Leontia ( el, Λεοντία, fl. 610) was an empress of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

as the wife of

Phocas Phocas ( la, Focas; grc-gre, Φωκάς, Phōkás; 5475 October 610) was Eastern Roman emperor from 602 to 610. Initially, a middle-ranking officer in the Eastern Roman army, Phocas rose to prominence as a spokesman for dissatisfied soldiers ...

Empress

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

reigned in the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

from 582 to 602. He led a series of Balkan campaigns and managed to successfully re-establish the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

as a northern border for his state (''

Limes Moesiae The Moesian Limes ( la, Limes Moesiae) is the modern term given to a collection of Ancient Rome, Roman fortifications between the Black Sea shore and Pannonia, present-day Hungary, consisting primarily of forts along the Danube (so-called Danub ...

''). By Winter 602, his strategic goals included securing control of

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...

and the area which would later be known as

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

. 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 la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. Maurice also faced citywide rioting within the capital due to a

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

. He fled the city prior to the arrival of Phocas and his troops. The ''

Chronicon Paschale ''Chronicon Paschale'' (the ''Paschal'' or ''Easter Chronicle''), also called ''Chronicum Alexandrinum'', ''Constantinopolitanum'' or ''Fasti Siculi'', is the conventional name of a 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world. Its name com ...

'' 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 ( grc-gre, ἁρματοδρομία, harmatodromia, la, ludi circenses) was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games fro ...

in honor of his elevation and had Leontia escorted to the city as his new Empress.Lynda Garland , "Leontia, Wife of the Emperor Phocas"
/ref> They had already been married for some time. According to the chronicle of

Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking u ...

, Leontia was officially crowned an Augusta on 27 November. According to the history of

Theophylact Simocatta Theophylact Simocatta (Byzantine Greek: Θεοφύλακτος Σιμοκάτ(τ)ης ''Theophýlaktos Simokát(t)ēs''; la, Theophylactus Simocatta) was an early seventh-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine historiographer, arguably ranking as th ...

, the new imperial couple led a

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

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 tyrant (Phocas) also had a wife whose name was Leontia; he placed a royal crown on her. Since it is customary for emperors to proclaim their consorts with processions as well, the tyrant openly honoured the custom and decided to lead the queen Leontia in triumph. On this day then, there was a conflict between the factions about their station, since they contested the arrangement of places: for the Greens wanted to take up station in the Ampelion, as it is called (this is a forecourt of the emperor's dwelling), and to serenade the queen with the customary applause, but the Blue faction objected, for they regarded this as contrary to custom and alien. Accordingly, since very great commotion arose, the tyrant sent in Alexander to quell the strife of the disputants".Theophylact Simocatta 8.10.9-11 (tr. M. & M.Whitby, The History of Theophylact Simocatta, Oxford, 1986, 225-26 The only known child of Leontia and Phocas was their daughter

Domentzia Domentzia ( el, Δομεντζία) was a name shared by the mother of the List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor Phocas (r. 602–610), and a daughter of the same emperor, likely named after her paternal grandmother.Martindale (1992), p. 40 ...

. She was reportedly named after her paternal grandmother.

Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire ''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' (abbreviated as ''PLRE'') is a work of Roman prosopography published in a set of three volumes collectively describing many of the people attested to have lived in the Roman Empire from AD 260, the date ...

, vol. 3 She was married to

Priscus Priscus of Panium (; el, Πρίσκος; 410s AD/420s AD-after 472 AD) was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life generall ...

, who served as ''

Comes excubitorum The Excubitors ( la, excubitores or , , i.e. 'sentinels'; transcribed into Greek as , ) were founded in as an imperial guard unit by the Byzantine emperor Leo I the Thracian. The 300-strong force, originally recruited from among the warlike moun ...

'' (Commander of the

Excubitors The Excubitors ( la, excubitores or , , i.e. 'sentinels'; transcribed into Greek as , ) were founded in as an imperial guard unit by the Byzantine emperor Leo I the Thracian. The 300-strong force, originally recruited from among the warlike moun ...

). Theophanes places the marriage in 607. The Chronicles of

John of Antioch John of Antioch may refer to: People from Antioch * John Chrysostom (c. 347–407), born in Antioch, archbishop of Constantinople * John Scholasticus (died 577), born in Antioch, patriarch of Constantinople from 565 to 577 * John Malalas (died 578 ...

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 Sultanahmet Square ( tr, Sultanahmet Meydanı) or the Hippodrome of Constantinople ( el, Ἱππόδρομος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Hippódromos tēs Kōnstantinoupóleōs; la, Circus Maximus Constantinopolitanus; t ...

. 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

Heraclius Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...

in October, 610. His brothers Domentziolus and

Comentiolus Comentiolus ( el, Κομεντίολος, ''Komentiolos''; died 602) was a prominent Eastern Roman (Byzantine) general at the close of the 6th century during the reign of Emperor Maurice (). He played a major role in Maurice's Balkan campaigns, a ...

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

Nicetas Nicetas or Niketas () is a Greek given name, meaning "victorious one" (from Nike "victory"). The veneration of martyr saint Nicetas the Goth in the medieval period gave rise to the Slavic forms: ''Nikita, Mykyta and Mikita'' People with the name N ...

, a first cousin of Heraclius, and forced to take

monastic vows Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role ...

. According to the ''

'', he died in the Chora monastery in 613. Whether Leontia had further descendants through the marriage of her daughter to Priscus is unknown.

References

External links

- The Page of the Prosopography dealing with Priscus
{{s-end 6th-century births 7th-century deaths 6th-century Byzantine women 7th-century Byzantine empresses Augustae