Who were the key leaders in the Byzantine Empire and why are they important?

Constantine the Great

Constantine’s first great act came in AD 313 when he issued the Edict of Milan. This proclamation legalized Christian worship throughout the Roman empire, an act which would eventually phase out pagan rituals altogether.

Justinian I

Undertaking a massive overhaul of construction projects during his 40-year rule, Justinian is likely best known for commissioning what would be the final iteration of the Hagia Sophia among a litany of other churches and structures adding to the fame of the Byzantine empire, as well as being a great patron for Byzantine cultural art in the form of mosaics.

Irene of Athens

During an infamous period of Byzantine history known as the Iconoclasm, the veneration of religious figures in the form of idols or artwork featuring their likenesses had been forbidden. This period was initiated by Leo the Isaurian in AD 726 and lasted until 787, when it was revoked by Irene, the acting regent in the stead of her son, Constantine VI upon the death of her husband, Leo IV. Irene reinstated religious iconography and she eventually became the first official Empress of the Byzantine empire following the death of her son in AD 795. Some speculate she was also on the verge of accepting a marriage proposal from Charlemagne after he had declared himself Holy Roman Emperor, which very well might have reunited the whole of Rome and Byzantium into one empire yet again.

Constantine XI Palaiologos

Serving as the last emperor of the Byzantine empire, Constantine XI had succeeded John VIII and oversaw the reoccupation of the Peloponnesus, the first time it had been in the fold of the Byzantine empire in over 200 years. In an effort to muster considerable defenses against a threatening Ottoman empire, Constantine XI finalized a Church union with the Peloponnesus region initialized by his predecessor despite great discord among his subjects on the matter.

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