Theodosius III resigns the throne to the Byzantine Empire to enter the clergy allowing Leo III to take the throne and begin the Isaurian dynasty.
He didn't fight for it. Theodosius III, Byzantine emperor for barely two years, simply handed over his crown to Leo III and walked into a monastery. No battle, no assassination plot—just resignation. Leo, a brilliant general who'd just saved Constantinople from Arab siege, didn't even have to ask twice. Theodosius took holy orders in Ephesus while Leo founded the Isaurian dynasty that would rule for 85 years and survive the iconoclasm wars that nearly tore Christianity apart. Sometimes the most consequential transfers of power are the ones where nobody dies.
March 25, 717
1309 years ago
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