So, around a year ago, i made a thread with the intent to discuss the effects of a longer-living Byzantine emperor Leo IV, The Khazar.
Leo IV, The Khazar, was a byzantine emperor with good relations to the roman papacy. However, his untimely death led to the ascension of his wife Irene to the throne.
Pope Leo III refused to acknowlege a woman as the despot of Rome and decided to crown Charlemagne as roman emperor instead, creating the first instance of the Holy Roman Empire. It is reported that Charles himself was a bit reluctant to accept the title at first.
So, what if Leo IV had not died so early, managing to further strengthen his relations with the roman papacy?
Could the HRE have been butterflied away and remained as just the Frankish Empire?
Or were there more factors at play?
Sadly, it only got one reply, and it's too old to bump, so i decided to create a new thread instead. What are your thoughts?
(And yes, i am now aware that the Pope's support for Charlemagne had more to do with religious disputes with Constantinople than the Byzantines being ruled by a woman)
 

Marc

Donor
One of the major questions is what happens with another score of years of Iconoclasm dominating Byzantine culture (given the powerful religiosity, any issues about faith are central both to the political and social dynamics of that civilization).
 
Leo IV was a moderate but still he was an iconoclast. Unless he decide to adopt a Pro Roman policy and reconcile with the Pope, Nicea II is definitely butterflied. The army is still loyal to the Isaurians, especially considering the prestige of Leo III and Constantine V, while Irene won’t have the chance to rule the empire, revert the religious policy and screw the Isaurian’s legacy. Constantine VI is going to grow more independent from his mother and probably more competent than his OTL version, so he probably won’t lose the support of the Anatolian and Armenian troops. An iconoclast emperor could still lead to the crowning of Charles as emperor however everything after this point is going to be radically different for the empire. Personally I think the empire would fare better in the East than in the West.
 
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