LENTINI (the ancient Leontini), a town of Sicily, intended by Syracuse, on the River Porcari, 20 miles N.W. of Syracuse. It was founded in the first year of the thirteenth Olympiad, by a colony of Chalcidians, and, when taken by Marcellus, was one of the chief places in Sicily. It retained its importance till the earthquake of 1693, by which it was completely ruined. The neighbourhood is productive, but unhealthy. The inhabitants are chiefly engaged in fishing on the neighbouring lake of the same name. Pop. about 5000.
LEO I., FLAVIUS, surnamed the Great, and the Thracian, was born about A.D. 400, in the country of the Bessi, in Thrace. On the death of the Emperor Marcianus, in 457, being then only a military tribune, he was recommended by the patrician Aspar to the soldiers, who proclaimed him emperor. His election was ratified by the senate, and he was crowned by Anatolius, Patriarch of Constantinople, thus introducing the custom, which afterwards became so prevalent, of Christian princes receiving their crowns from the
Leo III. hands of bishops. No sooner had Leo ascended the throne, than he resisted the influence which Aspar sought to exercise over him, by telling him that "it was unbecoming for a prince to resign his own judgment and the public interest to the will of a subject." In 466 the Huns, invading Dacia, were defeated by his generals, Anthemius and Anastasius, with the loss of their chief, Dengizec, son of Attila. In 468 Leo, in concert with Anthemius, now Emperor of the West, equipped a large naval armament against the Vandals of Africa, who, under their king, Genseric, had long been the scourge of Italy and the Mediterranean. His fleet, consisting of 1113 ships, having each 100 men on board, was intrusted to the command of his brother-in-law, Basiliscus, who, after a pro-sperous passage, disembarked his troops safely at Cape Bona, about 40 miles from Carthage, the capital of the enemy. Genseric, feigning a desire to submit, requested and obtained from Basiliscus, a truce of five days. During that interval, favoured by the wind and the darkness of night, the fleet of Genseric, with several fire-ships in tow, attacked the Roman vessels, burnt and sunk one-half of them, and thus caused the entire failure of the expedition. A public opinion that Aspar had in some way effected this disastrous defeat, afforded Leo a pretext of getting rid of this dangerous king-maker. Taking advantage of a burst of public odium against Aspar, he ordered him, and one of his sons, to be put to death, and thus left a foul stain upon his own memory. Under pretext of revenging this murder, the Goths invaded Thrace, and, though overpowered after two years, disturbed the last days of Leo. He died in 474, leaving the crown to Leo, the infant son of his daughter, Ariadne. Though scarcely deserving of his surname, the Great, Leo was active, enlightened, and prudent; and though illiterate himself, was a liberal patron of learned men.
Leo III., Flavius, surnamed the Isaurian, Emperor of Constantinople, was born in Isauria, and was originally called Conon. His father, a wealthy grazer, emigrated from Asia Minor to Thrace, and obtained for his son the rank of a spatharius in the army of Justinian II., where his eminent abilities soon excited the jealousy of the emperor. From Anastasius II. he received the command of the troops in Asia; and when that emperor was deposed in 716 by Theodosius III., Leo, marching to Constantinople, compelled the usurper to resign, and the vacant crown was conferred upon himself, by the suffrages of the soldiers, in March 718. Soon after his accession, the Arabs, in large hordes, invaded Constantinople so closely by land and sea, that the final capture of the city was considered certain. The Emperor, however, sailing out of the Golden Horn with his galleys, burnt some of the hostile vessels by means of his fire-ships, and threw the rest into confusion. After sustaining severe losses, in two other naval engagements and in one land battle, the Arabs in 720 were obliged to raise a siege which had lasted two years. Meanwhile, the deposed Emperor Anastasius II., expecting the downfall of Leo, had formed a treasonable conspiracy which was discovered in 721, and punished capitally. Shortly before this period the dislike entertained by the Mohammedans and Jews against image-worship had gradually spread among the Eastern Christians, and had originated the sect of the Iconoclasts, or image-breakers. Adopting the views of this sect, Leo issued a general edict commanding the removal of images from all the churches of the empire. His chief object was to reform the church; but he also undoubtedly aimed at drawing the Jews and Mohammedans within the pale of Christianity, and thus increasing the strength and splendour of the empire of the East. This edict met with general opposition. Instigated by Pope Gregory II., the Italians refused to obey, and when Paulus, exarch of Ravenna, was ordered to employ force, resisted, and repulsed him. Peloponnesus and the Cyclades rebelling, sent a fleet to invest Constantinople, but were
worsted in a sea engagement, and compelled to submit. In Constantinople, also, an insurrection arose, which, after causing much bloodshed, was quelled by the capital punishment of the ringleaders, and the deposition of the Patriarch Germanus. In 731 a council held at Rome by Gregory III. condemned the Iconoclasts; and incited in Italy so much opposition to Leo, that he sent a powerful armament against that country. The armament failed, and Ravenna and the exarchate were seized by the Lombards. Leo in revenge transferred, in 734, Greece, Macedonia, and Illyria from the patriarchate of Rome to that of Constantinople, an act which eventually caused the schism between the Greek and Roman churches. The remainder of his life was disquieted by a protracted war with the Arabs. He died of dropsy in 741.
Leo's character, much depreciated by the advocates of image-worship, is best elucidated by the facts of his life. His rapid rise from obscurity to the pinnacle of power, his firm and successful administration, amid foreign assaults and domestic plots, and his resolute prosecution of the reformation of the church, all indicate a wise and provident policy, great vigour, and decision of will. His early military life, although it rendered him cruel and obstinate, did not taint the purity of his manners.
Leo V., Flavius, surnamed the Armenian, was of Armenian descent, and son of Bardas Patricius. Serving as a general under Nicephorus I., he was banished for treachery, but in 811 was recalled, and appointed dux Orientis by the succeeding emperor, Michael I. This favour was repaid with ingratitude; for Leo, after gaining some reputation in his wars with the Arabs, accompanied his sovereign, in 813, on an expedition against Crum, King of the Bulgarians, and taking advantage of the disaffection of the army during a battle with the enemy near Adrianople, withdrew with the forces under his command, and left Michael to total defeat. Having thus stripped the emperor both of power and reputation, Leo was called upon by his army to mount the throne; and when he pretended to hesitate, his friend, Michael the Stammerer, confronted him with his naked sword, exclaiming, "With this sword will I open the gates of Constantinople, or plunge it into thy heart, if thou refusest any longer to comply with the just wishes of thy comrades." Leo marched into Constantinople, and was crowned in 813, without any opposition. In 814 the Bulgarians threatening the capital, were defeated at Mesembria; and, in the following year, Leo again repulsing them, invaded their territory, and effectually subdued them. In the peace that ensued, all his efforts were exerted to effect the equal administration of justice, and the suppression of image-worship; but his punishment of the latter offence was so severe and unrelenting, that even his best friend, Michael the Stammerer, became his enemy. Having organized a conspiracy, Michael was betrayed, tried, and condemned to be burnt. On Christmas Eve he was dragged to the place of execution; but when about to meet his fate, was remanded to prison at the entreaty of the empress, who was unwilling that the sacred season should be profaned by such a horrible death. During the night, his friends having formed a plot, appeared at the palace chapel on the ensuing morning, in the garb of priests, and while the emperor, as was his custom, began the chant, they fell upon him, and in spite of his desperate defence with the large cross, murdered him, A.D. 820. He was succeeded by Michael the Stammerer. Unlettered, and ignorant of the laws of government, Leo erred in introducing into his civil administration the severe and condign punishment of military discipline.
Leo of Byzantium, an historian of the time of Philip, and probably of Alexander, occupied an important office in the Byzantine commonwealth, during its invasion by Philip. According to Hesychius of Miletus, he was general of the forces. During the siege of his native city, or shortly after
it, he was sent on an embassy to Athens. Byzantium, when on the eve of being captured, was succoured by the Athenian auxiliaries under Chares, B.C. 340, and afterwards under Phocion, and Philip was compelled to withdraw. After this repulse, the king, according to Suidas, accused Leo to his fellow-countrymen of having designed to betray the city for money; and Leo, afraid of falling a victim to popular fury, hanged himself. Hesychius of Miletus, however, states that he died during the siege, before the arrival of the Athenians under Chares. On both of these statements considerable doubt is thrown by Suidas and Eudocia representing Leo as the author of two works,—Τὰ κατὰ Φίλιππον καὶ τὸ Βυζάντιον (The affairs of Philip and the Byzantines); and Τὰ κατ' Ἀλέξανδρον (The Exploits of Alexander). The other works commonly attributed to him are,—Τεθρανικόν (Teuthranicum); Περὶ Βησάλεος or Βησαίου (De Bessalo or Bessao); Ὁ ἱερὸς πόλεμος (The Sacred War); and Περὶ στάσεων (De Seditionibus, or De Statibus). None of his works are extant.