Leo I the Thracian

Leo I the Thracian (c. 401–474) was Eastern Roman emperor from 457 to 474. A Thraco-Roman officer placed on the throne by the general Aspar, he gradually shook off his patron, and his 457 coronation was the first where the Patriarch of Constantinople crowned the emperor.

To check Aspar he allied with the Isaurians, marrying his daughter Ariadne to their leader, the future Zeno, and in 471 had Aspar and his son killed. His 468 expedition against the Vandals ended in costly defeat. He died in January 474, leaving the throne to his grandson Leo II.