Pope Gregory II was Bishop of Rome from 19 May 715 to his death in 731. His defiance of the Byzantine Emperor Leo III the Isaurian as a result of the iconoclastic controversy in the Eastern Empire prepared the way for a long series of revolts, schisms and civil wars that eventually led to the establishment of the temporal power of the popes.
Artaud de Montor (1772–1849) / Public domain
