Constantine Lips () (died 20 August 917) was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

aristocrat and admiral who lived in the later 9th and early 10th centuries. He was killed in 917 at the

Battle of Acheloos The Battle of Achelous or Acheloos (, ), also known as the Battle of Anchialus,Stephenson (2004), p. 23 took place on 20 August 917, on the Achelous river near the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, close to the fortress Tuthom (modern Pomorie) between ...

against

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. Constantine Lips is most notable for his foundation of the

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

bearing

his name His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, i ...

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

Biography

The facts regarding Constantine's life are confused and subject to

conjecture In mathematics, a conjecture is a conclusion or a proposition that is proffered on a tentative basis without proof. Some conjectures, such as the Riemann hypothesis or Fermat's conjecture (now a theorem, proven in 1995 by Andrew Wiles), ha ...

. It is known that at the time of Emperor

Leo VI the Wise Leo VI, also known as Leo the Wise (; 19 September 866 – 11 May 912), was Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty (although his parentage is unclear), he was very well read, leading to his epithet. During ...

(r. 886–912), he restored a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

near the

Church of the Holy Apostles The Church of the Holy Apostles (, ''Agioi Apostoloi''; ), also known as the Imperial Polyandrion (imperial cemetery), was a Byzantine Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. The first structure dated to ...

, which is nowadays identified with the

Fenari Isa Mosque Fenâri Îsâ Mosque (full name in ), known in Byzantine times as the Lips Monastery (), is a mosque in Istanbul, made of two former Eastern Orthodox churches. Location The place of worship is located on Adnan Menderes Boulevard, also known as V ...

on account of a partial

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

commemorating its dedication to the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-beare ...

. The date of the

inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

is traditionally placed in 907/908.. Constantine Lips also participated in the failed coup of the prominent general Constantine Doukas against the infant

Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, and ...

(r. 913–959) in July 913, after the death of Leo's brother and successor

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

(r. 912–913). In its wake, several nobles who had been or were suspected of being involved in the coup were executed, while others fled the city, amongst them Constantine Lips.. On August 20, 917, he fell at the

, fighting against the Bulgarian forces under Simeon I. He is also equated by modern scholarship with two other people named Lips, whose activities are believed to have been erroneously post-dated.cf. . The first is recorded by Constantine VII as having held the rank of ''

protospatharios ''Prōtospatharios'' () was one of the highest Byzantine aristocracy and bureaucracy, court dignities of the middle Byzantine Empire, Byzantine period (8th to 12th centuries), awarded to senior generals and provincial governors, as well as to forei ...

'' and the court post of ''

domestikos ''Domestikos'' (; , from the ), in English sometimes heDomestic, was a civil, ecclesiastic and military office in the Late Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire. Military usage The ''domestikoi'' trace their ancestry to the '' protectores domest ...

'' of the ''hypourgia'' (head assistant to the ''

epi tes trapezes The () was a Byzantine court post, responsible for the imperial banquets. History The office, more fully known as the (, 'Domestic of the imperial table'), () or (, 'the one in charge of the lord's table'), is first mentioned as extant in the m ...

''), later (probably by the time of the 913 coup attempt) rising to become a ''

patrikios The patricians (from ) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 B ...

'' and ''

megas hetaireiarches The (), sometimes anglicized as Hetaeriarch, was a high-ranking Byzantine officer, in command of the imperial bodyguard, the . In the 9th–10th centuries there appear to have been several , each for one of the subdivisions of the , but in later ti ...

''. He also served on several occasions as imperial envoy to

Gregory I Gregory I may refer to: * Gregory the Illuminator (250s–330s), Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church in 288–325 * Gregory of Nazianzus (329–390), Patriarch Gregory I of Constantinople, in office 379–381 * Pope Gregory I (540–604), i ...

, the ruler of the

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

principality of Taron. On the first embassy, he returned with Gregory's son Ashot, who was received by Leo and named ''protospatharios''. Lips accompanied Ashot back to his father, and returned with Gregory's brother (known only by his

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

name Abu Ghanim), who was also given the rank of ''protospatharios''.. Constantine accompanied Abu Ghanim on his return journey. When the latter visited Constantinople again some years later, he was married to Constantine's daughter. In another mission shortly after, Lips persuaded Gregory himself to visit Constantinople, where he was lavishly received and given the supreme dignity of ''

magistros The (Latin; ; ) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire. In Byzantium, the office was eventually transformed into a senior honorary rank, simply called ''magist ...

'' and the title of ''

strategos ''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also use ...

'' of Taron. After a prolonged sojourn, he was escorted to his domains by Lips. The later ''

Patria of Constantinople The ''Patria'' of Constantinople (), also regularly referred to by the Latin name ''Scriptores originum Constantinopolitarum'' ("writers on the origins of Constantinople"), are a Byzantine collection of historical works on the history and monuments ...

'' also refer to a Lips, ''

'' and ''Droungarios'' of the Fleet, who established a monastery and a guest house during the late reign of Constantine VII, but it is impossible to tell with certainty whether this is the same person.. Constantine Lips had a son, the ''patrikios'' Bardas Lips, who was involved in a

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

against Emperor

Romanos II Romanos II (; 938 – 15 March 963) was Byzantine Emperor from 959 to 963. He succeeded his father Constantine VII at the age of twenty-one and died suddenly and mysteriously four years later. His wife Theophano helped their sons Basil II ...

(r. 959–963) in 962. He is also the last known representative of the Lips family.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lips, Constantine 9th-century births 917 deaths 10th-century Byzantine people Byzantine admirals Byzantines killed in battle Patricii Year of birth unknown Magistroi Founders of Christian monasteries Megaloi hetaireiarchai