Constantine Maleinos was a prominent Byzantine

Byzantine

Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...

 general of the mid-10th century.

Constantine was born in the late 9th or 10th century, probably in his family's estates in Cappadocia

Cappadocia

Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...

. His father was Eudokimos Maleinos, a member of the powerful aristocratic Maleinos

Maleinos

Maleinos was the surname of a Byzantine Greek family, first attested in the 9th century, which rose to be amongst the most important and powerful members of the Anatolian aristocracy in the 10th century, providing many senior generals to the Byzantine army. After its wealth and power became the...

 clan, and his mother Anastaso Adralestina, a relative to the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos (r. 920–944). He had six siblings, amongst whom the monk and saint Michael Maleinos

Michael Maleinos

Saint Michael Maleinos was a Byzantine monk who commanded great respect among Christians of Asia Minor. He was the brother of general Constantine Maleinos and uncle of Nikephoros Phokas, who was greatly influenced by Michael and became Byzantine emperor several years after his death...

 and an unnamed sister, who married the general Bardas Phokas the Elder

Bardas Phokas the Elder

Bardas Phokas was a notable Byzantine general in the first half of the 10th century, and father of Byzantine emperor Nikephoros II Phokas and the kouropalates Leo Phokas the Younger....

 and cemented close ties with the powerful Phokas clan

Phokas (Byzantine family)

Phokas or Phocas , feminine form Phokaina , was the name of a Byzantine aristocratic clan from Cappadocia, which in the 9th and 10th centuries provided a series of high-ranking generals and an emperor, Nikephoros II Phokas...

.

The sources on his career are scant, and come mostly from references in the hagiography

Hagiography

Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...

 of his brother Michael. He held the rank of patrikios and in 955 he succeeded his nephew Leo Phokas

Leo Phokas the Younger

Leo Phokas or Phocas was a prominent Byzantine general who scored a number of successes in the eastern frontier in the mid-10th century alongside his older brother, the Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas...

 as governor (strategos

Strategos

Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...

) of the theme of Cappadocia

Cappadocia (theme)

The Theme of Cappadocia was a Byzantine theme encompassing the southern portion of the namesake region from the early 9th to the late 11th centuries.-Location:...

. Likely due to his experience, but also his connection to the Phokades (his nephew Nikephoros Phokas

Nikephoros II

Nikephoros II Phokas was a Byzantine Emperor whose brilliant military exploits contributed to the resurgence of Byzantine Empire in the tenth century.-Early exploits:...

 was emperor in 963–969), he occupied this important post he held for many years, possibly as late as the time of his death in ca. 968. During this time he was active in the campaigns against the Arabs, especially the confrontations with the Hamdanid emir of Aleppo

Aleppo

Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...

, Sayf al-Daula

Sayf al-Daula

Ali ibn Abi al-Hayja 'Abd Allah ibn Hamdan ibn al-Harith Sayf al-Dawla al-Taghlibi , more commonly known simply by his laqab of Sayf al-Dawla , was the ruler of northern Syria and the brother of al-Hasan ibn Hamdan , the founder and the most prominent prince of the Arab Hamdanid dynasty from...

. Thus in November 960 he participated, under the command of Leo Phokas, in the great Byzantine victory over Sayf at the straights of Andrasos. He is also usually identified with the "ibn al-Mala’ini" of Arab accounts, who was defeated by Sayf at Iconium in 962.

Constantine Maleinos had a son, Eustathios Maleinos

Eustathios Maleinos

Eustathios Maleinos was a leading Byzantine general and one of the wealthiest and most influential members of the Anatolian military aristocracy during the late 10th century. He held senior administrative and military posts in the East, and was involved in the aristocratic rebellions against...

, who became a distinguished general and one of the Empire's wealthiest men, playing a leading role in the rebellion of Bardas Phokas the Younger against Emperor Basil II

Basil II

Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...

(r. 976–1025).

Sources