Constantine Arianites
byzantine general (died 1050)
Constantine Arianites (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Ἀριανίτης; died 1050) was a Byzantine general active in the Balkans against the Pechenegs.
Life
He was possibly the son or otherwise a relative of David Arianites, a celebrated general under Basil II (r. 976–1025). He is first recorded in 1047, when the Pechenegs crossed the Danube and invaded Byzantine territory. At the time, according to John Skylitzes, he held the rank of magistros and the post of doux of Adrianople. In response to the Pecheneg attack, he was ordered to join with the officer commanding in Bulgaria, Basil Monachos, and the generals Michael and Kegenes (a baptised Pecheneg who had entered Byzantine service). The Byzantines managed to defeat and capture the Pechenegs, but instead of exterminating them, they were settled as colonists in the desolate plains of Moesia.
When the Pechenegs rebelled in 1049, Arianites was a senior officer in the army. When they began to pillage the area around Adrianople, he defeated a few small Pecheneg units on his way to Dampolis, but was himself defeated when he engaged the main body. He retreated to Andrianople, from where he informed the emperor of the rebellion.
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