Leo Phokas the Elder

Leo Phokas
Allegiance	Byzantine Empire
Years of service	ca. 900–919
Rank	Domestic of the Schools
Wars	Arab–Byzantine wars in the East and Byzantine–Bulgarian wars
Relations	Nikephoros Phokas the Elder (father), Bardas Phokas the Elder (brother)

Leo Phokas (Greek: Λέων Φωκᾶς, fl. 910s) was an early 10th-century Byzantine general of the noble Phokas clan. As Domestic of the Schools, the Byzantine army's commander-in-chief, he led a large-scale campaign against the Bulgarians in 917, but was heavily defeated at the battles of Acheloos and Katasyrtai. He then plotted to seize the throne from the young Byzantine emperor Constantine VII (r. 913–959), but was outmaneuvered by the admiral Romanos Lekapenos, who managed to become guardian and later father-in-law of the Emperor. After Lekapenos seized control of the Byzantine Empire, Leo led an unsuccessful revolt, and was captured and blinded.

Leo was the son of Nikephoros Phokas the Elder, an eminent Byzantine general who had distinguished himself in southern Italy. His brother, Bardas, was also a senior general, as were Bardas's sons Nikephoros and Leo. Nikephoros eventually became Emperor in 963–969. Little is known about Leo's early life. During the late reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912), he married the sister of Constantine Barbaros, the Emperor's powerful parakoimomenos, and rose to the post of Domestic of the Schools. Although personally brave and not without some measure of success against the Arabs in the East, his ability as a general was rather limited. Steven Runciman attributed his rise more to his aristocratic origin and his familial connection with the parakoimomenos Constantine.

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