Leo IV the Khazar

   Emperor (q.v.) from 775-780; son of Constantine V (q.v.) and a Khazar princess, hence the epithet following his name. He was a moderate Iconoclast whose death brought to an end the first period of Iconoclasm (q.v.). The administration of the empire was left in the hands of his wife Irene (q.v.), who served as regent for their infant son Constantine VI (q.v.). Leo IV's reign served as a transition from the aggressive Iconoclasm of his father to the restoration of icon (q.v.) veneration by Irene in 787. He sent expeditions against the Arabs (q.v.) led by Michael Lachanodrakon (q.v.), but Arab expeditions into Asia Minor (q.v.), one of which in 780 was led by Harun al-Rashid (q.v.), were destructive.