Zeno (emperor) in the context of "Leonid dynasty"

The Church of Cyprus (Greek: Ἐκκλησία τῆς Κύπρου, romanized: Ekklisia tis Kyprou) is one of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox churches that form part of the communion of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Based in Cyprus, it is one of the oldest Eastern Orthodox autocephalous churches; it claims to have always been independent, although it may have been subject to the Church of Antioch before its autocephaly was recognized in 431 at the Council of Ephesus. The bishop of the ancient capital, Salamis (renamed Constantia by Emperor Constantius II) was constituted metropolitan by Emperor Zeno, with the title archbishop.

The Barberini ivory is a Byzantine ivory leaf from an imperial diptych dating from Late Antiquity, now in the Louvre in Paris. It represents the emperor as triumphant victor. It is generally dated from the first half of the 6th century and is attributed to an imperial workshop in Constantinople, while the emperor is usually identified as Justinian, or possibly Anastasius I or Zeno. It is a notable historical document because it is linked to queen Brunhilda of Austrasia. On the back there is a list of names of Frankish kings, all relatives of Brunhilda, indicating her important position. Brunhilda ordered the list to be inscribed and offered it to the church as a votive image.

Although it is not a consular diptych, it shares many features of their decorative schemes. The emperor is accompanied in the main panel by a conquered barbarian in trousers at left, a crouching allegorical figure, probably representing territory conquered or reconquered, who holds his foot in thanks or submission, and an angel or victory, crowning the emperor with the traditional palm of victory (which is now lost). Although the barbarian is partly hidden by the emperor's huge spear, this does not pierce him, and he seems more astonished and over-awed than combative. Above, Christ, with a fashionable curled hair-style, is flanked by two more angels in the style of pagan victory figures; he reigns above, while the emperor represents him below on earth. In the bottom panel barbarians from West (left, in trousers) and East (right, with ivory tusks, a tiger and a small elephant) bring tribute, which includes wild animals. The figure in the left panel, representing a soldier, carries a statuette of Victory; his counterpart on the right is lost.

Odoacer (c. 433 – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar, was a barbarian soldier and statesman from the Middle Danube who was an officer of the Roman army and deposed the Western Roman child emperor Romulus Augustulus to become the ruler of Italy (476–493). Odoacer's overthrow of Romulus Augustulus is traditionally understood as marking the end of the Western Roman Empire.

Although he ruled Italy, Odoacer styled himself a client of the Eastern emperor Zeno in Constantinople. He was addressed not only as Latin: rex but also as dux and patrician, the latter title granted by Zeno. In the sole surviving document from his chancery—and by the consul Basilius—Odoacer used the title of king. Backed by the Roman Senate, he distributed land with little resistance. Soldier unrest in 477–478 caused violence, but his later reign was stable. Though an Arian, he seldom interfered in the Trinitarian state church.

The Ostrogoths (Latin: Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people who, in the 5th and 6th centuries, established one of the two major Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire. They drew on large Gothic populations settled in the Balkans since the 4th century and rose to prominence under Theodoric the Great, who in 493 founded the Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy after defeating Odoacer.

Theodoric belonged to the Amal dynasty, which had gained power in Pannonia after the collapse of Attila’s Hunnic empire. Backed by the Byzantine emperor Zeno, Theodoric invaded Italy and established his rule from Ravenna, preserving Roman administration, law, and culture while governing Goths and Romans under parallel systems. His reign marked the height of Ostrogothic power and stability in Italy.

Julius Nepos (died 9 May 480), or simply Nepos, ruled as Roman emperor of the West from 24 June 474 to 28 August 475. After losing power in Italy, Nepos retreated to his home province of Dalmatia, from which he continued to claim the western imperial title, with recognition from the Eastern Roman Empire, until he was murdered in 480. Though Nepos' successor in Italy, Romulus Augustulus (r. 475–476), is traditionally deemed the last western Roman emperor, Nepos is regarded by some historians as the true last emperor of the west, being the last widely recognised holder of the position.

A native of Dalmatia, Nepos began his career as the semi-autonomous governor of the province, succeeding his uncle Marcellinus, a prominent general, as magister militum ('master of troops') of Dalmatia. After the death of the western emperor Anthemius (r. 467–472), who had been appointed by the eastern emperor Leo I (r. 457–474), as well as Anthemius' successor Olybrius (r. 472), Leo sought to assert his authority in the west, granting Nepos command of an army in December 473 to attack Italy and depose Glycerius (r. 473–474), who had been proclaimed emperor by the Burgundian general Gundobad. Nepos left for Italy in the spring of 474, backed by Leo's successor Zeno, and landed with his army at Portus, near Rome. Nepos swiftly deposed Glycerius and was crowned western emperor in Rome on 24 June 474. He was the last emperor to be crowned in the city until Charlemagne in the ninth century. Whether the original intention of the invasion was to install Nepos as western emperor is unclear, but in any event, he was quickly recognised as the legitimate western emperor by Zeno.

Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (about 454 – 30 August 526), also called the Amal, was king of the Ostrogoths (475–526), and ruler of the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy between 493 and 526, regent of the Visigoths (511–526), and a patrician of the Eastern Roman Empire. As ruler of the combined Gothic realms, Theodoric controlled an empire stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Adriatic Sea. Though Theodoric himself only used the title 'king' (rex), some scholars characterize him as a Western Roman emperor in all but name, since he ruled a large part of the former Western Roman Empire. He also received and used the former Western imperial regalia from Constantinople in 497, and exercised imperial powers recognized in the East, such as naming consuls. The Italian aristocracy referred to him using the imperial title princeps .

As a young child of an Ostrogothic nobleman, Theodoric was taken as a hostage to Constantinople, where he spent his formative years and received an East Roman education (paideia). Theodoric returned to Pannonia around 470, and throughout the 470s he campaigned against the Sarmatians and competed for influence among the Goths of the Roman Balkans, gaining recognition as king in 471. The emperor Zeno made him commander of the Eastern Roman forces in 483 and consul in 484. Nevertheless, Theodoric remained in constant hostilities with the emperor and frequently raided East Roman territory.

Anastasius I Dicorus (Ancient Greek: Ἀναστάσιος, romanized: Anastásios; c. 431 – 9 July 518) was Roman emperor from 491 to 518. A career civil servant, he came to the throne at the age of 61 after being chosen by Ariadne, the wife of his predecessor, Zeno. His reign was characterized by reforms and improvements in the empire's government, finances, economy and bureaucracy. The resulting stable government, reinvigorated monetary economy and sizeable budget surplus allowed the empire to pursue more ambitious policies under his successors, most notably Justinian I. Since many of Anastasius' reforms proved long-lasting, his influence over the empire endured for centuries.

Anastasius was a Monophysite Christian and his personal religious tendencies caused tensions throughout his reign in the empire that was becoming increasingly divided along religious lines.

Aelia Ariadne (Greek: Ἀριάδνη) (c. 450 – 515) was Eastern Roman empress as the wife of Zeno and Anastasius I. She is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, with her feast day falling on August 22.