Leontia
Encyclopedia
Leontia was the Empress consort of Phocas
of the Byzantine Empire
.
reigned in the Byzantine Empire
from 582 to 602. He led a series of Balkan campaigns
and managed to successfully re-establish the Danube
as a northern border for his state. By Winter 602, his strategic goals included securing control of Pannonia
and the area which would later be known as Wallachia
. When he decreed that the Byzantine army
was to spend the winter of 602/603 on the northern bank of the Danube, the exhausted troops instead mutinied against their emperor.
Phocas would emerge as the leader of the mutinous army during its march to Constantinople
. Maurice also faced city-wide rioting within the capital due to a famine
. He fled the city prior to the arrival of Phocas and his troops.
The Chronicon Paschale
gives the chronological account of the rise of Phocas and Leontia to the throne. On 23 November 602, Phocas was crowned emperor by his troops outside the capital. On 25 November, Phocas entered Constantinople and was accepted as emperor by the general populace. He proclaimed chariot races
in honor of his elevation and had Leontia escorted to the city as his new Empress. They had already been married for some time.
According to the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor
, Leontia was officially crowned an Augusta on 27 November. According to the history of Theophylact Simocatta
, the new imperial couple led a procession
through the city as per custom. The festive occasion was marked with renewed conflicts between the Blues and Greens, the two major chariot racing clubs. The Blues questioned the legitimacy of the new Emperor by reminding him that Maurice was still alive. Phocas reacted by ordering the execution of Maurice and his sons, which took place before the end of the day.
The only known child of Leontia and Phocas was their daughter Domentzia
. She was reportedly named after her paternal grandmother. She was married to Priscus
, who served as Comes
Excubitorum (Commander of the Excubitors
).
Theophanes places the marriage in 607. The Chronicles of John of Antioch report this celebration to have initiated hostility between Phocas and his son-in-law. The chariot racing factions honored the occasion by placing images of Phocas, Leontia, Domentzia, and Priscus in the Hippodrome of Constantinople
. The images of the reigning imperial couple belonged there by tradition. The latter two images implied that Priscus was the heir or co-emperor of Phocas. Phocas was enraged at the implication and ordered the depictions of his daughter and son-in-law to be destroyed. The incident supposedly caused Priscus to turn against his father-in-law.
in October, 610. His brothers Domentziolus
and Comentiolus
were also executed. Whether Leontia was also executed is unknown.
Priscus had supported Heraclius and continued to serve as commander of the Excubitors to 5 December 612. He was then replaced by Niketas, a first cousin of Heraclius, and forced to take monastic vows. According to the Chronicon Paschale
, he died in the Chora monastery in 613. Whether Leontia had further descendants through the marriage of her daughter to Priscus is unknown.
Phocas
Phocas was Byzantine Emperor from 602 to 610. He usurped the throne from the Emperor Maurice, and was himself overthrown by Heraclius after losing a civil war.-Origins:...
of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
.
Empress
MauriceMaurice (emperor)
Maurice was Byzantine Emperor from 582 to 602.A prominent general in his youth, Maurice fought with success against the Sassanid Persians...
reigned in the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
from 582 to 602. He led a series of Balkan campaigns
Maurice's Balkan campaigns
Maurice's Illyricum campaigns were a series of military expeditions conducted by emperor of Constantinopolis Maurice in an attempt to defend the Illyrian provinces of the East Roman Empire from Avars and Slavs...
and managed to successfully re-establish the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
as a northern border for his state. By Winter 602, his strategic goals included securing control of Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
and the area which would later be known as Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
. When he decreed that the Byzantine army
Byzantine army
The Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct descendant of the Roman army, the Byzantine army maintained a similar level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization...
was to spend the winter of 602/603 on the northern bank of the Danube, the exhausted troops instead mutinied against their emperor.
Phocas would emerge as the leader of the mutinous army during its march to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. Maurice also faced city-wide rioting within the capital due to a famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
. He fled the city prior to the arrival of Phocas and his troops.
The Chronicon Paschale
Chronicon Paschale
Chronicon Paschale is the conventional name of a 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world...
gives the chronological account of the rise of Phocas and Leontia to the throne. On 23 November 602, Phocas was crowned emperor by his troops outside the capital. On 25 November, Phocas entered Constantinople and was accepted as emperor by the general populace. He proclaimed chariot races
Chariot racing
Chariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine sports. Chariot racing was often dangerous to both driver and horse as they frequently suffered serious injury and even death, but generated strong spectator enthusiasm...
in honor of his elevation and had Leontia escorted to the city as his new Empress. They had already been married for some time.
According to the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor
Theophanes the Confessor
Saint Theophanes Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church .-Biography:Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac,...
, Leontia was officially crowned an Augusta on 27 November. According to the history of Theophylact Simocatta
Theophylact Simocatta
Theophylact Simocatta was an early seventh-century Byzantine historiographer, arguably ranking as the last historian of Late Antiquity, writing in the time of Heraclius about the late Emperor Maurice .-Life:His history of the reign of emperor Maurice is in eight books...
, the new imperial couple led a procession
Procession
A procession is an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner.-Procession elements:...
through the city as per custom. The festive occasion was marked with renewed conflicts between the Blues and Greens, the two major chariot racing clubs. The Blues questioned the legitimacy of the new Emperor by reminding him that Maurice was still alive. Phocas reacted by ordering the execution of Maurice and his sons, which took place before the end of the day.
The only known child of Leontia and Phocas was their daughter Domentzia
Domentzia
Domentzia was a name shared by the mother of the Byzantine emperor Phocas , and a daughter of the same emperor, likely named after her paternal grandmother.- Name :...
. She was reportedly named after her paternal grandmother. She was married to Priscus
Priscus (general)
Priscus was a leading East Roman general during the reigns of the Byzantine emperors Maurice , Phocas and Heraclius . Although the contemporary sources are markedly biased in his favour, Priscus comes across as an effective and capable military leader...
, who served as Comes
Comes
Comes , plural comites , is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus, especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. The word comes derives from com- "with" +...
Excubitorum (Commander of the Excubitors
Excubitors
The Excubitors were founded in circa 460 AD as the imperial guards of the early Byzantine emperors. Their commanders soon acquired great influence and provided a series of emperors in the 6th century...
).
Theophanes places the marriage in 607. The Chronicles of John of Antioch report this celebration to have initiated hostility between Phocas and his son-in-law. The chariot racing factions honored the occasion by placing images of Phocas, Leontia, Domentzia, and Priscus in the Hippodrome of Constantinople
Hippodrome of Constantinople
The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square named Sultanahmet Meydanı in the Turkish city of Istanbul, with only a few fragments of the original structure surviving...
. The images of the reigning imperial couple belonged there by tradition. The latter two images implied that Priscus was the heir or co-emperor of Phocas. Phocas was enraged at the implication and ordered the depictions of his daughter and son-in-law to be destroyed. The incident supposedly caused Priscus to turn against his father-in-law.
Deposition
Phocas was deposed and executed by HeracliusHeraclius
Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...
in October, 610. His brothers Domentziolus
Domentziolus (brother of Phocas)
Domentziolus or Domnitziolus was a brother of the Byzantine emperor Phocas .Phocas and his family were likely of Thraco-Roman origin. Phocas and Domentziolus' mother was named Domentzia. A third brother is known, named Comentiolus.In 603, Phocas appointed Domentziolus as his magister officiorum,...
and Comentiolus
Comentiolus (brother of Phocas)
Comentiolus or Komentiolos was the brother of the Byzantine emperor Phocas .Nothing is known of his early life except that he was the son of Domentzia, along with Phocas and the later magister officiorum Domentziolus...
were also executed. Whether Leontia was also executed is unknown.
Priscus had supported Heraclius and continued to serve as commander of the Excubitors to 5 December 612. He was then replaced by Niketas, a first cousin of Heraclius, and forced to take monastic vows. According to the Chronicon Paschale
Chronicon Paschale
Chronicon Paschale is the conventional name of a 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world...
, he died in the Chora monastery in 613. Whether Leontia had further descendants through the marriage of her daughter to Priscus is unknown.