LEO
351
LEO
had been committed to writing by himself; and Tertul- lian (Z>e Corona, Q.l) directs his readers "to unroll the writings of Leo the Egyptian." Hj'ginus (Poeticoti A s- ironomicon, c. 20) refers to Leon as though he wrote a history of Egypt (" Qui res iEgj'ptiacus scripsit") ; and the scholiast on ApoUonius Rhodius (iv, 262) gives a ref- erence liere to what Leon hatl said respecting the antiq- uity of the Egyptians, probably depending upon the statements of Alexander. See Fabricius, Bibl. Grcvca, vii, 71B, 719; xi, 664; Voss, De Hist. Grcec. libri iii, p. 179, eilit. Amsterdam, 1699. — Smith, Diet, of Greek and Romtm Biofj. ii, 742.
Leo DiACoNUS, or the Deacon, a Bj'zantine histo- rian of the 10th century, of whose personal history but little is known, except tlie incidental notices in his prin- cipal works (collected by C. B. Hase in his PraJ'atio to his edition of Leo), was born at Caloe, a town of Asia, beautifully situated at the side or foot of Mount Traolus, near the sources of the Caystrus, in Asia Minor, and was at Constantinople pursuing his studies A.D. 966, where he was an admiring spectator of the firmness of the em- peror Nicephorus II, Phocas, in the midst of a popular tumidt (iv-, 7). Hase places his birth in or about A.D. 950. He was in Asia in or about the time of the depo- sition of Basilius I, patriarch of Constantinople, and the election of his successor, Antonius III, A.D. 973 or 974, and relates that at that time he freciuently saw two Cappadocians, twins of thirty years' age, whose bodies were united from the armpits to the flanks (x,3). Hav- ing been ordained deacon, he accompanied the emperor Basilius II in his unfortunate expedition against the Bulgarians, A.D. 981, and when the emperor raised the siege of Tralitza or Triaditza (the ancient Sardica), Leo barely escaped death in the heacUong flight of his countrymen (x, 8). Of his history after this nothing is known; but Hase observes he must have written his history after A.D. 989, as he adverts to the rebellion and death of Phocas Bardas (x, 9), which occurred in that year. He must have lived later than Hase has remark- ed, and at least till A.D. 993, as he notices (x, 10) that the emperor Basilius II restored " in six years the cu- pola of the great church (St. Sophia's) at Constantinople, which had been overthrown by the earthquake (comp. Cedren. Compend. ii, 438, ed. Bonn) of A.D. 987." His works are, 'laropi'a Bi/SAi'otc ^, or Ilistoria libris decern : — Oralio ad Basilium Imperatorem : — and, unless it be the work of another Leo Diaconus, Ilomilia in Miclue- Iceni A rchangelium. The two last are extant only in MS. The history of Leo includes the period from the Cretan expedition of Nicephorus Phocas, in the reign of liomanus II, A.D. 959. to the death of John I, Tzi- misccs, A.D. 975. It relates the victories of the emper- ors Nicephorus and Tzimisces over the Mohammedans in Cilicia and Syria, and the recovery of those coun- tries, or the greater part of them, to the Byzantine em- pire, and the wars of the same emperors with the Bul- garians and Kussians. According to Hase, Leo emploj's unusual and unappropriate words (many of them bor- rowed from Homer, Agathias the historian, and the Sep- tuagint) in the place of simple and common ones, and abounds in tautological phrases. His knowledge of ge- ography and ancient history is slight, but with these de- fects his history is a valuable contemporary^ record of a stirring time, honestly and fearlessly written. Scylit- zes and Cedrenus are much indebted to Leo, and Hase considers Zonaras also to have used his work. The Ihslorid was first published at the cost of count Nicho- las Komanzof, chancellor of Kussia, by Car. Bened. Hase (Paris, 1818). Combefis had intended to publish it in the Paris edition of Corpiis Historice Byzantince, with the Ilistoria. of Michael Psellus, but was prevented by death, A.D. 1679. The Latin version which he had pre- pared was commmiicated by Jlontfaucon to Pagi, vvho inserted some portions in his Critice in Baronium (ad ann. 960, No. ix). The papers of Combetis were, many years after, committed to Michael le Quien, that he might publish an edition of Psellus and Leo, and part
of the latter's work was actually printed. In the disor- ders of the French Eevolution the papers of Combefis were finally lost or destroyed. Hase, in his edition, add- ed a Latin version and notes to the text of Leo, and il- lustrated it by engravings from ancient gems : this edi- tion is, however, scarce and dear, the greater part of the copies having been lost by shipwreck, but his text, pref- ace, version, and notes (not engravings) have been re- printed in the Bonn ed. of the Corpus Hist. Byzanthm (1828, 8vo). See Fabricius, Bill. Graca, vii, 684, note 1 ; Cave, Hist. Litt. ii, 106; Hase, Prff/'«?to ad Leon Dincon. Historian.— ^xn\\h, Did. ofGr. and Rom. Biorj. ii, 743 sq.
Leo THE Great. See Leo the Thkacian (empe- ror) and Leo I (pope).
Leo the Isaurian is the name which is common- ly given in history to Leo III or Flavils Leo Isau- Kus, emperor of Constantinople from the year 718 to 741, a man remarkable on many accounts, but who, from his connection with the great contest about image-wor- ship in the Christian Church, became one of the most prominent historical names among the emperors of the East.