Several Byzantine emperors were οf Isaurian descent: Zeno, whose native name was Tarasicodissa Rousoumbladadiotes, Leontios who reigned from 695 to 698, Leo III, who ascended the throne of Constantinople in 718, reigned until 741, and his son Constantine V. The empire used Isaurians as soldiers, generals and at one point they even formed part of the emperor's personal guard, the Excubitores. However, the population of Constantinople considered the Isaurians as barbarians, and emperor Anastasius I had to fight a long war against Isaurian rebels (Isaurian War, 492-497).