Leo Gabalas

Leo Gabalas
Caesar, Lord of Rhodes and the Cyclades
Rule	ca. 1203 (?) – ca. 1240
Successor	John Gabalas

Leo Gabalas (Greek: Λέων Γαβαλᾶς) was a Byzantine Greek magnate and independent ruler of a domain, centered on the island of Rhodes and including nearby Aegean islands, which was established in the aftermath of the dissolution of the Byzantine Empire by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. He acknowledged some form of suzerainty by the Empire of Nicaea, but remained virtually independent until his death, sometime in the early 1240s.

Gabalas belonged to an old aristocratic family, dating at least back to the early 10th century, when Anna Gabala married Emperor Romanos Lekapenos's son and co-ruler Stephen. The family was of relatively low importance thereafter, but produced a series of senior civil and ecclesiastic officials in the 11th and 12th centuries.

Nothing is known of Leo's early life, and he is first securely attested in 1232/3. The origin of Leo's title of "Caesar" and the details of his establishment of control over Rhodes are likewise unclear. Contemporary sources make clear that Rhodes had slipped out of imperial Byzantine control and was held by an independent ruler already at the time of the Fourth Crusade (1203–04). This ruler is usually identified with Leo, but Nikephoros Blemmydes claims that Leo held his title by hereditary right, which may indicate an unknown predecessor who actually seized control of the island. It has been surmised that at some point Leo acknowledged the suzerainty of the Empire of Nicaea, and that the title of Caesar may have been granted by the Nicaean rulers Theodore I Laskaris (ruled 1205–1222) or John III Vatatzes (r. 1221–1254). On the other hand, if he (or a relative) held power on Rhodes since before 1203, the title may have been granted by the Angeloi emperors.

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