Leo VI was emperor of the Byzantine empire from 886-912 CE. He was the second emperor of the Macedonian dynasty and is sometimes known as “Leo the Wise” in reference to his prolific literary output which ranged from orations to law codes. Leo's military campaigns abroad were not at all successful, and the empire witnessed defeats to the Bulgars in the Balkans and the Arabs in Sicily and the Aegean. At home, it was a different story, and the emperor's reign was a rare one of stability, peace, and prosperity for his people.
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Definition
Timeline
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870Byzantine emperor Basil I crowns his son Leo co-emperor (future Leo VI).
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886Byzantine emperor Basil I is (probably) murdered by his son and successor Leo VI.
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886 - 912Reign of Byzantine emperor Leo VI.
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894Symeon, Tsar of the Bulgars, invades Thrace, then Byzantine territory.
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898Byzantine emperor Leo VI marries Zoe Zautsina, his second marriage.
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900Byzantine emperor Leo VI marries Eudokia Vaiana, his third marriage.
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1 Aug 902Byzantine Taormina on Sicily falls to Arab attacks.
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904Leo of Tripoli leads an Arab force which sacks Byzantine Thessaloniki and Abydos.
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905A Byzantine army sacks Arab-held Tarsus.
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906Byzantine emperor Leo VI marries Zoe Karvounopsina, his fourth marriage.
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6 Jan 906Byzantine emperor Leo VI has his son, the future Constantine VII, baptised.
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907Byzantine emperor Leo VI dismisses the Patriarch of Constantinople, Nicholas I Mystikos.
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907Oleg, Prince of Kiev, attacks the Byzantine capital Constantinople.
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912A Byzantine fleet is destroyed by an Arab force off the coast of Chios.
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11 May 912Byzantine emperor Leo VI dies.
