Leo III the Isaurian
Emperor who, according to sources written by his opponents, began the campaign against religious images in the 720s and forced the patriarch Germanus from office in 730. Pope Gregory II refused his orders.
Theophanes reckons Leo’s reign from 25 March 717 to 18 June 741, twenty-four years, and says that he was succeeded by his son Constantine (Theophanes, Chronicle AM 6232 (pp. 412–413)). In the same writer’s account Leo began to speak against the icons about 725, treated a volcanic eruption in 726 as a sign in his favour, and had the image of Christ taken down from the Chalke gate (Theophanes, Chronicle AM 6217–6218 (pp. 404–405)). In the dialogue Theophanes gives him with the patriarch Germanus, Leo says that his baptismal name was Konon (Theophanes, Chronicle AM 6221 (pp. 407–409)).
The Roman Liber Pontificalis reports that his officials tried to impose a tax on Italy and to remove Pope Gregory II, and that he then sent orders forbidding images (Liber Pontificalis Gregory II (ed. Duchesne, vol. 1, pp. 403–405)). The sources cited here preserve no statement of Leo’s own reasons; in them he is known only through writers who condemned him. See the Iconoclast Controversy Begins.
In the timeline
- AD 726–730, estimated dateThe Iconoclast Controversy Begins
The emperor Leo III moves against religious images, and the patriarch Germanus resigns rather than consent. John of Damascus writes in their defence from outside the empire. In 754 a council under Leo’s son condemns images as contrary to the doctrine of Christ.