bagrat appealing to the emperor constantine ix, it was arranged, through the byzantine mediation, that liparit should receive nearly a half of the realm (south of the mtkvari river) only as a dutiful subject to the king of georgia. thus, in the period of 1045-1048, liparit iv, duke of trialeti, argveti, lower and upper iberia, prince-constable of georgia, became the most powerful person in the kingdom. not without a good reason, the arab chronicler ibn al-athir calls him "king of the abasgians [i.e. georgians]." liparit, called liparites by byzantine writers, was at the same time a byzantine dignitary with the prestigious rank of magistros (and possibly also curopalates).