Why did Leo 3 ban icons?

Leo III banned icons in the Byzantine Empire during the 8th century primarily to promote a form of religious purity and to curb what he viewed as idolatry. He believed that the veneration of icons could lead to the worship of the images themselves rather than the divine they represented. This decision was also influenced by a desire to unify the empire under a singular religious doctrine and reduce the influence of monastic communities that supported icon veneration. The ban initiated a significant theological and political conflict known as the Iconoclasm controversy.