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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Nemanja was born in 1113 to Zavid. His father may have been a son of Uroš, Veliki Župan of Raška (Serbia). Uroš may have descended from the kings of Duklja (Zeta / Montenegro), who briefly ruled over Raška, though Raška had to accept Byzantine suzerainty later. 1/10
Nemanja was the youngest of the four sons of Zavid. His elder brothers were Tihomir, Stracimir and Miroslav. He was born in Zeta, and his father had ties with Zahumlje (Hum / Herzegovina). In 1166, Nemanja's eldest brother, Tihomir, became the Veliki Župan of Raška. 2/10
Danilo Šćepčev Heraković Njeguš was born in 1670 to Šćepan Kaluđerović Heraković and Ana. They lived in Njeguši, near Cetinje, which is in present day Montenegro. Montenegro, which derives its name from Mount Lovćen, was at the crossroads of empires. 1/10
Montenegro was one of the major parts of the Serbian empire that collapsed after 1356 and was ruled by the Balšići family. Originally called Duklja, it came to be called Zeta during Serbian rule and continued as a self ruling principality until 1421. 2/10
Jean de Montfort was born in 1339 to Jean de Montfort, Count of Montfort-l’Amaury, and Jeanne de Flandre. The senior Jean was a younger half brother of Jean, the Sovereign Duke of Brittany and Guy, Count of Penthièvre. 1/10
Duke Jean died childless in 1341. His brother, Guy, had already died in 1331, but was survived by a daughter, Jeanne, who had inherited Penthièvre and Limoges viscounty. The senior Jean de Montfort disputed his niece's claims over Brittany. 2/10
Adelais d'Anjou was born around 945 to Foulques d'Anjou, Count of Anjou, and Gerberge, possibly the daughter of Count of Gâtinais. She had two brothers, Geoffroy and Guy. The former succeeded their father as Count in 958, while the latter became a priest. 1/10
Anjou was among the territories held by Robert of Neustria in 861, subordinate to the king of West Francia. His sons, Odo and Robert later became kings of West Francia, while Anjou ended up with Ingelger. Adelais was Ingelger's great granddaughter. 2/10
Kaloyan was born perhaps around 1170. Not much is known about his parents, but he had two elder brothers, Ivan Asen and Teodor, and perhaps two other siblings. They lived in present-day Bulgaria, in the Byzantine province of Paristrion. 1/10
Paristrion was once part of an emergent Bulgarian empire in the 9th & 10th centuries, which was conquered by Constantinople in 1018. The Bulgarians rebelled against Byzantine rule, in 1040 led by Peter Delyan and in 1072 by Georgi Voyteh (With Duklja help). But both failed. 2/10
Asparukh was born sometime in the second half of seventh century. He is believed to have been one among the five sons of Kubrat, who ruled a confederation of tribes which may have included Bulgars, Onoğurs, Kutrigurs and Utigurs. 1/10
Kubrat, at a young age likely lived as a hostage in Constantinople, perhaps connected to the ongoing struggle between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Avars. The Avars had started invading the Balkans after 560, though they were pushed back by the end of the century. 2/10