Konon was born in Germanikeia in Syria (Kahramanmaraş in present day Turkey) around 685. Germanikeia had fallen to the Arabs in 638, but his family had been resettled to Thrace in the Eastern Roman Empire. In 685, Constantinople was ruled by the Heraclian dynasty. 1/10
The Roman Empire in the East had peaked during the sixth century, but the rise of the Arabs in their east led to the loss of their Levantine, Egyptian and African provinces. To the west were the Bulgars, the Slavs and the Avars, who also acquired their own regions. 2/10
In 695, Emperor Iustinian II was deposed and an Isaurian named Leontios replaced him. Iustinian was part of the ruling Heraclian dynasty but was unpopular in the empire. The overthrow marked the beginning of a period of anarchy in Constantinople. 3/10
Leontios was in turn deposed by Tiberios in 698. Later, Iustinian II returned to Constantinople with the help of the Bulgars, recovering his throne in 705. Konon was among Iustinian's supporters. For service rendered, Konon was made Spatharius (attendant) by the emperor. 4/10
The return of the emperor proved to be short though. In 711, Bardanis deposed and killed Iustinian and his son, Tiberios, bringing to an end the Heraclian dynasty. He became emperor taking the name Philippicus. He lasted till 713, when Artemius Anastasios deposed him. 5/10
Konon had earlier been send on a diplomatic mission to the Caucasus by Iustinian. He returned with success, gaining military experience on the way. Anastasios appointed Konon as Strategos of the Anatolikon theme, before getting deposed by the soldiers of the Opsikion theme. 6/10
Konon and Artabasdos, Strategos of Armeniakon theme, rebelled against the usurper. The new emperor abdicated and made way for Konon, who became emperor taking the name Leon. Emperor Leon was put on the defensive almost immediately as the Arabs besieged Constantinople. 7/10
Maslamah ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, the brother of the Umayyad Caliph, led the seige of Constantinople. But with Bulgar help and a little bit of Greek fire, Emperor Leon managed to overcome the seige. He later allied with the Khazars and defeated the Arabs in 740 at Akroïnos. 8/10
Leon ruled till 741 and was succeeded by his son, Konstantinos. Having come to the throne during a period of instability, he revived the imperial fortunes of Constantinople with his stable rule. He reorganized the administration, brought in reforms and divided the themes. 9/10
However, his most memorable action was against the use of religious icons by Christians. A common practice these days, especially with the proliferation of saintly demigods, the division over icons continued beyond Leon's dynasty which lasted till 802. 10/10
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Murad was born in 1404 to Mehmed. Mehmed was the son of Bayezid, the Ottoman Sultan who was captured by Timur in 1402. This led to a period of anarchy in the Sultanate. By 1413, Mehmed had managed to defeat his brothers and take over as Sultan of the entire Sultanate. 1/10
The Ottoman had Sultanate emerged in late 13th century after the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm was defeated by the Mongols. Many beyliks rose up in the Anatolian peninsula, one among which was ruled by the ancestors of Bayezid, Mehmed and Murad. 2/10
Rastislav was born in early 9th century. His father may have been Wistrach and his uncle Mojmír, the Duke of Moravia. Little is known about Rastislav's youth, until 846 when Franks invaded Moravia and installed Rastislav as the Duke of Moravia. 1/10
Moravia emerged as a semi independent state in Central Europe not long after the Franks had defeated the Avars in late 8th century. Moravia was not the first power in the region though. The Slavic states of Samo and of Nitra had lasted briefly during various times as well. 2/10
Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was born in 1815 to Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von Bismarck and Wilhelmine Luise Mencken. Hailing from Schönhausen, the Bismarcks were a prominent noble family of the Kingdom of Prussia, with connections in Pomerania. 1/10
Prussia became a kingdom in 1701, but its major part was Brandenburg in the centuries old Holy Roman Empire. Invasion by the French in early 19th century led to the dissolution of this empire, with many of its regions joining Napoleon backed Confederation of the Rhine. 2/10
Camillo Benso was born in 1810 to Michele Benso, Marquis of Cavour, and Adélaïde Suzanne de Sellon. The Bensos were prominent nobility of Savoy. Camillo also had a distinguishing French connection thanks to his mother and his godmother Pauline, sister of Emperor Napoleon. 1/10
The early 18th century saw the French under Napoleon occupy Savoy. But the Bensos managed to see through it in a favourable manner eventually. Young Camilo's career prospects improved with his appointment as page to Carlo Alberto, Prince of Carignano in 1824. 2/10
Iaroslav Vladimirovich was born around 980 to Vladimir Sviatoslavich, Grand Prince of Kiev, and Rogned of Polotsk. Vladimir was initially supposed to rule only in Novgorod, but he had taken Kiev and Dereva from his brothers by 980. 1/10
Iaroslav was given an early charge of Rostov and, later, of Novgorod by 1010. But he sought Kiev and rebelled against his father, when he saw that one of his many brothers may be given Kiev. However, Vladimir died in 1015 and his domain got divided between his sons. 2/10
Birger Magnusson was born around 1210 to Magnus "Minnesköld" Bengtsson and Ingrid Ilva. Magnus was the grandson of the powerful Scandinavian noble, Folke, while Ingrid may have been a descendant of Sverker, King of Sweden in mid 12th century. 1/10
The kingdom of Sweden claimed land on the western and eastern coasts of the Baltic Sea in the 13th century. However, the crown itself was held between two dynasties since Sverker's death in 1156; by Sverker's family and that of Erik who became king after Sverker. 2/10