Leontios Machairas or Makhairas (Greek: Λεόντιος Μαχαιράς, French: Léonce Machéras) was a medieval Cypriot historian.
The main source of information on him is his chronicle, written in the medieval Cypriot dialect. The chronicle documents events from the visit of Saint Helena to Cyprus until the times of the Kingdom of Cyprus. Machairas was Orthodox Christian but wrote with respect for the pope and the Catholic ruling class of Cyprus for whom he was working. He is the only source on "Re Alexis" rebellion of Cypriot serfs, which he condemned. Following usual Byzantine practice, he only used the word "basileus" (Greek for sovereign) for the Byzantine emperor at Constantinople, and referred to the king of Cyprus as "regas" (from Latin rex king). Machairas was also present at the Battle of Choirokoitia. The text as we have it became abbreviated after 1432, and historians believe the remainder of the text is a subsequent accretion.
There are manuscripts of the Chronicle at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice, and Ravenna. The Oxford manuscript was copied in Paphos in June 1555, according to an additional paragraph after the end of the chronicle. The chronicle was published by Konstantinos Sathas as part of his Medieval Library in Venice in 1873. The chronicles of Cyprus by Francesco Amadi and Diomede Strambaldi published by Rene de Mas Latrie in Paris in 1891 were translations of Machairas's chronicle into Italian.
The chronicle was published again by Richard M. Dawkins with an English translation as "Recital Concerning the Sweet Land of Cyprus Entitled 'Chronicle'-- The chronicle of Makhairas" in Oxford in 1932. The Ravenna manuscript has not yet been incorporated into a critical edition.
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Greek Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
| Persondata | |
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| Name | Machairas, Leontios |
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| Date of birth | |
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| Leontius Λεόντιος |
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| Emperor of the Byzantine Empire | |
 Gold solidus with Leontios, showing the symbols of power: the crown, the globus cruciger, and the akakia. On the reverse, a potent cross on three steps. |
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| Reign | 695–698 |
| Birthplace | Isauria |
| Died | 15 February 706 |
| Place of death | Constantinople |
| Predecessor | Justinian II |
| Successor | Tiberios III |
| Dynasty | Heraclian Dynasty |
| Twenty Years' Anarchy | |||
| Chronology | |||
| Leontios | 695–698 | ||
| Tiberios III | 698–705 | ||
| Justinian II | 705–711 | ||
| with Tiberius as co-emperor, 706–711 | |||
| Philippikos Bardanes | 711–713 | ||
| Anastasios II | 713–715 | ||
| Theodosios III | 715–717 | ||
| Succession | |||
| Preceded by Heraclian dynasty |
Followed by Isaurian dynasty |
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Leontios (or Leontius) (Greek: Λεόντιος, Latin: LEONTIVS) (died 15 February 706)[1] was Byzantine emperor from 695 to 698. He came to power by overthrowing the Emperor Justinian II, but was overthrown in his turn by Tiberios III. His actual and official name was Leo (Λέων, Leōn), but he is known by the name used for him in Byzantine chronicles.
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Leontios was born in Isauria.[2] A professional soldier from an early age, he rose swiftly through the ranks and was appointed strategos (military governor) of the Anatolic theme during the reign of Emperor Constantine IV.[2]
In 686 Leontios was chosen by Justinian II to lead the Byzantine army against the Arabs in Georgia and Armenia. Ruthless even by the standards of the day, Leontios carried the war further into Azerbaijan and Caucasian Albania.[2] His successes eventually forced the negotiation of a treaty between Byzantium and the Arabic Caliph Abd al-Malik with substantial Arabic concessions and tributes to the Byzantine Emperor.
Leontios was less successful when war against the Arabs was renewed in 692.[1] Leading a substantial Byzantine army, he was defeated at the Battle of Sebastopolis when a large Slavic contingent deserted and left his remaining forces exposed.[3] Furious at the loss of the army, the Emperor Justinian imprisoned Leontius for two years.[4]
The Emperor freed Leontios in 695 and appointed him strategos of the Helladic theme.[1] Instead he organized a revolt against the emperor, led largely by his former prison comrades. With the help of the Blue charioteers faction, the Patriarch Kallinikos, and his own military prowess, Leontios soon deposed Justinian and seized the throne himself.[1] Justinian's nose and tongue were slit and he was exiled to Cherson in the Crimea.[5]
During his unpopular reign, Leontios (formally "Leo") refrained from most military operations, instead attempting to consolidate the empire. This inactivity and defensive posture led to Abd al-Malik dispatching an expedition to take Carthage which fell in 697.[2] Leontios had sent a fleet to retake the city but it failed at the Battle of Carthage (698).[5]
Rather than return to report their failure, the Byzantine army rebelled, overthrowing their admiral and naming a Germanic sailor named Apsimaros as their leader.[6] Apsimaros hastily changed his name to Tiberios III and the fleet returned to Constantinople where, with the support of the Green faction, they overthrew Leontios in 698.[5]
In what had by now become a tradition for deposed emperors, Leontios had his nose and tongue slit and was imprisoned in the monastery of Psamathion in Constantinople.[2] When the previous Emperor Justinian returned to the throne in 705, both Tiberios and Leontios were paraded through the streets while the citizenry pelted them with ordure.[7] They were then led to the Hippodrome where they were sentenced to death and executed.[8]
Theophanes, Chronographia.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Leontius |
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Leontios
Born: unknown Died: 15 February 706 |
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| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by Justinian II |
Byzantine Emperor 695–698 |
Succeeded by Tiberios III |
| Persondata | |
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| Name | Leontios |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | |
| Place of birth | Isauria |
| Date of death | 706 |
| Place of death | Constantinople |
