Leo II (emperor)

Leo II
Solidus of Leo II, marked: d·n· leo et zeno p·p· aug·[1]
Roman emperor of the East
Augustus17 November 473 –
November 474
Coronation17 November 473
PredecessorLeo I
SuccessorZeno
Alongside
See list
CaesarOctober 472 – November 473
Bornc. 467
DiedNovember 474 (aged 7)
Constantinople
Burial
Regnal name
Latin: Imperator Caesar Leo Augustus
Ancient Greek: Αὐτοκράτωρ καῖσαρ Λέων αὐγουστος
DynastyLeonid
FatherZeno
MotherAriadne

Leo II (Ancient Greek: Λέων, Leōn; c. 467 – 474), called the Younger, briefly reigned as a child emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire from 473 to 474. He was the son of Zeno, the Isaurian general and future emperor, and Ariadne, a daughter of the emperor Leo I (r. 457–474). Leo II was made co-emperor with his grandfather Leo I on 17 November 473, and became sole emperor on 18 January 474 after Leo I died of dysentery. His father Zeno was made co-emperor by the Byzantine Senate on 29 January, and they co-ruled for a short time before Leo II died in late 474. He is sometimes surnamed with the epithet "the Small" (Latin: Minor; Ancient Greek: ὁ Μικρός), probably to distinguish him from his grandfather and augustus Leo I (Ancient Greek: ὁ Μέγας, romanizedho Mégas, lit.'the Great').[a]

  1. ^ Grant 1985, p. 328.


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