The Reign of Leo VI

Riedel, Meredith L. D.

doi:10.1017/9781107281967.004

Cited by 1 publication

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“…122 Th e Byzantine emperor was viewed as an Old Testament David redivivus , a priest in the order of Melchizedek , and therefore the possessor of acute spiritual power. 123 However, Dagron notes, 'an emperor was nothing if he was not everything, and in particular if he was not the providential mediator between his people and God.' 124 Th e distinctively Byzantine problem of 'the quasi-episcopal sacrality of a sovereign ' has direct infl uence on the authority of an innovative military manual, as well as the Byzantine embrace of the self-image propagated by Leo VI and his successors.…”

Section: у д р ы й и е г о ц а р с т в о в а н і е в ъ ц е р к о в н mentioning

confidence: 99%

Leo VI and the Transformation of Byzantine Christian Identity

Riedel

2018

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the Wise, emperor of the Byzantines 886-912, broke with three centuries of tradition. He was not a general or even a soldier, as his predecessors had been, but a scholar-a second son who became heir apparent through the untimely death of his older brother on the battlefi eld and gained a throne taken by his father Basil I (r. 867-86) after murdering Michael III (r. 842-67). It was the religious education he gained under the tutelage of the famous and infl uential Photios (patriarch from 858-67 and 877-86 ce) that was to distinguish Leo VI as an unusual ruler. Th e argument of this book is that Leo's Christian Orthodox worldview coloured every decision he made; the impact of his religious faith, traced through his extensive literary output, transformed Byzantine cultural identity and infl uenced his successors, establishing the Macedonian dynasty as a 'golden age' in Byzantium until the early eleventh century. Leo's father, Basil I , also known as Basil the Macedonian, was forcibly married in 865 to Eudokia Ingerina , the mistress of the emperor Michael III (r. 842-67). Th us upon Leo's birth in September of 866, his parentage was cast under suspicion, a problem that his older brother Constantine , the son of Basil 's fi rst wife Maria and the original heir to the throne , did not have. 1 Contemporary chronicles record that Leo was likely the son of Michael, but modern scholars are divided. Either way, the truth cannot be known. Th e fact that Leo was born under a cloud of uncertainty is the relevant point, because it meant that this unexpected emperor had to contend with issues of legitimacy , yet was unable to rely upon the tradition of imperial strength through military service. Th e only possibility available to him was the power of religion, and he used it brilliantly to reinforce his authority over the Byzantine oikoumene .

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Section: у д р ы й и е г о ц а р с т в о в а н і е в ъ ц е р к о в н mentioning

confidence: 99%

Leo VI and the Transformation of Byzantine Christian Identity

Riedel

2018

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show abstract

The Reign of Leo VI

Cited by 1 publication

References 12 publications

Leo VI and the Transformation of Byzantine Christian Identity

Leo VI and the Transformation of Byzantine Christian Identity

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