Roman Empire, Leo I, AV Tremissis

Roman Empire, Leo I, 457-474, AV Tremissis

Drap. and cuir. bust with diadem r.

Rv.Victoria mit cross on globe and wreath, in the field a star

Historical

Leo I (full name Flavius Valerius Leo; *401; † 474 in Constantinople.
Roman emperor of the late ancient Eastern Roman Empire from 7 February 457 until his death in 474.

Flavius Valerius Leo apparently came from quite humble origins and was from the diocese of Dacia.
He spoke Latin and Greek and rose to the rank of commander of troops; in 457, as comes et tribunus, he appears to have been commander of one of the six legions stationed as an elite mobile force near Constantinople. He was elevated to emperor (Augustus) after the death of Emperor Markian at the instigation of the powerful magister militum (army commander) Aspar.

Leo, unlike his predecessors since 364, did not belong to the so-called Theodosian-Valentinian dynasty. He was an energetic ruler who did not lose sight of the tottering west of the Imperium Romanum.