David Areianites or Arianites () was a high-ranking

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 ...

commander of the early 11th century.

Origin

The origin of the surname is uncertain and different theories have been proposed ranging from various anthroponomastic and toponymic derivations of the

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

word ''arya'' to the name of a minor Illyrian tribe, the Arinistae/Armistae. The name "Ar anites" is hence variously considered to have been of

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

origin. David is sometimes considered to be the first member of the Arianiti clan, which was active in late medieval Albania, but the connection can not be verified due to lack of sources.

Life

David Arianites first appears in 999/1000, holding the rank of ''

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 ...

''. In that year he was named by the

Byzantine emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus (; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (, ), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but t ...

as the '' doux'' of

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area) and the capital city, capital of the geographic reg ...

(or possibly, although this is not stated explicitly, '' domestikos ton scholon'' of the West) in succession to

Nikephoros Ouranos Nikephoros Ouranos (; fl. c. 980 – c. 1010), Latinized as Nicephorus Uranus, was a high-ranking Byzantine official and general during the reign of Emperor Basil II (r. 976–1025). One of the emperor's closest associates, he was active in Europ ...

, who was moved to the governorship of

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

. He probably remained in the same post until ca. 1014, when Theophylact Botaneiates is attested as holding it. In 1016, Arianites was tasked with capturing the Bulgarian fortress of Strumitza, during which expedition he captured the fortress of Thermitza as well. In 1017, Basil II invaded Bulgaria with a large army. His objective was the town of

Kastoria Kastoria (, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Greece, geographic region ...

which controlled the road between

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

and the coast of modern

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. He sent parts of his army under Arianites and Constantine Diogenes to loot

Pelagonia Pelagonia (; ) is a geographical region of Macedonia named after the ancient kingdom. Ancient Pelagonia roughly corresponded to the present-day municipalities of Bitola, Prilep, Mogila, Novaci, Kruševo, and Krivogaštani in North Macedo ...

. Basil II himself managed to capture several minor Bulgarian castles but all attempts to seize Kastoria remained futile.Златарски, История на българската държава, Том I, Част II, с
725-728
/ref> Following the death of Tsar Ivan Vladislav in February 1018 and the collapse of Bulgarian resistance, Basil II installed David Arianites as '' strategos autokrator'' of

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

and ''

katepano The ''katepánō'' (, ) was a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as ''capetanus/catepan'', and its meaning seems to have merged with that of the Italian "capitaneus" (which derives from the Latin word "caput", mean ...

'' of conquered Bulgaria, implying powers of command over the other regional commanders in the northern Balkans (

Sirmium Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous province of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrians ...

with Ras and Dyrrhachium).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arianites, David 10th-century births 11th-century Albanian people 11th-century deaths Patricii 11th-century Byzantine military personnel Generals of Basil II Byzantine people of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars Byzantine governors of Thessalonica

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

David Arianiti Medieval Albanian generals