Leo II (emperor)

Common card · No. 240421

Leo II (Latin: Leo; Ancient Greek: Λέων, Leōn; c. 467 – November 474), called the Younger, briefly reigned as a child emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire from 473 to 474. He was the son of Zeno, the Isaurian general and future emperor, and Ariadne, a daughter of the emperor Leo I (r. 457–474). Leo II was made co-emperor with his grandfather Leo I on 17 November 473, and became sole emperor on 18 January 474 after Leo I died of dysentery. His father Zeno was made co-emperor by the Byzantine Senate on 29 January, and they co-ruled for a short time before Leo II died in late 474. He is sometimes surnamed with the epithet "the Small" (Latin: Minor; Ancient Greek: ὁ Μικρός, romanized: ō Mikrós), probably to distinguish him from his grandfather and augustus Leo I (Ancient Greek: ὁ Μέγας, romanized: ō Mégas, lit. 'the Great').

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