Leo Diogenes ( el, Λέων Διογένης, ''Leōn Diogenes''), styled as ''

Porphyrogenitus Traditionally, born in the purple (sometimes "born to the purple") was a category of members of royal families born during the reign of their parent. This notion was later loosely expanded to include all children born of prominent or high-ranking ...

'', was the son of

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

Romanos IV Diogenes Romanos IV Diogenes (Greek: Ρωμανός Διογένης), Latinized as Romanus IV Diogenes, was a member of the Byzantine military aristocracy who, after his marriage to the widowed empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa, was crowned Byzantine Em ...

and

Eudokia Makrembolitissa Eudokia Makrembolitissa ( el, Εὐδοκία Μακρεμβολίτισσα, Eudocia Macrembolitissa) was a Byzantine empress by her successive marriages to Constantine X Doukas and Romanos IV Diogenes. She acted as regent of her minor son, Mi ...

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

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

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

basileus ''Basileus'' ( el, ) is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean "monarch", referring to either a "king" or an "emperor" and al ...

'').'' PBW''
Leon 15005.
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Anna Komnene Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...

notes that he and his brother Nikephoros both wore the

diadem A diadem is a type of crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of royalty. Overview The word derives from the Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", from διαδέω ''diadéō'', "I ...

and ''

tzangion The ''tzangion'' ( grc-gre, τζαγγίον, ), plural ''tzangia'' () was a type of boot or sandal, which in the Middle Ages became an important part of the Byzantine Emperors' regalia. In the 4th century, the was a type of elegant shoe, but its ...

'' (red sandals) usually reserved to emperors.

Life

Leo's father, Romanos IV Diogenes, died while Leo was still an infant. Although elevated to the rank of co-emperor on his birth, he was banished to a monastery along with his mother after the fall of Romanos. Here he remained until the accession of Alexios I Komnenos in 1081, who took in Leo and his brother Nikephoros 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 tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა� ...

who had invaded the empire from beyond 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 ...

in 1087. 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.Komnene, Book 7, Chapter 3

References

Sources

* Komnene, Anna (1928)

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The Alexiad The ''Alexiad'' ( el, Ἀλεξιάς, Alexias) is a medieval historical and biographical text written around the year 1148, by the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. It was written in a form of artificial ...

''
Translation
by

Elizabeth Dawes Elizabeth Anna Sophia Dawes (1864–1954) was a 19th-century British classical scholar and the first woman to receive a DLitt degree from the University of London. Early life Elizabeth was born on 7 November 1864 in Surbiton, England. In the 1 ...

. *

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 b ...

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