Editing Leo V the Armenian (section)

=== Later years ===
Shortly after the reinstitution of iconoclasm, the new Khan of Bulgaria, [[Omurtag of Bulgaria|Omurtag]], executed his Byzantine captives who refused to renounce [[Christianity]], raided Thrace and ignored an imperial embassy, forcing Leo to fight. In the [[Battle of Mesembria]] of spring 816, Leo marched to the environs of [[Mesembria]] ([[Nesebar]]), camping near the Bulgars, pretending to flee and then ambushing them as they pursued him. He decisively defeated the Bulgar army and raided Bulgar territory, then concluding a [[Byzantine–Bulgarian treaty of 815|30-year peace treaty]] with Omurtag which restored the frontier of 780.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=|pages=432-433}} According to some sources, Krum participated in the battle and abandoned the battlefield heavily injured.<ref>[[John Skylitzes]], Synopsis of Histories (Σύνοψις Ἱστοριῶν), 13. 47–49</ref><ref>[[Joannes Zonaras]], Extracts of History (Επιτομή Ιστοριών), 381. 5–10</ref>

While Leo was successful on the Bulgar front, relations with the [[Franks]] and the [[Papacy]] were difficult. Theodotos attempted to establish friendly relations with [[Pope Paschal I]] (817–824) but was rebuffed. Theodore the Stoudite pre-empted these efforts through his correspondence with Paschal beforehand, in which he criticised the iconoclast patriarch and directly appealed to the papacy to restore orthodoxy in the Byzantine Empire.<ref name=":2" />{{RP|page=|pages=381-385}} 
Leo then worked to consolidate the Empire by rebuilding the [[Thracesian Theme|Thracesian]] and [[Macedonia (theme)|Macedonian Themes]]. In 817, he sent fleets to raid the weakened [[Abbasid Caliphate]] and led an army to retake the frontier fortress of [[Kemah, Erzincan|Kamachon]] which was lost under [[Constantine VI]]. In 818, the [[Rus' people|Rus']] raided the Empire for the first time, specifically the northern coast of [[Anatolia]], which Leo responded to by reinforcing the Armeniac Theme with naval squadrons. There was also mounting underground opposition to Leo's reign and iconoclasm especially among monastic communities, one of the leaders of which was Theodore the Stoudite. In 820, Leo uncovered and punished a conspiracy against him. Nevertheless, it appeared to Leo, his iconoclast supporters and even some iconodules that the Empire was now in God's favour with the reinstitution of iconoclasm, which had coincided with victory over the Bulgars as it had with Constantine V.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=433|pages=}}<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=282}} Even sources vehemently hostile to Leo (e.g., Theophanes Continuatus and Patriarch Nikephoros) acknowledge his competence in managing state affairs.<ref>[[Theophanes Continuatus]], 30. 14–15</ref> Although, as with all iconoclast emperors, his actions and intentions cannot be easily reconstructed due to the extreme bias of the iconodule sources (there are no surviving contemporary iconoclast sources of any kind).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lymberopoulou |first=Angeliki |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qnHPfZ7mr4YC&q=there+are+no+surviving+contemporary+iconoclast+sources+of+any+kind&pg=PA53 |title=Images of the Byzantine World: Visions, Messages and Meanings : Studies Presented to Leslie Brubaker |date=2011 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |isbn=978-1409407768 |language=en}}</ref> 
[[File:Michael the Stammerer is chained before Leo V and Empress Theodosia.jpg|thumb|The arrest of [[Michael II|Michael the Amorian]] before Leo V and [[Theodosia (wife of Leo V)|Theodosia]].]][[File:Emperor Leo V leading the chanting at Christmas.jpg|thumb|Emperor Leo attending the Christmas celebrations in the St. Stephen chapel.]]