Leo III the Isaurian

Leo III, also called the Isaurian or the Syrian, who lived from around 685 to 18 June 741, was the founding Byzantine emperor of the Isaurian dynasty, reigning from 717 until his death. Born Konon in Germanikeia, present day Kahramanmaras in Turkey, his original name reflected his Syrian origins within the Umayyad Caliphate, and he spoke Arabic natively, though scholars dispute how much Islamic influence shaped his policies. Leo ended the destabilizing period known as the Twenty Years' Anarchy, from 695 to 717, which had plagued the empire with rapid imperial succession and territorial losses, successfully repelled invading Umayyad forces, and instituted iconoclastic policies forbidding the veneration of religious images. He married Maria and had four children: Constantine V, born in 718 and crowned co-emperor in 720 before becoming senior emperor; Anna, who married the future emperor Artabasdos; and Kosmo and Irene, who were buried together at the Church of the Holy Apostles. His reign ran from 25 March 717 to 18 June 741; he succeeded Theodosius III and was succeeded by his son Constantine V.