Leo VI, surnamed
the Wise or
the Philosopher (,
Leon VI ho Sophos, 19 September 866 – 11 May 912), was
Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the
Macedonian dynasty (although his parentage is unclear), he was very well-read, leading to his surname. During his reign, the renaissance of letters, begun by his predecessor
Basil I, continued; but the Empire also saw several military defeats in the Balkans against
Bulgaria and against the Arabs in
Sicily and the
Aegean.