_(14560071889).jpg)
Illustration of Leo IV (left) and his son Constantine VI (right), based upon Byzantine coins minted bearing their images
wikipediaLeo IV the Khazar (Greek: Λέων Δ΄ ὁ Χάζαρος, Leōn IV ho Khazaros; 25 January 750 – 8 September 780) was Byzantine Emperor from 775 to 780 AD. He was born to Emperor Constantine V and Empress Tzitzak in 750. He was elevated to caesar the next year, in 751, and married to Irene of Athens in 768. When Constantine V died in September 775, while campaigning against the Bulgarians, Leo IV became senior emperor on 14 September 775. In 778 Leo raided Abbasid Syria, decisively defeating the Abbasid army outside of Germanicia. Leo died on 8 September 780, of tuberculosis. He was meant to be succeeded by his son Constantine VI, but rule instead transferred to his wife Irene, who assumed the role of regent and later empress.