Flavius Valerius Leo, Eastern Emperor 457 - 474

A fine and experienced general, Leo was selected in Constantinople to succeed to the throne on the death of the Eastern Emperor Marcian in 457. An uneducated man, Leo proved to be a great asset to the Eastern Empire, successfully ridding the Eastern Armies of their very strong German contingent, which was threatening the stability of the east in the wake of the continuing collapse of the west. He fell gravely ill in 473, whereupon he elevated his sickly young grandson (also Leo) to the rank of Augustus. He died early in 474.