's right of precedence over her sister as porphyrogenita; the revolt was however quelled.
Leo I (emperor)
Leo I was Byzantine Emperor from 457 to 474. A native of Dacia Aureliana near historic Thrace, he was known as Leo the Thracian ....
.
Biography
Leontia was the daughter of Emperor Leo ILeo I (emperor)
Leo I was Byzantine Emperor from 457 to 474. A native of Dacia Aureliana near historic Thrace, he was known as Leo the Thracian ....
and his wife Verina
Verina
Aelia Verina was the Empress consort of Leo I of the Byzantine Empire. She was a sister of Basiliscus. Her daughter Ariadne was Empress consort of first Zeno and then Anastasius I. Verina was the maternal grandmother of Leo II.-Family:...
; she was younger sister of Ariadne
Ariadne (empress)
Aelia Ariadne was the Empress consort of Zeno and Anastasius I of the Byzantine Empire.-Family:Ariadne was a daughter of Leo I and Verina. Her mother was a sister of Basiliscus....
, but, unlike her, she could claim to be porphyrogenita, "born in the purple", because she was born during the first year of reign of her father (457).
Leo, who ascended the throne for military merits and had no family ties with the Roman aristocracy, used the marriage of his daughters to strengthen his position: as Ariadne had been married to the Isauria
Isauria
Isauria , in ancient geography, is a rugged isolated district in the interior of South Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surroundings in the Konya province of Turkey, or the core of the Taurus Mountains. In...
n general Zeno
Zeno (emperor)
Zeno , originally named Tarasis, was Byzantine Emperor from 474 to 475 and again from 476 to 491. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign, which nevertheless succeeded to some extent in foreign issues...
, the marriage of Leontia was designed to bind him to the other component of the army, the Germanic one represented by the Alan
Alans
The Alans, or the Alani, occasionally termed Alauni or Halani, were a group of Sarmatian tribes, nomadic pastoralists of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian.-Name:The various forms of Alan —...
magister militum
Magister militum
Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire...
Aspar
Aspar
Flavius Ardabur Aspar was an Alan patrician and magister militum of the Eastern Roman Empire. Aspar's family exerted a great influence on the Eastern Roman Emperors for half a century, from the 420s to his death in 471, over Theodosius II, Marcian and Leo I, who, in the end, had him killed.Alans...
. It happened, however, that at the announcement of the marriage between the son of Aspar, Julius Patricius
Julius Patricius
Julius Patricius was a politician of the Eastern Roman Empire of barbarian origin, who rose to the rank of caesar under Emperor Leo I.- Biography :...
, and Leontia popular riots broke out (470): for the clergy and people of Constantinople it was in fact not acceptable for an Arian
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
as Patricius to have the possibility of becoming emperor. The riots stopped only when Aspar and Leo promised to the bishops that Patricius would convert to Orthodoxy before becoming emperor, and that only after the conversion he would have married Leontia.
In 471 Julius Patricius disappears from the chronicles: his father Aspar and his brother Ardabur
Ardabur
Ardabur was the son of Flavius Ardabur Aspar, Master of Horse and Magister Militum of the Eastern Roman Empire in the fifth century. Ardabur apparently often served under his famous father during his campaigns. In 466 Ardabur was accused of a treasonous plot, probably by his father's political...
were murdered in this year by order of Leo. Leontia was then married to Marcian
Marcian (usurper)
Marcian was a member of the House of Leo and an usurper against Emperor Zeno in 479.- Biography :Marcian was a member of several Roman imperial families...
, the son of the Western Emperor Anthemius
Anthemius
Procopius Anthemius was Western Roman Emperor from 467 to 472. Perhaps the last capable Western Roman Emperor, Anthemius attempted to solve the two primary military challenges facing the remains of the Western Roman Empire: the resurgent Visigoths, under Euric, whose domain straddled the Pyrenees;...
: the marriage linked the two royal houses of the West and the East. It happened, however, that in 472 Anthemius died, succeeded by Olybrius
Olybrius
Anicius Olybrius was Western Roman Emperor from April or May 472 to his death. He was in reality a puppet ruler, put on the throne by the Roman general of Germanic descent Ricimer, and was mainly interested in religion, while the actual power was held by Ricimer and his nephew Gundobad.-Family and...
, and that at the death of Leo, in 474, Zeno ascended to the throne of the East. Ousted from both thrones, Marcianus and Leontia plotted a revolt against Zeno, in 479, which was based on Leontia's right of precedence over her sister as porphyrogenita; the revolt was however quelled.