List of Byzantine Emperors - Leonid Dynasty (457–518)

Leonid Dynasty (457–518)

See also: Leonid dynasty

	Reign	Comments
Leo I "the Thracian", "the Butcher", or "the Great" (Λέων Α' ο Θράξ, ο Μακέλλης, ο Μέγας, Flavius Valerius Leo)	7 February 457 – 18 January 474	Born in Dacia ca. 400, and of Bessian origin, Leo became a low-ranking officer and served as an attendant of the Gothic commander-in-chief of the army, Aspar, who chose him as emperor on Marcian's death. He was the first emperor to be crowned by the Patriarch of Constantinople. His reign was marked by the pacification of the Danube frontier and peace with Persia, which allowed him to intervene in the affairs of the western empire, supporting candidates for the throne and dispatching an expedition to recover Carthage from the Vandals in 468. Initially a puppet of Aspar, Leo began promoting the Isaurians as a counterweight to Aspar's Goths, marrying his daughter Ariadne to the Isaurian leader Tarasicodissa (Zeno). With their support, in 471 Aspar was murdered and Gothic power over the army was broken.
Leo II "the Little" (Λέων Β' ο Μικρός, Flavius Leo)	18 January – 17 November 474	Born ca. 467, he was the grandson of Leo I by Leo's daughter Ariadne and her Isaurian husband, Zeno. Raised to Caesar and then co-emperor in autumn 473, soon after his accession Leo II crowned his father Zeno as co-emperor and effective regent. Died shortly after, possibly poisoned.
Zeno (Ζήνων, Flavius Zeno)	17 November 474 – 9 April 491	Born ca. 425 in Isauria, originally named Tarasicodissa. As the leader of Leo I's Isaurian soldiers, he rose to comes domesticorum, married the emperor's daughter Ariadne and took the name Zeno, and played a crucial role in the elimination of Aspar and his Goths. He was named co-emperor by his son on 9 February 474, and became sole ruler upon the latter's death, but had to flee to his native country before Basiliscus in 475, regaining control of the capital in 476. Zeno concluded peace with the Vandals, saw off challenges against him by Illus and Verina, and secured peace in the Balkans by enticing the Ostrogoths under Theodoric the Great to migrate to Italy. Zeno's reign also saw the end of the western line of emperors. His pro-Monophysite stance made him unpopular and his promulgation of the Henotikon resulted in the Acacian Schism with the papacy.
Basiliscus (Βασιλίσκος, Flavius Basiliscus)	9 January 475 – August 476	General and brother-in-law of Leo I, he seized power from Zeno but was again deposed by him. Died in 476/477
Anastasius I (Αναστάσιος Α' ο Δίκορος, Flavius Anastasius)	11 April 491 – 9 July 518	Born ca. 430 at Dyrrhachium, he was a palace official (silentiarius) when he was chosen as her husband and Emperor by Empress-dowager Ariadne. He was nicknamed "Dikoros", because of his heterochromia. Anastasius reformed the tax system and the Byzantine coinage and proved a frugal ruler, so that by the end of his reign he left a substantial surplus. His Monophysite sympathies led to wideaspread opposition, most notably the Revolt of Vitalian and the Acacian Schism. His reign was also marked by the first Bulgar raids into the Balkans and by a war with Persia over the foundation of Dara. He died childless.