Leo I (401 – 18 January 474) was Byzantine Emperor from 457 to 474. A native of Dacia Aureliana

Dacia Aureliana

Dacia Aureliana was a province of the Roman Empire found by Emperor Aurelian, after his retreat from Dacia Traiana in 271. Between 271/275 and 285, it occupied most of what is today Bulgaria. Its capital was in Serdica...

 near historic Thrace

Thrace

Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...

, he was known as Leo the Thracian .

Ruling the Eastern Empire for nearly 20 years from 457 to 474, Leo proved to be a capable ruler, overseeing many ambitious political and military plans, aimed mostly for the aid of the faltering Western Roman Empire

Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....

 and recovering its former territories.