Leo Passianos (died 22 June 1017) was the

Byzantine 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 the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

sent by the Catapan of Italy

Leo Tornikios Kontoleon Kontoleon TornikiosIn Latin language, Latin, Tornicius Condoleo; in Italian language, Italian Tornichio. The anonymous chronicler of Bari calls him Audronic, which some have taken as Andronicus. Chalandon uses the Gallicised form Contoléon. was t ...

to fight the Lombard rebel

Melus of Bari {{Infobox noble , name = Melus , title = Duke of Apulia , image = , caption = {{longitem, Cape given to Holy Roman Emperor Henry II by Melus , alt = , CoA = , ...

in 1017. He is not to be confused with the other Passianos killed in Melus' first rebellion while fighting the Saracens under Ishmael of Montepeloso. Passianos met Melus on the Fortore at Arenula. The battle was either indecisive (

William of Apulia William of Apulia () was a poet and chronicler of the Normans, writing in the 1090s. His Latin epic, ''Gesta Roberti Wiscardi'' ("The Deeds of Robert Guiscard"), written in hexameters, is one of the principal contemporary sources for the Norman co ...

) or a victory for Melus (

Leo of Ostia Leo Marsicanus (meaning "of the Marsi") or Ostiensis (meaning "of Ostia"), also known as Leone dei Conti di Marsi (1046, Marsica – 1115/7, Ostia), was a nobleman and monk of Monte Cassino around 1061 and Italian cardinal from the 12th cent ...

). Tornikios then took command himself and led them into a second encounter near Civita. This second battle was a victory for Melus, though

Lupus Protospatharius Lupus Protospatharius Barensis was the reputed author of the ''Chronicon rerum in regno Neapolitano gestarum'' (also called ''Annales Lupi Protospatharii''), a concise history of the Mezzogiorno from 805 to 1102. He has only been named as the aut ...

and the anonymous chronicler of Bari record a defeat. Passianos was killed in this battle.

Sources

*Chalandon, Ferdinand. ''Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicile''.

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 1907. Byzantine generals 11th-century Byzantine military personnel 1017 deaths Byzantines killed in battle Catepanate of Italy Year of birth unknown {{Europe-mil-bio-stub