On This Day In Roman History, January 18
Flavius Valerius Leo Augustus, also known as Leo I, dies of dysentery on January 18, 474 CE. He reigned for 17 years and notably was the first to involve the Patriarch of Constantinople in his coronation. His reign was remembered most in terms of supporting a strict Orthodox theology, which would later lead to his admittance as a saint in the Orthodox Church. His feast day is on January 20. Upon his death, Leo's 7-year-old grandson would assume the throne. This boy, Leo II, would die 10 months later from an unknown disease. There was some speculation that he was poisoned by his mother Ariadne in order to further assist the career of her husband, Zeno.
Did you know?
Leo appointed Anthemius as Western Roman Emperor in 467 in order to solve some of the major military conflicts both the East and West were facing. Anthemius is considered by some to be the last capable Roman Emperor of the West. He was a proven general who controlled a large professional army within Italy, which was the only way the Romans could hope to repel Gaiseric's attempt of installing a puppet Emperor on the Western throne. He also had the overwhelming task of repelling the impending Vandals.
Pictured: The extent of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires under the reign of Leo I in 460 CE. By Tataryn77 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
Rome's withdrawal in Britain and northern Africa can be observed at this point in time, as well as a northern loss of territory due to the scourge of Atilla and other "barbarous" movement south.
Opinion
I discussed earlier this week the Eastern Empire's folly into African territories to punish the Vandals for their sack of Rome and eventual capture of Carthage. This was done by Leo's brother-in-law Basiliscus. Due to this loss of manpower and money, the real pinch was felt originally during Leo's reign. He was also pretty unpopular due to his decree of banning all non-Christain celebrations from happening on Sunday, which really ticked off a lot of citizens living in Constantinople. For all the wrong he did do, he maintained a solid relationship with the West. It's my personal belief this really did suspend, however temporarily, the ultimate decline found there.
Sources
Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume I, Chap. XXXVI (Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1952), p. 582. Bibl. Theophanes, p. 95 [ed. Par.; tom. i p. 170, ed. Bonn].
"Anthemius". Encyclopædia Britannica online. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
Further Reading:
Also on this day:
Special Thanks: Michael Houghan
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