Leo III the Isaurian
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Leo III the Isaurian, also known as the Syrian, was the first Byzantine emperor of the Isaurian dynasty from 717 until his death in 741. He put an end to the Twenty Years' Anarchy, a period of great i
A mosaic cross in the apse of the Hagia Sophia, Thessaloniki. This mosaic is exemplary of the 8th-century iconoclast style, in which prominence to the symbol of the cross was given rather than to icons.
Example of the miliarēsion silver coins, first struck by Leo III to commemorate the coronation of his son, Constantine V, in 720
Byzantine Iconoclasm
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The Byzantine Iconoclasm was two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial authorities within the Ecumenical Patria
Leo III the Isaurian
…defeats and territorial losses the Byzantines had suffered during the 7th century. He successfully defended the Empire against the invading Umayyads and forbade the veneration of icons. Leo III was born in Germanikeia (modern Kahramanmaraş in Turkey), within the northern boundaries of Syria, east of Cilicia. His original name was Konon…
A simple cross: example of iconoclastic art in the Hagia Irene church in Istanbul
Byzantine Iconoclasm, Chludov Psalter, 9th century.
Argument about icons before the emperor, in the Skylitzis Chronicle
Patriarch Germanos I of Constantinople with icons supported by angels