LEO II- SOME CHRONOLOGICAL QUESTIONS
LEO II- SOME CHRONOLOGICAL QUESTIONS

Summary/Abstract: Leo II was the son of Zeno and Ariadne, the eldest daughter of Emperor Leo I, who ruled in the years 457–474. It is widely accepted that Leo the Younger was born in 467 and seized power in 474; in the same year he elevated his father Zeno to Augustus, and then died after a few months of joint reign. The problem is that most sources give us very sketchy information about these events, and what is even worse, the information we do get from them is often full of contradictions. Neither the date or place of Leo’s birth nor the chronological framework of his reign are certain. Brian Croke has recently proposed a new chronology of the boy-emperor’s life and reign. The goal of this article is to put the historical accounts concerning Leo II in order and modify the chronology of Leo II’s life put forward by Croke. First, this article will focus on establishing Leo’s date of birth, which is connected with establishing the date of his parents’ marriage; then it will go on to analyze when he was elevated to the rank of Caesar.

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