Leo Diogenes (; 1069 – 14 August 1087), styled as '' porphyrogenitus'', was the son of

Byzantine Emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Romanos IV Diogenes Romanos IV Diogenes (; – ) was Byzantine emperor from 1068 to 1071. Determined to halt the decline of the Byzantine military and to stop Turkish incursions into the empire, he is nevertheless best known for his defeat and capture in 1071 at ...

and

Eudokia Makrembolitissa Eudokia Makrembolitissa () was a Byzantine empress by her successive marriages to Constantine X Doukas and Romanos IV Diogenes. She acted as ruler with her two sons in 1067, and resigned her rule by marriage to Romanos IV Diogenes. When he was ...

. Likely crowned co-emperor during his father's reign, he later served in the armies of Emperor

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos (, – 15 August 1118), Latinization of names, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine Emperor, Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. After usurper, usurping the throne, he was faced with a collapsing empire and ...

. He does not appear on any of Romanos' coins, although there is at least one letter that refers to him as emperor (''

basileus ''Basileus'' () is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs throughout history. In the English language, English-speaking world, it is perhaps most widely understood to mean , referring to either a or an . The title ...

'').'' PBW''
Leon 15005.
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Anna Komnene Anna Komnene (; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine Greek historian. She is the author of the '' Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Her work constit ...

notes that he and his brother Nikephoros both wore the

diadem A diadem is a Crown (headgear), crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of Monarch, royalty. Overview The word derives from the Ancient Greek, Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", fro ...

and '' tzangion'' (red sandals) usually reserved to emperors.

Life

Leo's birth is not recorded in sources. He had a brother, Nikephoros Diogenes, whose birth is not recorded either.

and

married on 1 January 1068, meaning they were born in late 1068 or early 1069 at the earliest, probably as twins. Although elevated to the rank of co-emperor on their birth, they were both was banished to a monastery along with their mother after the fall of Romanos. Here they remained until the accession of Alexios I Komnenos in 1081, who took them and raised them like his own sons. According to

's account, Leo was a committed supporter of Alexios, who urged him not only to confront the Norman invaders early in his reign, but also the

Pechenegs The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks, , Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: , , , , , , ka, პაჭანიკი, , , ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Pečenezi, separator=/, Печенези, also known as Pecheneg Turks were a semi-nomadic Turkic peopl ...

who had invaded the empire from beyond the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. During one of the pitched battles against the Pechenegs, Leo allowed himself to be drawn away from the emperor's side, and as he approached the wagons of the enemy, he was struck down and died on the field of battle. In 1095 an impostor of Leo, Pseudo-Diogenes, convinced the Cuman chieftains Boniak and Tugorkan to invade the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, dethrone Alexios, install himself as emperor. The Cumans occupied Paristrion before being repulsed by Byzantine forces, led by Alexios.

References

Sources

* Komnene, Anna (1928) 148 '' The Alexiad''
Translation
by Elizabeth Dawes. *

External links

Leo Diogenes' profile
in the

Prosopography of the Byzantine World The Prosopography of the Byzantine World (PBW) is a project to create a prosopographical database of individuals named in textual sources in the Byzantine Empire and surrounding areas in the period from 642 to 1265. The project is a collaboration ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Diogenes, Leo Leo 11th-century Byzantine people Byzantine generals Diogenes family Keroularios family 1087 deaths 1069 births Byzantine junior emperors Sons of Byzantine emperors