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96th Roman Pontiff
St Leo III
LEO Tertius
Leo
96th Successor of St Peter · 795–816 · Rome · b. Rome, Exarchate of Ravenna, Eastern Roman Empire
795
Elected
816
Reign ended
21 years
Length
8th
Century
The Life
(Eastern) Roman citizen, later the sovereign of the independent Papal States. Was of Roman ethnicity. Crowned Emperor Charlemagne on Christmas Day in 800, thereby initiating what would become the Holy Roman Empire, requiring the imprimatur of the pope for its rulers' legitimacy.
Portrait: Various: Original: Unknown authorUnknown author Restoration: Ferdinando Fuga (1743) / Wikimedia Commons